texts: What is one word for "the nervous excitement associated with new things"?

texts:
Here are feelings which to some degree are related:

The feeling of waking up in a new city for the first time or starting work on a new job.
The feeling of new love, meeting someone for a date, getting married or having a baby.
The feeling of imagining what will it be like being in some place or time you have only read or heard about.

I have always felt myself at a loss of words, trying to convey that sort of a feeling precisely. I have to throw in several words to convey the effect: anxious, dreamy, excited, nervous, fresh, overwhelmed and so forth.

In contrast, if I have to describe the sad longing associated with old things, I have a precise term, namely, 'Nostalgia'.

The closest one word I could think of was 'Forward-looking'. But I feel, it is a bit too positive. Another word that I would consider is 'Ambivalent', but it needn't necessarily convey the feelings of new beginning. There must be a better word, isn't it?

p.s.: There are other similar questions like: this or this. So I have tried asking the question in manner, that highlights the different expectations from the answer.


texts: Possessive case for a certain proper noun - ss apostrophe

texts:
In the case of the proper noun Ross, which of the following would be correct?

Ross's
Ross'


texts: Is rhyming slang used in other parts of the world than London?

texts:
From Wikipedia:

Rhyming slang is a form of phrase construction in the English language that is especially prevalent in dialectal English from the East End of London; hence the alternative name, Cockney rhyming slang.

But the article also goes on to describe some international versions:

In Australian slang, the term for an English person is "pommy", which has been proposed as a rhyme on "pomegranate" rhyming with "immigrant"

In Australia and South Africa, the colloquial term "China" is derived from "mate" rhyming with "China plate" (the identical form, heard in expressions like "me old China" is also a long-established Cockney idiom).

I'm not aware of any English rhyming slang Indian speakers use, and I always assumed the practice was limited to London.
Question:
What other parts of the world use English rhyming slang, and how prevalent is it in those parts? (By which I mean: would the average speaker know what's being said, and that it's a rhyming slang?)


texts:
I'm working on a libretto for a vocal composition which makes use of vowel formants. It's important that all of the singers can produce exactly the same vowel sound, so I'm using IPA symbols.

I'm wondering if there is a resource available that lists words by their vowel sound. I've found a number of rhyming dictionaries, but I'm looking for something more technical. My main problem is that any slight variation in the pronunciation of a vowel totally changes the frequencies of the formants, so I really need something that will be as specific as possible.

Thanks.

—Lucas


texts: What is origin of the phrase "as gay as cheese"?

texts:
A little while back, I was trying to find an old Hitchcock anthology story that turned out to be Joan Aiken's "As Gay as Cheese" where the eponymous phrase is one of many that the main character uses to describe his generally positive mood. Someone jokingly asked just how gay cheese is, and I found myself stymied by almost no references to the phrase that are not about the story itself (closest I found was one person using the phrase with "gay" indicating homosexuality). Google Ngrams wasn't even of much use to trace how far back the phrase went, as it brings up no entries. If it helps, the main character is a Cornish barber, so I suppose it might be a regional phrase.
My central question is, is there a meaning to the phrase, like it referring to the bright color of some cheeses (playing off of the idea of brighter colors being considered happier colors) or is it intentionally random like "the cat's pajamas"?


texts: Should you use two definite articles in "the Wigner-Ville and Li-Katar distributions"?

texts:
Which one is right?

  the Wigner-Ville and Li-Katar distributions
  the Wigner-Ville and the Li-Katar distributions

Assume that both Wigner-Ville and Li-Katar are distributions.


texts: What phrase describes "having same outcome in spite of having better resources"?

texts:
A person gains a 20% salary hike, but becomes looser with his purse-strings and experiences no improvement in quality of life. Or, a manager who gets his employees to work 16 hours a day from 8, but slowly moves to a process that is half as effective, cancelling any gain in productivity.

In both cases, the person gains substantially, but becomes careless/complacent and thus regresses to their old state. What phrase describes what he is doing?


texts: Is the use of ‘Red meat’ for ‘Substance’ very popular? Can I say ‘Your talk doesn’t have any red meat,’ to talkative person?

texts:
Today’s (Aug 28) Washington Post carries the article titled, “Red meat on the menu as convention kicks off” followed by the following sentence.

"GOP delegates are scheduled to take the vote that will formally settle their party's long primary battle, although there were signs of the un-mended rift between Romney's backers and the minority of delegates supporting Rep. Ron Paul."

I think I’ve seen the cases “Red meat” was used in the sense of the substance of political agendas in the past.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ‘red meat’ as

meat (as beef) that is red when raw
something substantial that can satisfy a basic need or appetite.

However, Cambridge Dictionary defines it only as ‘meat from mammals, especially beef and lamb.’

Oxford Dictionary likewise defines it only as ‘meat that is red when raw, for example beef or lamb. Often contrasted with white meat.’

Wikipedia gives a definition - Red meat in traditional culinary terminology is meat which is red when raw, and not white when cooked. Red meat includes the meat of most adult mammals and some fowl.

In any of Oxford, Cambridge Dictionary, and Wikipedia, there’s no reference of ‘something substantial’ to ‘Red meat’ as defined in definition 2. of Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Is the usage of ‘Red meat’ as ‘the substance (supported by concrete evidence)’ well-received?

Is it predominantly a political jargon? Can I say ‘There was no red meat in his talk (proposal)’ just casually?


texts: When I took psychology a semester ago, my teacher insisted that she has never heard of the word. When looked up in Merriam Webster's Dictionary, it did not pop up. Do medical professionals use this term? It is rather weird as I don't think we just intuitively look at something and then have a weird feeling. I only get that weird feeling when looking at a picture that I see from looking up trypophobia. I noticed if I don't explicitly think about it, it does not affect me. Also my computer believes the word does not exist, as it believes "trypophobia" is spelled incorrectly.


texts: A noun to describe an intention not to use humor when not necessary

texts:
I am seeking a noun that would describe a person's attempt to refrain themselves from being "cool" in responding (perhaps to an email message), often contrary to their humorous nature - an intentional approach where they filter out unnecessary or excessive humor (as in talking to an individual they don't know well) and want to sound professional, succinct and to-the-merit.

It should not mean a lack of humor of the person, instead it should emphasize they purposely avoid humor where it can be unmet.

As I am writing a short article, I would need a swift single word to act as a sub-header. I assume there is one. Strictness would sound too strict for that though.

Would reservedness be a choice perhaps?


texts: Is "put in by hand" a correct expression?

texts:
In the present theory, these things are assumptions we have to put in by hand.
— Physics from Symmetry, Jakob Schwichtenberg, Springer International Publishing 2015

I can roughly understand it means "we have to take these assumptions for granted", but not sure whether put in by hand is a standard expression or not.


texts: What is an alternative for hitting the nail on the head?

texts:
What is a good expression that means you succeeded in your task?

For example, I would like to say that the designers of an exhibition succeeded in their task to make the atmosphere warm and inviting.


texts: Grammar: the function of "so" after conjunction?

texts:
Recently I read this sentence, and I am wondering, what is the function of "so" here?

  XYZ is the top provider of high-speed Internet services
    in the country, or so it claims in its advertisements.

I mean it is not a conjunction, obviously.  However, could it be an adverb or even a pronoun?  Because the the verb "claim" is a transitive verb, so it needs a pronoun.

Could someone help?


texts: Do I need to repeat the word "to" when there's a comma?

texts:
Please excuse my ignorance. I don't enough of the verbiage to properly phrase the question in the title.

Example:

"Karen tried numerous times to tell her daughter to be herself, and (to) not change just to please others."

I think of it like like this:

"Karen tried to tell her daughter to: (1) Be herself; (2) not change just to please others."

Thinking of it in this way, the word "to" shouldn't need to be duplicated because the original to works both ways.

What is the rule here?

Thanks!


texts: What type of marker is [sic] in a text? It is not an editor's mark, so what is it?

texts:
The marker "[sic]" is used in a published work to show that a word-usage or spelling is recognised by the author to be incorrect or unconventional.

On the other hand, editors' marks (proofreading symbols) are made before publication, they show what must be changed for the work to be acceptable. They do not appear in the finished work.

Common Proofreading Symbols

Question

So what kind of a thing is "[sic]"? Is it unique or are there other marks that appear in a finished text and perform a related function?


texts: Term for people that think the minority or farfetched view is always the truth?

texts: Not just limited to conspiracy theorists, but folks who have a tendency to believe in alternative, super minority views as THE truth and strongly believe in them with little validation or proof. They also have a dislike for consensus views (because it's too "easy"), and believe that populace is being manipulated and are too naive or complacent to see the real truth.


texts: Does "Topics created by Users" equal to "User created topics"?


texts:
Consider the following :

  He likes dogs.
  He likes dog.

(1) would mean he likes dogs as pets and (2) refers to dog as food.

My question is, does the same apply to nouns such as orange and oranges?

  He likes oranges.
  He likes orange.

Just wish to confirm that (1) and (2) are really both acceptable. If they are, do they have different meanings?


texts: "Not to watch" vs "Not to have watched" as subject of a sentence

texts:
E.g. 1 Not to watch Kobe Bryant's matches when he was alive is my biggest regret.
£.g. 2 Not to have watched Kobe Bryant's matches when he was alive is my biggest regret.
Am I right that e.g. 1 is not grammatical whereas e.g. 2 is grammatical? If yes, why is it so?


texts:
A recent question on ELU made me realize that the idea of “Third Age” as defined below is  used mainly in BrE and other European languages, while AmE speakers appear to be unfamiliar with it.

  the period of time that is after middle age and before old age, when people are still active. (MacMillan Dictionary)

Form the extract below it appears that the idea started in France but was actually carried out on a larger scale in England:

University of the Third Age

  an international organization aimed at providing 'lifelong learning for older people'. It organizes courses and other activities for retired people. It started as part of a university in France in 1973 and the first U3A group started in the UK in 1983 after the creation of a charity The Third Age Trust. Most courses in the UK are taught by U3A members themselves using their knowledge and experience. (OLD)

Where did the expression originate? Is it originally BrE or does it come from other European languages? What’s the AmE equivalent expression for “third age”?


texts: What's the meaning of "dry" in this context?

texts:
Consider this comment:

Quality of service at restaurants is dropping, and I don't think it's the servers' fault, I think it's the fault of management for cutting back on staff.
Several times now out with friends after work my beer's gone dry, and rather than cutting the server's tip, I go to the manager afterwards and pressure to get compensation for the terrible service.  Since they can't give away alcohol, they give gift cards good for food only; fair enough.

What does it mean when the poster describes his beer has gone dry?


texts: Word or small phrase for an object owned by a customer on which you will do work

texts:
The word or small phrase needs to fit into both of these sentences:

I've created a new job to install our product into this _______.
This ______ is owned by Joe Bloggs.

I'm creating an IT system for a company that installs products into customer's vehicles, boats, ride-on lawnmowers, garage doors and potentially houses.  I need a term that incorporates all of these "things".

I'm leaning towards "Asset", however it's a bit confusing because it's not this company's asset, but the customer or client's asset.

I could call it "ClientAsset" but I want to keep it focused on the company's point of view where it's the thing that receives the work.  So something that means the object that receives/takes/holds on to/contains/has work done, would be great!

Unfortunately I can't use the terms "Object" or "Item" on their own due to other constraints in the system.

This is a very important term in the system, as all the company's jobs detail work to be done on one of these objects.. if worst comes to worst I can use "JobObject"/"InstallationObject" or something similar to that.

Many thanks for any suggestions you can provide!


texts: The use of "have": "have a map on it" and "have a colony in the country"

texts:
I would like to know about the use of "have" combined with prepositional phrases.

  (ex.1) The table has a map on it.

Example 1 can be paraphrased as "there is a map on the table". In this case, "it" in "on it" refers to "the table". Is the relationship necessary?

How about the following?

  (ex.2) The Empire had a colony in the country.
  (ex.3) A colony in the Empire was in the country.

Are both the sentences correct?


texts: Civics: word for a representative's constituent who voted or will vote for them

texts:
In the U.S. as an example, a senator represents constituents -- the people in her area of representation. What's a word or short term for those constituents who voted for her?
As a more concrete example, what political term could we use to describe the Californians who voted for and elected Nanci Pelosi, the Floridians who voted for and elected Marco Rubio, or the Connecticuters who voted for and elected Richard Blumenthal?
I'd be quite happy if such a term also included people who currently intended to vote in the next election for the politician in question.


texts: Could you please help me out this sentence?

texts:
I have recently read a sentence from The Economist magazine.

  Researchers there are rushing candidate vaccines into trials.

I don't understand, is there anything missing in this sentence? Why "there are rushing candidate vaccines into trials" right after the "Researchers"?


texts:
What is the right way to say you want to retrieve all messages from a user (for example when you describe a database query that gets all user messages)?

"Get the reports from the user"

"Get the reports of the user"


texts: Cottage Cheese: So called to differentiate from "expensive" cheese?

texts: I have been unable to find an etymology for the term Cottage Cheese in English. Interestingly, the Hebrew Wikipedia lists the etymology as being due to cottage cheese being prepared from the wastes of other milk products, hence its association with the poor and named after houses typical of the poor. The English Wikipedia has a single line alluding to such with no reference, and the Hebrew reference is rather dubious as well.


texts:
In the film High Society, Daxter-Haven has the following line when addressing a room full of people:

  Dear gentle folk of Newport -- Or maybe I should say, "hats and cats"?

What is the meaning of "hats and cats" in this context?


texts: How can you omit repetition of words with prefixes, e.g. "inputs and outputs"?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Use of hyphens when writing repeated compound words that has common parts

I am looking for a general way of shortening the repetition of words with prefixes like "upwards and downwards", "inputs and outputs", "upscale and downscale", etc. Is there an accepted way to shorten this in writing?

In spoken English we do something like "up and downwards" or "in and outputs".


texts:
On math.SE, I wrote:

  In particular, g(x) is rational iff f(x) is rational, i.e. g has the same property than f.

My sentence had been corrected to:

  In particular, g(x) is rational iff f(x) is rational, i.e. g has the same property that f.

Can anyone explain to me why the first sentence is not correct, whereas the second one is?


texts: How can I say "usually one, sometimes multiple" at the end of a sentence?

texts:
I'm struggling with this sentence fragment: “...and produces usually one, sometimes multiple, binary outputs.” Is this grammatically correct? Is there a better way to structure this?

Here is the entire sentence:

  In electronics, a logic gate is an idealized or physical device implementing a Boolean function; that is, it performs a logical operation on one or more binary inputs and produces usually one, sometimes multiple binary outputs.


texts: What is the most natural way to disambiguate "with"?

texts:
In Spanish, if you say "I'm with X", it implies that you are not part of X. But in English, although both interpretations are possible, the converse is the usual.

If you say "I'm an officer with the NYPD", it means you are part of the NYPD. But let's consider the following example: you are an American soldier about to attack the Nazis together with British and Canadian fellows, and you say "I'm with the 2nd British Army", meaning you are going to attack alongside them, as allies, not that you are a member of the 2nd British Army.

My question is what is the most usual way to disambiguate these two meanings of "with" in English.


texts:
I saw the word desk used, according to my thinking, as a verb in a sentence, and I was wondering if this usage is correct or if it was an error from the authors.

You can find the sentence here, at the end of the news section : ECML PKDD

  5 June 2019
  Today, we published the list of accepted papers. Out of more than 700 submissions we accepted 102 papers in the research track and 28 papers in the applied data science track. We desk rejected several papers for (self-)plagiarism and violation of the double submission policy (together with IJCAI and NeurIPS).


texts:
Question
Can I use a comma (,) before an ampersand (&)?
If no, then why not?
Example
The same products attracted all European countries to India: spices, silk, & cotton.


texts:
Can you use the following phrase ...

  Please let me know if you will be available to attend.

I'm hung up on the "will be" part.

I know there are other versions, which are equally as useful, specifically

  Please let me know if you are available to attend.

The following phrase is also acceptable.

  Please let me know if you will attend

Is sentence No.1 grammatically correct? I'm just looking for proper clarification.


texts: Can dogmas be false? Or is the very meaning absolute?

texts:
The word 'Dogma', does it mean: This is the truth or Something that is believed to be true
I did search but I have hard time grasping what it really means.

Edit: What I really want answered is: Can dogmas be false? Or is the very meaning absolute.


texts: What is the equivalent word of villainy for victim

texts:
Villainy is to villain as XXX is to victim?

Sorry I couldn't think of a better way of explaining this


texts:
Both the OED and Etymonline offer no clue as to origin of the slang term quim, meaning minge.

The OED’s earliest citations are from the 18th, which isn’t quite as old as Adam, but has certainly been around for a long time.

Here are two of its later citations:

1966 P. Willmott Adolescent Boys iii. 50, — I got my hand on her tit and I thought well, that’s all right. So I thought I’d try for her quim.
1974 H. R. F. Keating Underside ii. 25 — Is it worse to have it on me belly than to have it in me quim?

Of course, the Urban Dictionary connects it to queef, but that’s no help at all.  What is the real origin of the word quim?


texts:
I've heard that the phrase 'real parent(s)' doesn't mean 'biological parent(s)', because (according to what I've heard) it is used for those parents who have adopted a child. However, people usually use these two interchangeably.

Are these two phrases the same or different?


texts: Does the etymology of "tithe" include the Greek "tithenai"?

texts:
A recent question on EL&U elicited the following etymonline entry:

  Hypothecate:
  1680s, "pledge (something) without giving up control of it; pawn; mortgage,"....from Greek hypotheke "a deposit, pledge, mortgage," from hypo- "beneath, under"  + tithenai "to put, to place”.

I'd like to know whether the Greek word tithenai features in the etymology of the English word tithe.

  tithe noun
  One tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the Church and clergy.
  - ODO

The dictionary entry traces the etymology back to Old English:

  Old English tēotha (adjective in the ordinal sense ‘tenth’, used in a specialized sense as a noun), tēothian (verb).

And so does etymonline:

  a tenth part (originally of produce) due as support of the clergy, c. 1200, from Old English teogoþa (Anglian), teoþa (West Saxon) "tenth," from Proto-Germanic *teguntha, from PIE *dekmto-, from PIE root *dekm- "ten." Retained in ecclesiastical sense while the form was replaced in ordinal use by tenth.

So there might not be a direct link between tithenai and tithe.

Further, tithe is more directly related to tenth than it is to giving. "Tithe" was coined around 1200 according to etymonline, with hypothecate appearing about half a millenia hence, so I'm discounting hypothecate from the etymology of tithe on timing alone.

However, with tithenai's "to put, to place" appearing to be not far off tithe's connotation of "to give" in the money-related usage of the term, there appears to be at least a superficial, tangential link between tithe and tithenai. Even so, the link is such a stretch that I was hesitant about posting the question, until I stumbled upon the following:

  For centuries, visitors and dignitaries attending the Olympics would contribute spectacular gifts---treasures---from their cities or homelands, which were housed in a newly constructed thesauros, from the root of tithenai, which later gave us both treasure and tithe.
  - Wordcatcher: An Odyssey into the World of Weird and Wonderful Words, by Phil Cousineau

Can anyone confirm the link between tithe and tithenai or, alternatively, completely dissociate the words from each other?


texts: Word meaning 'resistant to temperature change'

texts:
I'm looking for a word for the property of liquids that means the liquid has a high resistance to temperature change. The closest thing I've found is 'high specific heat capacity' but it's a one-word term. I heard it on a science TV show I was watching and I can't remember what the word was.

Clarification:  I mean it takes a lot of energy to change the temperature. but the word I'm looking for means specifically that the liquid has a high specific heat capacity


texts:
I feel the following sentence would be used by Native speakers but only in highly informal speech in certain areas:

In his letter he explains how the book has a great plot and is generally enjoyable.

I checked When to use the words "how" and "that" where the phrase "he thought about how ..." is discussed. The answer there states that "How" has been in widespread usage in this way for years, so even if it is not formally correct, it is widely accepted.

I feel that this is not the case for my example. I believe my sentence would rather be seen as wrong or inappropriate in a more formal context (e.g. essay). Is that correct?


texts: Can you tell me what the difference between low grades and bad grades is?

texts:
Firstly, excuse my poor English.While I studied Present Perfect Tense, a sentence had on my mind
"I got many bad grades last semester, but I haven't had any low grades so far this term."
So, are low grades worse than bad grades? Otherwise, am I wrong?


texts: Is it wrong to say "the lesser of the two evils"?

texts: Is it wrong to say "the lesser of the two evils" as opposed to "the lesser of two evils"?


texts:
Is -scule  in minuscule a suffix?

What does it mean? scale?

(I have looked it up in etymonline and didn't find the answer)


texts: What's the English equivalent of the Hindi word फेंकना (fenkna)?

texts:
In Hindi, the word फेंकना (fenkna) describe an act of boasting in a way that  is obviously untrue and ridiculous. It might be me bragging about swimming twenty miles few years ago. If you know me, and the fact that I lack any athletic experience, it would be easy to infer that the claim is plain absurd.

The word literally means "to throw", but its use that way is quite popular.

The closest word that comes to mind is "bullshiting", but I wanted to know if there's a more formal one to describe this action.


texts: "In contrast with" or "In contrast to" (or something else)?

texts:
In my writing I often like to make a comparison between two things. However, I'm not sure how I should start my sentence and if it's even a good idea to start it this way.

Example:

  React has a special way of dealing with dynamic data. In contrast with / to more traditional frameworks that require a full reload everytime data changes, React does .... [etc.]

Should I use with or to, and is this grammatically correct? Are there any other ways I can write a comparison in an interesting way?


texts: Meaning of 'staging' in 'the Qur'an's staging, penetrating and eclipsing of Biblical tradition'

texts:
What's the meaning of the word staging in the following context?

"The Qurʾān’s Staging, Penetrating and Eclipsing of Biblical Tradition"

It's the address of a study conducted by Angelika Neuwirth.


texts: How to describe someone who doesn't act because of their perceived comfortable situation?

texts:
Is there a word or expression in English to describe someone who has the power/ability/skills to act upon something, but we already expect them not to do it because they see themselves as not in a position where they need to take an effort to act?
It doesn't necessarily refer to a person, could be a corporation as well (and quite possibly most uses of this word/expression would actually refer to companies I believe). It is somewhat related to an adage that says "the difference between the rich and the poor is that the rich is allowed to make blunders for a longer time." But this would be its reverse logic, in the lines of "since I am the rich, I will not make anything at all, why should I bother?"
Two examples of where this word/expression would fit:

The X App has a serious problem of user experience that could be greatly improved with a few simple features, but since they have virtually no competition, they [are] *** and we'll never see those things implemented.

Company Z should really step up their game, Franchise W has become stale for over a decade now, but since the fans keep coming, they [become] *** and just rehash the same thing over and over again.

"A is not compelled to do B" is an expression that might come to mind, but I'm not sure if it could convey what I am trying to present here.


texts: Does a word that starts with a vowel letter start with a vowel sound?

texts:
I'm currently learning about consonant to vowel linking, and I'm wondering if it's safe to assume that most words (if not all?) that start with a vowel letter (a, e, i, o, u) will also start with a vowel sound.

Knowing this information will help me quickly identify whether a word starts with a vowel sound. Then, I can check the ending sound of the previous word to see where consonant-to-vowel linking is required.


texts: Why would you call "before" a preposition when it precedes a clause?

texts:
I'm new here & don't know all the etiquette & ins & outs, but I have a question about something posted in another thread.

  Modern grammar, however, recognises that prepositions can take many different types of complement, or may take none at all. In the following examples we see prepositions which are taking different types of complement.

  Let’s meet before the concert starts.

  Let’s meet after the concert.

  Take it out of the box.

  I’ve never seen this before.

If you call "before" in "before the concert starts" is a preposition, what would you call "although" in "Although he didn't know the answer, he raised his hand"? I've been running "although" through my head, & I can't come up with an instance where it could precede a noun phrase. I'd call both "before" (as it's used here) & "although" subordinating conjunctions. If you don't call "before" a subordinating conjunction, what ties the two clauses ("Let's meet" & "the concert starts") together? If you tell me there's an understood "that," I hope you also tell me you're coming from a transformational grammar point of view. I'm old school & have hated transformational grammar since the day I met it!

(Also, I'd call the last use of "before" an adverb, but calling it an objectless preposition doesn't bother me nearly as much as calling the other one a preposition.)


texts: What do you call the people who drive tourists around a resort in a golf cart?

texts:
I'm creating an original character for a novel, but I'm having trouble finding the exact name of his job. He works in a luxury hotel/timeshare resort, and his job is to drive tourists around the resort and drop them off at their timeshare home in a golf cart. These golf carts (there are SEVERAL) are parked in the front outside of the lobby where doormen and bellhops usually stay under the building's marquee, and after checking in, tourists just hop on and get a free, relaxing ride to their temporary homes. Any help is appreciated.

Example sentence: “What's his job again?”
“Oh, he's a _______ (can be two or more words) at that resort you wanted to go to last summer!”


texts: Shifting position of a noun clause within a sentence

texts:
I came across the following odd-sounding sentence while reading The Time Machine by H. G. Wells:

  But how the trick was done he could not explain.

In this sentence, the clause 'how the trick was done' is a noun clause and functions as the object of the verb 'explain'. So it should go after the verb and the correct version of this sentence should be as follows:

  But he could not explain how the trick was done.

Is this kind of shifting of noun clause normal in English literature?


texts: How to know if a past participle form used in a sentence is the adjective for the next word or not?

texts:
I've read this sentence in a book:

Like most languages, C# lets you define local variables, which are named elements inside a method that each hold a piece of information.

I can see this sentence in two ways, I can't get to know which one is the correct one:

named is the adjective of elements. So nothing is named "elements inside a method"! it is just saying that variables are named elements (each element has a name) which are declared inside a method and hold a piece of information.
are named is a passive verb, and the whole sentence means that variables are named "elements inside a method"

I myself think that the first one is correct, however I have to persuade someone who thinks the second one is correct. I don't know how to prove it.


texts:
I have a simple but important question about naming my first child.

I named her, as Jae-in Kim. (pronunciation is , of course, same as Jane in English name) but it is so common that hundreds, maybe thousands of people have the name Jae-in here in Korea, so, I want spell her name Jae-inn Kim (double ‘n’ in inn) for the uniqueness. but as you know, the word “inn” has meaning a kind of accommodation.

From a point of view in US/English cultures, is it ridiculous/funny that a name includes Inn? Or is it okay?

Since English isn’t my native language, it's hard for me to figure out its nuance.


texts: What is the factual basis for "pirate speech"? (Did pirates really say things like "shiver me timbers"?)

texts:
The "pirate speech" we hear/see/read, for example, on the website Talk Like A Pirate Day consists of a rhotic dialect characterized by phrases like "shiver me timbers," "ooh arh me hearties," and so on and so on.

What is its basis in fact?


texts: What's a word or phrase that describes a person who doesn't listen to advice?

texts: I need a word or phrase that describes a person who doesn't listen to advice they are given by someone else.


texts: I see the British normally use plural form of the verbs associated with collective nouns. An example, "The team have fired its coach" versus "The team has fired its coach". I have been told this is slang that has become mainstream. Any idea as to its real origin?


texts:
"Can we have something to drink , here?"
"I'll get you water"
"I could really use a drink."

What does "using drink" mean?


texts: Alternative to "launch customer" or "beta customer"?

texts:
I'm looking for a phrase that refers to the initial customers of a new product or service - the ones who bear the risk and benefit of trying something new.

"Launch customer" is used in the aircraft industry, and "beta customer" in the computer industry.

What's a more general term (not tied to those industries)?

Edit:

"Early adopter" might seem to fit, but I don't think we'd say that the first customers of a new electrician in town are "early adopters", as electrician service is usually a one-time purchase, not an ongoing "adoption".

I'm looking for a phrase that refers to the first customer of a one-time service.


texts:
I've noticed that “seems like” is the most commonly used phrase out of the three.

If I were to say that Los Angeles appears to be a nice city, would using any of these three phrases work because “to seem” means to “appear to be”?

Los Angeles seems a nice city.
Los Angeles seems to be a nice city.
Los Angeles seems like a nice city.


texts:
There was the following sentence in Maureen Dowd’s article titled “Taxing Times for Obama” in the New York Times May 18 issue. - http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/opinion/sunday/dowd-irs-investigation-means-more-taxing-times-for-obama.html?hp&_r=0

  “Asked about that on Thursday, Obama might have tried a little J.F.K.
  wit to dismiss the ridiculous assertion. Instead, he played the pill,
  as he too often does, huffily telling reporters, “Well, I’ll let you
  guys engage in those comparisons, and you can go ahead and read the
  history, I think, and draw your own conclusions.”

What does “play the pill” mean? I was unable to find this expression as an idiom in any of Cambridge, Oxford and Merriam Webster Dictionary, nor the incidence in Google N Gram.

At the same time, what does ‘J.F.K. wit’ mean? What is it like for example?


texts: What does it mean to populate something with a scan?

texts:
In an exercise I came across this:

  In this case, the solution is to enable the Source cache, and populate
  it with a Scan before the first round of translation commences.

What do they mean by populating the enabled source cache with a scan?

Thank you!!!


texts: What is the verb for when a person criticizes you back instead of accepting the criticism?

texts: "When I critcise you, you start criticising me for something that's bad in me instead of correcting yourself. In this way, you think we are even and you don't have to correct yourself because I have some bad habits too."


texts: The use of “troop” for “trooper” by the media

texts:
What led to this new usage? Are there any clues as to its origin (i.e., is there a particular journalist or political figure who introduced it)? Is it on the upswing as I suspect (are there any reputable dictionaries which attest it)?
Background
For most of my life, I understood troop to mean a body of soldiers, as attested by Etymonline.com:

troop (n.)
1540s, “body of soldiers,” from Middle French troupe, from Old French trope “band of people, company, troop” (13c.), probably from Frankish *throp “assembly, gathering of people” (cf. Old English ðorp, Old Norse thorp “village,” see thorp). OED derives the French word from Latin troppus “flock,” which is of unknown origin but may be from the Germanic source.¹

But in the past twenty or years or so I have noticed troop used, particularly in journalism, to mean an individual (a “trooper”). This usage seems to be on the upswing. Here are two typical examples from last year:

CBS News
Taliban insurgents killed 10 Afghan troops in an ambush in western Herat province, police and government officials said Tuesday, as one U.S. troop was killed in an attack on the other side of the country.²
The Huffington Post
Among the combat wounded from all the military services are 1,572 patients with major limb amputations, including 486 wounded troops with multiple amputations. These numbers do not include those who suffered the loss of fingers or toes.³ [emphasis added]

I have not yet seen the true singular form meaning an individual attested by any dictionaries, but it is definitely in use as shown above.


texts: **The** word for the military action of shooting several targets at once

texts:
In the Maersk Alabama hijacking, the seals took three shots at once, killing all three pirates simultaneously. I was watching the reproduction and I remember the analyst naming a specific term.

What is the word for that particular action?


texts:
I received an email suggesting that we do something:

  "next week, when we would have been" doing something else.

Would you call this an example of future subjunctive? If not, then what? Perhaps it's a present perfect subjunctive?

I have been searching for an answer and have found few sites with any reference to a counterfactual statement set in the future.


texts: One word for the moment one remembers a dream?

texts: I am looking for a noun that describes the moment one remembers a dream in its entirety while lucid. Not déjà vu, but that moment when the memories come flooding in, and one understands that one is remembering a dream.


texts:
I’m a bit confused about the use of “that is” to add explanatory info about what is being talked. Also, can I also use it when the noun deserving explanation is plural? Here an example:

  Encircling the town were military stations of “changers”, that is men
  hired by the government to make sure that all inhabitants obeyed the
  rules.

Is this sentence correct?
Also, in this case the noun that requires explanation “changers” is plural, yet I suppose I don’t have to write “that are” instead of “that is” nor do I have to use the past tense and write "that were" or "that was".

Thank you


texts: Can a sentence start with "just so I/he/she/you/they can"?

texts: I did the standard Google search and I checked Merriam-Webster. I found questions about starting a sentence with conjunctions such as "and" or "but". No joy for "just so [pronoun] can [verb]." Looking for answers with citations if possible. Thanks in advance for your assistance.


texts: My incorrect answer for a TOEFL question

texts:
While I am training for my TOEFL exam using an Android mobile application, I found this question which seemed trivial to me but it turned out to be more complicated. Can somebody help me understand the grammar behind this answer because all what I could find using Google is what I already know:

Before a person may drive a car on a public highway, it is necessary that he _____ a driving test.

take (the right answer)
is taking
took
takes (my answer)


texts: What's the origin of the common phrase "I call shenanigans"? Note that I'm not so much looking for the origin of shenanigans itself, which I expect could easily be found in the OED or something, but when the entire phrase took on a life of its own as an independent construction.   Who coined it? When was it first attested? Did anyone make it particular popular?


texts:
The query might return a list of selected items in a shopping cart, or posts in active forums threads, or whatever your web application needs to retrieve from your database.

active forums is functioning as an adjective here. It is obvious, of course. But what I can't get is why does it end in s making it plural? Could it be written like active forum threads? If so, what would the difference be? And I have certainly many times come across nouns ending in s used as adjectives but never really understood the reasons why there was a particular need to make them plural instead of leaving them in their singular form.


texts: Are there religious swear words in English the way there are in French-speaking Québec (like “Câlisse!”)?

texts:
Are there in English any cases of using religious words for swear words, most likely in predominantly Christian regions?

I ask because in the Canadian province of Québec, which is primarily francophone, religious words get used for swearing quite a great deal when speaking French. (I suppose this might be explained by a will to express against religious abuse from time to time, or by a rejection of religious authority.)

For example, French profanity like maudit tabarnack, mon enfant d’criss, and hosti d’faux prètre could be respectively translated into English as damn tabenacle, as my son of Christ, and as host of false priest.

Most use cases conjoin the word damn with some religious object, but at other times they are turned into imperative verbs such as décolisse or décrisse (saying “de-chalice” and “de-Christ”), which could translate into go away or break or tarnish. The most common swear word one hears in Québec is Tabarnak!

Is there anything in the anglophone world comparable to this peculiarly Quebecker/québécois habit of using words related to religion for profanity?


texts:
Hortensio:

  ‘Sirrah! I will not bear these braves of thine’

In this context, Hortensio is arguing with Lucentio and called him sirrah. Those two characters are actually rich people disguised as teachers.

  A term of address used to inferiors or children to express impatience,
  contempt, etc.

Sirrah definition by Dictionary.com

To my understanding, since both of them are teachers, sirrah is not appropriate to use in this context because Lucentio isn't actually inferior to Hortensio, rather they are of the same rank. Am i correct?


texts: I would like to describe a statement as failing to be accurate, but I'm struggling to articulate it in a manner which may be considered grammatically correct. I had initially written: "Not only does his statement fail in terms of accuracy", but then disregarded it and went with: "Not only does his statement fail on account of its inaccuracy", but that doesn't sound right to me either. Any ideas?


texts:
What does "a descent of night" man here? Does it mean the dominance of night?

"It is the very event of observing, a descent of night, an invasion of shadow." mean?


texts: Am I crazy, or is "underappreciated" one word?

texts: I've always written "underappreciated" as one word, but as I'm typing this, my browser spell-check is trying to correct it to "under appreciated" (with the second suggestion being "under-appreciated" with a hyphen). My phone's auto-correct also changes it to "under appreciated" (no hyphen). Every dictionary I've looked it up in has it as one word. Am I going crazy or is it an error in the spell-checker? Both my computer and phone are Apple products so I assume they use the same dictionary for spell-check.


texts: What does "to be caught in a controversy" mean?

texts: Can I use something like "I am caught in a controversy" to express that I am witnessing and confused by the controversy between other entities?


texts: How to add a possessive to a plural that doesn't follow the "add s" rule?

texts: Let us say that I want to talk about the houses that are collectively owned by a set of mice.  The phrase "the mice houses" doesn't make sense to me, but "the mice's houses" also doesn't.  If I understand the 's form of the plural, it is an abbreviation of "his", "hers", or "theirs".  Since "mice" doesn't follow this form, what does one say to complete this and similar phrases?


texts: Should it be 'from the My Portal' or 'from My Portal'?

texts:
I have a portal (a website serving as a guide or point of entry to the World Wide Web). It has a name (let's say, 'My Portal').

So, which of the two is correct? Or are both viable?

  Get it from the My Portal.

Or

  Get it from My Portal.


texts: Why does "moot" have two nearly opposite meanings

texts:
Moot can mean

Subject to debate; arguable or unsettled.
Of no practical importance; irrelevant.

These two seem to me to be opposites in many cases. I've seen people say "that's a moot point" in response to a proposal/idea: do they mean "that warrants debate" or "we should not bother talking about this"?
Is there a correct usage, or a way to use it while avoiding ambiguity? Or have I misunderstood the definition?


texts: What is the idiom meaning not everything will be perfect, which ends "it's not all....and roses" ?


texts: Relative pronouns, "that" or "who", for type of person

texts:
A non-native speaker is asking ...

Which should you use, 'which' or 'that,' in the following statement? Since this is mainly talking about the types of persons (within 'her'), you might use 'that,' but would you also use 'who'?

  Sam was praising the industrious worker who/that she was when she was in the office, not the lazy housewife who/that she was when she was at home.


texts: Other ways of saying "versatile platform"?

texts: In my research, I make use of a tool which provides a platform for researchers to investigate phenomenon X in a variety of ways. I want to frame it this way in a paper that I am writing: "Using the --- platform provided by the tool for investigating X, we develop and illustrate a novel method to assess aspect Y of X". I am looking for an adjective to fill ---. "Versatile" comes to my mind. But I feel like there might be better adjectives to use. I don't mind restructuring the sentence if that makes it sound more professional. Any help is appreciated!


texts: Does ‘long-molared’ have any special meaning?

texts:
“You’re joking, Weasley!” said Malfoy, behind them. “You’re not telling me someone’s asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?” (Harry Potter 4 [US Version]: p.404)[Bold font is mine]

N.B.: Malfoy, who hates Hermione very much, is insulting her. In the past, he hexed her front teeth into long, beaver-like teeth. However, her teeth are normal now. Mudblood is an insulting word in the magical world.

I know a molar is any of the large teeth at the back of the mouth. So I can’t understand why he refers to back teeth after his hex to her front teeth.

Does ‘long-molared’ have special meaning? Or does he say so on purpose in order to express his indifference to Hermione?


texts:
I'm editing some engineering documentation in Australia, and I'd like to say:

The tests shall: 1) verify connectivity, 2) test (performance and endurance) by ...

  The tests shall verify connectivity, and test performance and endurance by ...

Should I be using a serial comma to clarify grouping?


texts:
I'm trying to organise a series of items, depending on whether these are known, unknown or known incorrectly to the observer.

I don't like the "know incorrectly" formulation. Is there a single word describing this?

PS: it seems the question was unclear. I am referring here to "known" as in "recognised". So I am categorising the objects as "recognised", "unrecognised" or "incorrectly recognised". (eg. you see the Eiffel Tower and shout "Look! The Bamiyan Buddha is still standing!")


texts:
For example,

  A mother passes on her mitochondrial DNA to her daughter, who then passes it on to her daughter, _________.

Some phrases that come to mind are and so on/fourth and et cetera, but these aren't specific enough (they can be used for non-iterative lists e.g. "I like fruits like apples, bananas, and so on").

Another phrase I can think of is ad infinitum, but that emphasizes length rather than repetitiveness.


texts: Sentence construction: "This and this yield/s"

texts:
I am writing the following sentence and would like to know which option is proper English (or if both are proper):

Option 1: Squaring both sides of (9) and dividing by 2 yields:
[math equation]

Option 2: Squaring both sides of (9) and dividing by 2 yield: [math equation]

So the issue is "yield" versus "yields." Option 1 sounds better to me as a native English speaker.  The sentence was actually written by my non-native co-author in the option 2 form.  This made me wonder which is correct. Option 2 might be validated because both things together can be viewed as plural. Option 1 might be validated because the procedure of both things together is singular. Or perhaps both options are fine?

[Note that the "(9)" in the sentence refers to a numbered equation given earlier in the paper.]


texts: Adjectives used with intransitive verbs in lieu of adverbs

texts: I certainly wouldn't argue that "I feel good" should be replaced with "I feel well," but I have forgotten what we used to call the adjective in this type of construction.  Adjective predicate?  Adjective nominative?  Phrasal adjective?


texts: Why can't "thanks" ever be singular as a noun?

texts:
While looking at the part of speech of the noun "thanks" in an online dictionary I noticed that it was a plural noun and wondered if it could be used in singular form. Glancing at the origin it appears that the old English word "thanc" was once used as the singular form of this noun. I assume it would be appropriate at that time period to say "I have a thank!" if you felt thankful for a single thing instead of being limited to always say "I have thanks!" as we do in modern English.

Nowadays, I believe we only use the plural form "thanks" as the noun in all cases. We can never have a single "thank". Instead we can only have "thanks"! I find this odd! It would make sense to have kept the singular form of the noun. Often we are grateful for a single action or event and it seems more accurate to have a single "thank" rather than many "thanks".

Is there any known specific background history as to why this is?


texts: Term or phrase for False etymology explanations

texts: I'll try to make this make sense.  I have heard of examples of people who take a word and wrongly explain its origin, usually in a way that makes sense; it is perfectly feasible for the word or phrase to have developed that way, but is not based on actually evidence of the word developing and is sometimes shown to have been borrowed from another language, entirely unrelated.  This is often done by hobby linguists (not a slur). Is there a term for when this happens and does anyone have any examples?


texts: Have Americans stopped using adverbs ? eg "Eat healthy" instead of "Eat healthily"

texts:
I live in the UK and generally a word that adds flavour or describes a verb , will have the adverb ending applied
eg run quickly (not run quick) , eat healthily (not eat healthy) etc

But when I watch the many US TV shows on in the UK, I almost never hear Americans using adverbs in this way. They just seem to use the adjectival form of the word.

This seems to be so common as to be standard in the US. Is this viewed as correct speech in the US ?


texts: What is the difference between "vice" and "deputy"?

texts:
I know 'vice' and 'deputy' both mean "next in rank".  In Merriam-Webster, we have these definitions:

vice:
one that takes the place of vice-chancellor

In comparison to:

deputy:
a person appointed as a substitute with power to act
a second in command or assistant who usually takes charge when his or her superior is absent; specifically : deputy sheriff

So the two have clearly similar meanings, suggesting a person who does not normally carry the full responsibility of a given position, but who can perform those same duties as required or directed to.  Also, there are towns with Vice Mayors, and other towns with Deputy Mayors.
Can anyone tell their difference, such as usage or anything else?  Are they completely interchangeable and merely a matter of of a particular organization's preferences?


texts: Are the words 'lawyerly' and 'loyally' homophones in BrE?

texts: In American English there is a clear difference, but do the words 'lawyerly' and 'loyally' actually sound the same in British English?


texts: 'Dim as dishwater', or 'dim as ditchwater'?

texts:
Is the normal expression 'as dim as dishwater' or 'as dim as ditchwater?

When you google this it comes up as 'dull as dishwater/ditchwater'.

There is a difference between being 'dim' and being 'dull'.

The former means lacking in intelligence and sharpness, what Americans might call 'dumb'. The latter means uninteresting.

So which is it - dim as dishwater/ditchwater - dull as dishwater/ditchwater?


texts:
I'm wondering if there's a word out there for me. I think that a clever use of a prefix would do as well.

So, to revive means to make alive, and to kill means to make dead. Is there a word that means to toggle someone or something's life/death status?

Alternatively, and I know that this is a long shot, but I could use a word or phrase that means changing one's mind (or pronunciation) regarding the life/death status of inanimate objects (or living things).

Related: is there a medical term for disagreement about a patient's life/death status?

Is there a natural prefix that means 'toggle' or 'switch'?

Is there a word that means life/death status, similar to how 'beatitude' might describe blessed/unblessed status?

EDIT: I'm going with 'transanimate'. Thanks for the help!


texts:
Is the verb 'assemble' sloppily used as 'convene' here:

  link 1
  "Mr. Husseini was speaking at a hastily assembled news conference in the mainly Palestinian Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, after the closing of the media center in the nearby Ambassador Hotel. "

  link 2
  "At a hastily convened news conference on Sunday, the deputy ISAF commander, Lt. Gen. Adrian Bradshaw, read a brief statement that did little to clarify what happened between the ISAF and Afghan National Army, or ANA, soldiers."

Dictionaries suggest "to convene a group of people" and "convene a conference/meeting" are okay.  But only "to assemble a group of people" okay, and not "to assemble a conference/meeting".


texts: difference between "have difficulties" and "find difficulty" ?! and also between "very" and "very much"

texts:
I had a test yesterday and 3 questions of the grammar part confused me a bit.

the first two are:

  We were in such a bad financial situation that we had difficulties ............. our bills each month.
  a) that pay / b) for paying / c) paying / d) to pay

and similarly :

  His plays are so elaborate and difficult to understand that even the critics find difficulty......them.
  a) explain / b) explaining / c) to explain / d) with explain

well I chose the gerund form of the verb for both questions ("paying" and "explaining") and my question here is whether there is any difference between them or not?! why is one of them "difficulties"(plural) and the other one "difficulty"(singular) ?!

the other question is:

  Britain's trade position has been ............ weakened by inflation.

among the answer choices there were "very" and "very much" ... and I chose very much but still don't know what's the difference in here. and if there really is.. what is it?!


texts: What is the correct word that has similar meaning to "underestimator"?

texts:
I am looking for a word to convey the meaning of

a person who likes underestimating others (such as never trust others because he/she assumes that they are not competent, etc.)

I know "underestimator" does not exist. So what is the correct word?
Edit
He is a(n) ______________ because he often underestimates others at the first time.


texts: Term for misspelling used as pun of another word

texts: What is the term for a common or potential pun of another word using a misspelling? For example, I thought the made-up word bikery was a funny sort of play on the word bakery. What, therefore, would bikery be called in relation to bakery?


texts:
Eating garlic has long been considered as a means for warding off malaise.
Eating garlic has long been considered as a means of warding off malaise

Which example is preferred and why? Many thanks.


texts: What do you call someone who reviews, and approves or denies, an application?

texts:
The person who applies is called the applicant. What is the correct term to use for the one on the other side of an application? [such as a job application]

In my case, the applicant applies to be promoted as say, a super user. I want to know what is the correct way to name the one who approves or denies the application.


texts: Which preposition to use in “communication [over, by, through, via, with] email”?

texts:
Which of these is most correct, and why?

Our team kept in constant communication over email.
Our team kept in constant communication by email.
Our team kept in constant communication through email.
Our team kept in constant communication via email.
Our team kept in constant communication with email.


texts: To capitalize or not quoted text after be form

texts:
Which one is correct:

According to Speechpad, transcription is "A text document that contains a transcript of everything that is spoken in an audio or video file."

or

According to Speechpad, transcription is "a text document that contains a transcript of everything that is spoken in an audio or video file."


texts:
Is it grammatically correct to say...

He makes others want to be a better person.

If so, what about...

He makes others want to be better persons.

This sounds a bit off to me, but it seems grammatically correct. If I use 'better people' instead, it's sounding much off by becoming somewhat distant/impersonal, so I'm not considering that.
If both ways are correct, what's the difference?


texts: How should Samuel Beckett's French "En attendant Godot" be capitalized in MLA?

texts:
Wikipedia capitalizes the title of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot as En attendant Godot in its original French version, which is how the title of the play is originally typeset. However, according to MLA formatting (MLA Handbook, Eighth Ed.),

  Whenever you use the title of a source in your writing, take the title from an authoritative location in the work, not, for example, from the cover or the top of a page. Copy the title without reproducing any unusual typography, such as special capitalization or lowercasing of all letters.

It then continues by describing which words to capitalize, concurrent with standard title case. I plan on capitalizing the title to be En Attendant Godot by the rules stated above, but I am wondering if there are any different rules for titles in languages other than English. For example, I know that Spanish titles often only capitalize the first word, but I don't know the MLA rules in Spanish, either.

Edit: I have found that the last few pages of the English version Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts gives the following:

  WAITING FOR GODOT was first presented (as En Attendant Godot) at the Théâtre de Babylone, 38 Boulevard Raspail, Paris, France, during the season of 1952–3.

The only reason I still cannot fully justify that capitalizing or not capitalizing either is correct is because the play itself could have been capitalized differently than the book. I really have no idea.


texts: What is a good word to descibe someone who refers to you as the expert in a sarcastic way

texts:
Background:

My job description is subject matter expert for a particular business topic.  This person is a manager in same field but at a high level, not process and procedures.  My expertise has to do with complex regulations.

I answered an employee question with an incorrect answer once and he's never let me forget it.  Now whenever someone tells him to come and ask me something particular, he makes comments like "Yes let's ask _ _ _ _ _ she's the expert." I've overheard him more than once and sometimes will add to the phrase by saying "on everything."

I only offer information when asked.  I don't push it on anyone, and am sensitive of being perceived as a know it all.  I guess this is why it bothers me.  I'd like speak to him about this but looking for that one word that describes how I perceive his remarks.


texts: Difference between amnesty and exonerate

texts:
Amnesty is a noun meaning:

  an official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offences

Whereas exonerate is a verb meaning:

  (of an official body) absolve (someone) from blame for a fault or wrongdoing

What is the difference between the two? Is amnesty used exclusively for political pardons only?


texts: Is it correct to say "It was not happened"? I have heard people saying "It was not happening" or "It didn't happen" but "It was not happened" is new to me.


texts: What skews our evidence about 19th century English writing?

texts:
Edit
As jsw29 explained in his way better English, answers below answered a different question, not the one I want.

This explanation of what makes our evidence about 19th century English skewed is highly convincing, but it accounts for only a part of the phenomenon that the OP is asking about. It does not explain why EVEN the highly educated, among themselves, speak nowadays much less formally than their counterparts in the 19th century.

Detail
I want writing for ordinary laypeople, so I picked old Canada newspapers for boondocks like Saskatchewan that doesn't use ten-dollar words. I never study linguistics or literature.
Aurora Daily Express - Aug 9, 1898

1888 Nov 14 edn. of Daily Colonist


texts: Is the complement considered a part of the predicate?

texts: Is the complement a part of predicate? For example, in the sentence: "He was the strangest person she had ever met" - "he" is the subject, "was" is the link word and "the stangest person she had ever met" is the complement. But at the same time, everything in a sentence apart from the subject, apart from the complete subject to be exact, is considered a predicate. On the basis of this can we say that complement is a part of predicate?


texts:
What did "bully" mean in the 1800s?

When describing how good his field is, a young man wrote:

  My buckwheat looks first-rate, and the oats and potatoes are bully.

Source: Harper's Weekly, September 2, 1865


texts: which one is better: "discussed" or "will be discussed"?

texts:
"Ratios are discussed in the next section"
"Ratios will be discussed in the next section"

(1) Are both versions acceptable? If so, (2) Is one preferable? and (3) Is there any significant difference in meaning?


texts: What does “E!” mean in the phrases, a show “makes the debut Sunday E! sets in motion,” and “premiers on E! April 21”?

texts:
I came across a new interjection (seemingly) “E!” in the following sentence of the Washington Post (April 18) article titled, “Ryan Lochte, Ke$ha and the rules for celebrity reality shows”.

  Ryan Lochte’s bold personal style: The Olympic swimmer’s reality series “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?” premires on E! April 21.

  This week marks the debut of two such shows. Sunday, E! sets in motion “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?,” a look at the Olympic swimmer who
  made headlines at last year’s London games — not so much for his
  victories and friendly rivalry with teammate Michael Phelps as for a
  flurry of awkward interviews and self-deluded sound bites
  (trademarking the frat-thusiastic phrase “Jeah!”) that gave him a
  party-boy reputation.

What does “E!” mean? Is it an interjection or a capital letter for something associated with TV entertainment programs?

Additionally, is “Jeah” similar with “gee / jee”? Is the word, “ frat-thusiastic” which I presume to be a compound of “fraternity + enthusiastic” (Pls. correct me if I’m wrong) a current English word, or just a coinage by the author?


texts: Is "mutually exclusively" the correct adverb form of "mutually exclusive"?

texts:
In the term "mutually exclusive", I assume the word "mutually" is an adverb for the auxiliary verb "to be", but the whole term acts as an adjective. If I want to use the whole term as an adverb, can I say "mutually exclusively"?

Example: "The two software packages can only be installed mutually exclusive[ly]."


texts: What are you listening "into" or what are you listening "to"?

texts:
I was reading a text in which there was written:

In the process of learning a language it's so important that what you are listening to and reading is interesting and has a sort of resonance whit you.

I am confused now because this kind of sentence usually appears with into.


texts:
Merriam-Webster reads:

Main Entry: liq·ui·date
Pronunciation: \ˈli-kwə-ˌdāt\
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): liq·ui·dat·ed; liq·ui·dat·ing
Etymology: Late Latin liquidatus, past participle of liquidare to melt, from Latin liquidus
Date: circa 1575
transitive verb
1 a (1) : to determine by agreement or by litigation the precise amount of (indebtedness, damages, or accounts) (2) : to determine the liabilities and apportion assets toward discharging the indebtedness of b : to settle (a debt) by payment or other settlement
2 archaic : to make clear
3 : to do away with
4 : to convert (assets) into cash
intransitive verb
1 : to liquidate debts, damages, or accounts
2 : to determine liabilities and apportion assets toward discharging indebtedness

  Dissidents were all liquidated or driven into exile.

Where does this connotation of the verb 'liquidate' come from?


texts: What is the Japanese equivalent for francophile?

texts: Similar to this question, what is the term used to refer to people who like Japan or Japanese culture?


texts: Why didn't the pronunciation of "boor" change in a similar way to "poor"?

texts:
I have a South African colleague who pronounces "poor" as pooeur and I find it fairly humorous given I never hear it pronounced that way. Of course, pooeur, at some stage, would have been the general pronunciation of poor. This colleague also recently pronounced "boor" as booeur. Again, this stood out for its difference to what I would normally hear.

For curiosity's sake, I decided to check a range of online British English dictionaries (since they are the de facto standard for Australian English) to compare the pronunciation of "poor" and "boor" and what I found was quite surprising.

Despite por being listed as the general pronunciation of "poor" in (most of) the dictionaries, booeur was preferred over bor for "boor" (and usually also the only listed British pronunciation).

Pronunciation of "poor", according to the dictionaries

Cambridge Dictionaries Online: /pɔːr/
Collins: /pʊə/, /pɔː/
Macmillan: /pɔː(r)/, /pʊə(r)/
Oxford Dictionaries and the OED: /pɔː/, /pʊə/
Macquarie (Aus): /pɔ/

Pronunciation of "boor"

Cambridge Dictionaries Online: /bʊər/
Collins: /bʊə/
Macmillan: /bʊə(r)/
Oxford Dictionaries and OED: /bɔː/, /bʊə/
Macquarie (Aus): /bɔ/, /bʊə/

Questions

This, then, makes me wonder:

Why has the pronunciation of "poor" changed more than that of "boor"? Does it come down to word frequency?
Do these pronunciations accurately reflect how the word is generally pronounced by the general population, British or otherwise?


texts: Recently, I read on the reddit sentence: "Grinned from ear to ear when I heard it". I would like to ask why there is no subject at the beginning of "I". Is this something acceptable, is it normal for colloquial language? I understand the sentence, but the subject is missing, in my opinion.


texts: What is the adjective for the attitude displayed in this situation?

texts:
I'll describe a situation that might sound random and sudden, but I'm sure we keep seeing now and then; I'd like to know if there's any suitable adjective that you can think of. 'Oily' and 'smarmy' were suggested by a friend, but perhaps there is a better word?

Say I donate an expensive machine to a nearby grocery shop, or I perform some huge and helpful favour that really makes them indebted to me. They, out of gratitude, offer to keep giving me free products. I insist otherwise, that they mustn't be so conscious of me, and that I insist on paying each time. One day I buy something and don't have the whole amount. I sweetly request them if it's okay by them if I pay the remainder in the evening. They know I'm good for it, it's obviously okay with them, a ridiculous request perhaps, and even I know that they'll say yes. Nevertheless I have a polite and humble way of asking for the credit. It's not a genuine query, but I still make it sound like I'm earnestly requesting.

Any adjective for the forced humility/politeness in such a situation where one knows one can't be refused? Perhaps similar 'benefit of doubt' is displayed by superstars — say, when Tom Cruise walks up to a hotel rece and says "Excuse me. Hi, my name is Tom Cruise..."


texts: "The way [the] control of the behemoth would be shared"

texts:
Sechin strictly follows Putin's instructions but also appears to influence the president. Industry sources say that in 2005 Sechin blocked plans that Putin had blessed for Rosneft to merge with Gazprom (GAZP.ME) because he did not like the way control of the behemoth would be shared.

Source.

Why do you think the author didn't use a definite article with control?


texts: Word describing a self-indulgent, moralizing, but ultimately phony/nonsensical attitude

texts:
I'm probably going to turn people away with this example, but this is what I'm thinking of, so here goes:
Imagine a meeting at a university. Several well-paid university administrators gather around a table with a collection of student leaders who have been pushing for more "inclusion". The student president stands up perfectly erect and says self-assuredly, "We are well aware of the systematic emotional violence enacted against students of color. We see it every day. One is well aware of the trauma they feel. One is well aware of the dispossession they feel. One is well aware of the tears that have fallen resulting from this violence. As a student of color, I have felt this pain in my own life. I know how it feels to be oppressed... And though much has been done, there is still much more to do because, like the serpents that swing down from the trees, so too does white supremacy so often rear its ugly head. We must fight racism, inequality, and injustice no matter where we stand. We must fight privilege no matter who we are."
After her triumphant speech, the doe-eyed administrators nod in unison, seemingly amazed by her cliched remarks. And the student-body president who had spent all day in meetings hosted by a university "system" that was "hostile" to her, sat down with a look of satisfaction.

So what word would describe the participants in this meeting? What word would describe the situation or atmosphere?
Corporate board meetings have a similar feeling, if that's an experience you're familiar with. Especially when bureaucrats take turns telling each other how much good their company does for the world, each person inflating the ego of each other as he speaks.
It's like the atmosphere is a bubble waiting to be pricked by someone a bit brash. The language used by the student president is so over-the-top so as to be almost laughable. Maybe "sanctimonious" describes it? Having your "head up your ass" seems like the colloquial phrase for it.


texts:
Merriam-Webster and Oxford seem to suggest that we can offload things, not people, yet "offloading a passenger" is quite prevalent in Philippine English. Is it a phrase that somebody from the inner circle of English speakers would use?

Thanks a lot!

Here are two examples

  ABS-CBN News - Melissa Mendez offloaded after 'punching flight attendants'

  Daily Mail - American Airlines makes emergency landing to offload vomiting female passenger in Texas amid fears she has Ebola... despite not having been in Africa


texts: In a jet cockpit: "console" or "instrument panel"?

texts:
What is the correct term for the panel containing standard indicators such as the altimeter and airspeed indicator in a jet aircraft cockpit? Is it called console or instrument panel, or are both terms equivalent?

From reading on the subject, it looks like console refers to an individual set of instruments (one for pilot, another for co-pilot), but I don't know if this is correct.

EDIT

I'm looking for the term used by a civilian pilot of a private jet.


texts: I'm looking for a word for when someone is making you feel obligated because of a favor they have done for you earlier

texts: "Stop milking that favor" and "stop making me feel obligated" are two expressions I've heard so far. Though I'm not sure about their correctness. I was wondering if you could suggest an alternative. Thanks.


texts: Words and idioms for someone who loves to sit in judgment of others

texts:
What single words and idioms would best describe someone who loves to sit in judgment of others, almost making it a hobby to become a nitpicker. They are aware but un-acknowledging of their own deficiencies and of their non-eligibility as critics. They are overly critical of others, yet vehemently intolerant of any criticisms directed to them. I guess it is a combination of spite, rudeness and lack of insight. But they are not stupid.

As examples you could imagine an unaccomplished reality TV judge (I’m not sure what credentials they possess) being spiteful and mean. This may not be a very good example because sometime the judges put on a veneer of [this attribute] for ratings? Or say a colleague at work who feels threatened by your skills?  Or a meddlesome neighbour perhaps who is jealous of your success?

Edit: Having considered the responses so far one apt overarching word I think is hostile, but perhaps there are better words or idioms? Another word that applies perhaps is caviling.


texts: What, exactly, is the point of beginning a sentence with "Well..."?

texts:
Sample conversation:

  Person 1:  What did you think of the movie?
  Person 2:  Well, the acting was great, but the plot was terrible.

What does "well" actually add to the body of the sentence?  I have never heard any sentence spoken or written whose meaning was absolutely dependent on beginning with "well".

It seems akin to an "um" or "uh", serving as a vocal void filler while the speaker collects their thoughts and puts their words together before actually speaking them.

If that's the case, why do people actually type it?  People clearly have time to think about what they're going to say before posting a comment on a blog or replying to an email.  Has it become a sort of accepted language anomaly much in the same way Midwesterners like to say things like "Where did you put it at?"


texts: Single word to denote "immunity from scrutiny"

texts: Is there a single word which denotes immunity from scrutiny or criticism? It would be something with mostly negative connotations, implying some dogmatic or intolerantly axiomatic context which excuses a certain idea or idea bearer from being scrutinized.


texts:
Never mind the laconic title. It's incontrovertibly a word. What I'd like to know is whether the little bugger has ever been recorded by lexicographers. I've ruffled a dozen dictionaries to no avail, and in COCA there is only one entry - and it's a scanning error._.

I am not interested in the flippant usages of this ilk:

"something like":

dude thats a glitch or somelike a bug.
I already pulled the eye out of the tentacle and know it turn into a water snake or somelike that so please help me

"someone like that":

It reminds me of that other little 7-year old or somelike who was all pumped up and freaky.. (forum post)

However, the following usage (as a pronoun and an adjective) is perhaps more interesting. It might even be dialectal.

"something like that" or perhpaps "somesuch":

Given how big CA is, we may need to split things up into southern/northern or somelike. (Chris Allen from California, in a Church Music Association of America forum post)

"somesuch":

always have an axe or a broom or somelike item on the counter (Texas Cotton Farmers on the Southern Prairies, Google Books)

Ultimately, this source, written in the academic/scientific register, is what led me to further investigation:

Laycock then lauched into fwther speculation based on his ideas related to diathesis and considered the exudates and degenerations in the lung were similar to those of rheumatic origin in which lactic acid played a part, but
the lactic acid was further metabolised into carbon dioxide and water. Let us suppose, said Laycock, there was an excess of lactic acid or somelike acid and the ordinary decomposition or metabolism interrupted then an irritant is brought into contact with the bronchial mucosa, would be like inhaling chlorine. (The Life and Work of Thomas Laycook 1812-1876)

Yet even I myself have hazarded on a chance occasion the use of somelike. I like this un-word. I like it more than somesuch (except when written, as is commonly done, as a phrase, some such), and think that they are more than slightly nuanced.

So, given that the word is clearly used, has it ever been recorded by lexicographers? Can anyone point me to a dictionary that includes it?


texts:
In Napoleon Hill's "Think and grow rich" there is a sentence, which I do no understand

  I believe in the power of desire backed by faith, because I have seen
  this power lift men from lowly beginnings to places of power and
  wealth; I have seen it rob the grave of its victims [...]

What does rob the grave of its victims mean in this context (how can the power of desire rob someone's grave) ?


texts: What’s wrong with saying “Your book inside”?

texts:
Let’s say you have a box, and you have a book inside it. You can attach a paper on it saying “Book” or “Book inside”. Now, if you’re sending it to someone and you write a note on it, you would say, “Your book is inside.”

Why would saying your book inside be wrong? Either way you’re labelling the object.

If on your note you wrote “your book: inside” or  “your book – inside”. Those seem fine because they have a sign. Why is that? Is it because it just sounds better?


texts: Present perfect and simple past in same sentence "have" and "had"

texts:
I have seen the other questions similar to this topic, but they all explain how the sentence is in present perfect and simple past. My question is, I would like to know why, or what the grammatical reason the use of both the words 'have' and 'had' is correct for the same subject ('it' is the subject here):

"Not only did it have XYZ, it also had ABC."

Note, ABC and XYZ can be swapped and both ABC and XYZ hold true all the time eg, "not only did it have cruise control/automatic windows, it also had automatic windows/cruise control".

What are the grammatical rules allowing this? Note I am not saying it is breaking any rules, rather, I'm asking why don't we say "have" twice, or "had" twice.
Thanks


texts: A word for a group of people in a church

texts:
Is there a a single specific  word  for a the group of people when they assist at Mass in a church?

Religious assembly  (Ngram) is a common expression whose usage appears to have been decreasing in the last decades.

The term I am looking for may fit also to other religious contexts as long as it refers to people who gather for an official religious rite.

Synonyms like: convocation, ingathering, meeting, etc. do not sound appropriate.


texts: vocabulary question: manners vs. mannerisms

texts:
"It is a good mannerism to reply for a message".

Is this sentence right? If so then why? Which one should be used in the above line — "good mannerism" or "good manners"?


texts: What verb could I use to mean "make less anxious"?

texts:
What verb could I use to mean "carry out the appropriate actions to make them less anxious"?

I thought of using to calm, but this doesn't explain what the current state of emotion (being anxious) is.

To clarify, I am looking for a verb that is used most often with the nuance of "making less anxious". I understand that anxiety has various causes such as fear, lack of confidence, or just plain medical reasons.

What I hope is to find a verb that addresses anxiety as a whole (perhaps one used most often in this context), and not individual causes of anxiety.

Perhaps if the verb is used in a sentence, "we are trying to [verb] the people", most listeners will tend to understand that people are in a state of anxiety, rather than in fear, uncertainty, anger, or pain.


texts: Is "sonars" (plural) a word? I am not finding it in the online dictionaries, and I don't have access to my trusty "real" dictionary. Thanks in advance.


texts: Is the apostrophe (') supposed to be omitted in names like 'King's Cross', 'King's Singers'?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Is it common for place names to lose the possessive?

I've always thought it should be 'King's Cross, London' as in a possessive sense. However the wiki page for King's Cross uses 'Kings Cross' in the title and 'King's Cross' throughout the article, and this newspaper article uses 'Kings Cross' throughout. And Google result for 'The King's Singers'  returns a page title that reads:

  The Official Kings Singers Website :About Us - The King's Singers

I've also seen other names like 'St Albans' or 'Harrods'. I thought these names are also possessive, as in 'Saint Alban's (city)' or '(Mr.) Harrod's (department store)', but the apostrophe seems routinely dropped. I thought maybe there is a rule that says 'drop the apostrophe if it's a proper name for some geographic location or shop name, etc', but 'Sainsbury's' seems to keep the apostrophe more often than not.

So I'm quite confused: am I expected to omit the apostrophe when spelling these names, or what? If yes, what's the rule to follow?


texts: If someone thinks like you, can he or she be your 'alter ego'?

texts:
Wikipedia explains alter ego thus:

  An alter ego (Latin, "the other I") is a second self, which is
  believed to be distinct from a person's normal or original
  personality. A person who has an alter ego is said to lead a double life.

So, alter ego sounds more like an identity disorder. But I remember reading somewhere that a person who thinks like you and has the same views and perceptions as you do, can be called your alter ego.

I would like to know if this term can be used to describe someone whose thoughts and behaviour usually match yours?


texts: Is there a word that represents both a rant and a musing?

texts:
Today, I unconsciously used the word 'pseudo making sense'.
But what I had really been looking for, was a word that combines 'rant' and 'musing'. In this particular case, I was saying something that was probably scientifically baseless or a half-truth for the purpose of humor and reflection.

I feel this is already something done a lot and I'm wondering if there's any such word that fits the particular case of creating humor and 'food for thought' with a short writing.


texts: How to express that I don't need more comparisons for my thesis?

texts:
I defined a vast set of experimental settings and created charts for their respective performances as part of my Master's thesis. I compare three sets of two settings in my evaluation to answer my research questions. My advisors asked me to address why I only have three comparisons when I could've compared so much more. Here's my attempt at doing so:

  We refrain from additional comparisons of experimental settings and their carts because the ones presented above are sufficient to sustain our core hypotheses.

English is not my native language and I'm not confident in my choice of "sustain" and "core hypotheses". I'm looking for confirmation on the choices I made or alternatives better suited to convey the intended meaning.


texts: ' I do think it will be a shame on your part ' - is it an accusation?

texts:
I was just having an 'email fight' with someone, since when I asked him to modify the terms of a call, he responded to me: ' I do think it will be a shame on your part as by not...', which I interpreted as a strong accusation/insult, something like 'shame on you'.

Now this person is mentioning that this was a misunderstanding, so not sure, is the above an insult or not?


texts: A parent who has more than one child with one or more partners: "Poly-what?"

texts:
A polyglot is someone who can speak many languages; something that is polychromatic has many colours, and polysemy is a word or phrase with multiple meanings

If polygamy is  having  more than one wife or husband  at the same time, but a polygynist refers only to a man who has many wives. If  polyandry is having more than one husband and a polygamist is usually a man who has more than one wife at the same time.

What do you call a "multiple father" or "multiple mother", someone who has more than one child with the same partner? And what do you call a parent who has two or more children with two or more different partners?


texts: Is there a non-gendered term for manning a station, as in manning the desk? The only ideas I can come up with are "stationed at" the desk or other clunky things. Finding the right gerund would make my day.


texts: What do you call those areas in airports where people usually stand to see planes take off?

texts:
I'm referring to this:

I thought of pre-boarding platform or waiting area though I'm not very sure if I'm correct.


texts:
I ran across this clause and I’m wondering if it’s okay to use "adequately" and "well" together. I think of "well" as being more than adequate, so does "adequate" contradict or seriously undermine the word "well"? Is "well" even needed?

  ... a morass of interconnected pieces did the job adequately well ...


texts:
I am looking for a word to describe my feelings for a special place and time that cannot last. Specifically I seek a word to describe what I call a nostalgia for the future - the sentiment I would have if I live to see the loss of that which I find very special. In my case it is the beauty of the place and time in which I live: mountains, ocean, forests, birds and other wildlife, but I suspect many of us have this future nostalgic sense. Is there a word for this? If not, perhaps one can be invented.

Thank you.


texts: What is the meaning of "greasing the pan"?

texts:
In a tutorial, the instructor says:

  We've greased the pan, now it's time to pour in the batter.

The tutorial is technical (IT), and has nothing to do with cooking, so what is the meaning of the metaphor, and what other idioms could have been used instead?


texts: What does this symbol from Revolutionary War rolls mean?

texts:
We are transcribing Continental Army rolls & encountered this symbol numerous times. It really appears to mean "ditto" as in the "Rank" column, we'll see 'Private' with the next 4-5 entires below showing this symbol.

I've searched online but can't confirm. Can anyone help?


texts: What is the origin of the expression to "peter out" meaning to dwindle?

texts:
Ashes Wrap: Smith century sees Test peter out to draw.

Commentary Box 4th January 2018

Phrase.org gives a number of rather half-hearted attempts at establishing a possible origin of the expression. It refers to Peter the Apostle and his denial; it refers to saltpetre; and it makes a stab at linking the two together.

The only plausible part of its explanation is the suggestion that it comes from mining :

  When my mineral petered why they all Petered me. Now it is dig, dig, dig, drill, drill for nothing. My luck is clean gone - tapered down to nothing.

December 1845 Milwaukee Daily Gazette.

The AmE Ngram rises from 1860ish, a little earlier than the BrE, but both keep pace after that.

Where does this expression actually come from ?


texts: Can 'or' have a comma before it if it starts a dependent clause?

texts:
For example, is

  All I had to do was step out of my comfort zone, or in this case, be pushed out of it.

or

  All I had to do was step out of my comfort zone or in this case, be pushed out of it.

preferable? I think I know which one to use, but I would like to know why I would use it.


texts: Invoices status, Invoices statuses, Invoices' status or Invoices' statuses

texts:
According to this, statuses is the plural of status. However, I am not sure here which one to use, my logic is statuses is more proper as each invoice has different status. But seems awkward word or unpopular at least. Further, I'm not sure if I have to use the possessive s or not.

Example

  Invoices statuses have been updated accordingly.


texts: What are the possible structures that follow the phrase: let somebody know. For example, is "Let me know your opinion" correct?


texts: Word for a decaying and renewing system, like a coral reef

texts:
Jungles and coral reefs are built in a piecemeal way: parts of them are always decaying, being patchily replaced by the fresh new bits springing up. The whole ecology acts as a single discordant organism. Whenever I go to old cities I feel the same way — old flats being torn down and replaced by modern buildings, a medley built up over decades.

I’m looking for an adjective to describe something that has been built this way. Any ideas?

I thought “patchwork”, but that does not convey the time-dependency, the fact that it is a process.

Edit 1: In talking with someone about this, I was recommended the word “lapstrake”, which actually refers to a kind of boat, although I like the way it sounds.

Edit 2: I’d also think the word should also convey a sort of messiness, a discord.


texts:
This is one thing that keeps bugging me, and maybe there's a direct answer.
Grammatically, which one is more correct of these two?  Does it make a difference?

I tried not to do that.
I tried to not do that.


texts: Differentiating between "written" and "writing"

texts:
For some reason it is written and writing. It's confusing to me.

How can I remember to write them differently?


texts: Using "dear", "darling", or "honey"  to address a friend

texts:
As far as I know dear, darling, and honey are commonly used between lovers, but I suppose there are more words like that. What else is commonly used?

Which of these can be used to address a (close/not close) friend without sounding sarcastic or awkward?


texts:
1 ) I CAN hear a strange noise. What is it?
2 ) Some people are unlucky. Life CAN be very unfair.
I think could is used instead of can, but it isn't right. So I want to surely know it, what is difference between can and could'?


texts: What does "secret handshake" mean in the context?

texts:
I've read the following sentences from a book:

  I wanted it so bad, I’d throw myself into practicing but somehow never
  got good —while other kids who weren’t putting in nearly the same
  amount of dedicated time picked up the skills without seeming to sweat
  the details. Were they just … naturals? Did they have private
  teachers? Secret handshakes?

Does this phrase have a literal meaning?
I've tried to think that way, but it doesn't seem to make sense in this context.

I'd appreciate your help.


texts:
Why is "align" not spelt "aline" or, conversly, why is "line" not spelt "lign".

(I hope I'm not out of lign by asking this.)


texts: What does "play with your toy’s toys" mean?

texts:
The Law of Demeter (“talk only to your friends”) is a good place to start, but think about it this way: you can play with your toys, with toys that you make, and with toys that someone gives you. You don't ever, ever play with your toy’s toys.

Source: The Thoughtworks Anthology

What could the last sentence mean? Could a toy have a toy? Assuming a toy means "A toy is an item that is used in play", a toy can never have a toy, so one cannot play with a toy’s toys (it's physically not possible).

The context is object oriented programming.


texts:
In association football, rabona is used to describe a specific technique:

  a method of kicking the football whereby the kicking leg is wrapped around the back of the standing leg—effectively with one's legs crossed.

Do we have anything regarding the etymology and origin?


texts: Simply put, I'm looking for a word that would mean "That which defies the odds" or "he who defies the odds", or anything similar to that. It would have to be an adjective. Perhaps there isnt an english word for it? Thank you in advance!


texts: What is the difference meaning of the two sentences?

texts:
Mindy hung the picture over the book shelves that she painted last week.
Mindy hung the picture that she painted last week over the book shelves.


texts: What's difference between "I am usually doing something" and "I usually do something"?

texts:
I've read about difference between

  I always do something / I'm always doing something

and I got it

  I'm always doing something

means more often than usual, but what about the bottom example? Is it the same?

I usually do something.
I am usually doing something.


texts:
Style guides seem to agree that words referred to as words should be italicized or set in quotes. So:

The term critical mass is...

The CMOS 17th adds that proper nouns used as words are usually set in roman, giving this example:

You rarely see iPhone with a capital i. (Section 7.63)

I'm wondering more generally about references to names. Does it make sense to leave all the following names in roman?

Two men, both named Sam, were...
His name was Sam.
Call me Ishmael.
The girl called herself Peggy, though her name was Margaret.
She referred to the drink as a Manhattan Project and ordered two.


texts: When ordering a sandwich today, I said, "Could you give me a little lettuce and onions?" because I wanted small amounts of lettuce and onions. However, when I thought about it later, I wasn't sure if the use of "a little" applied to just the lettuce or both the lettuce and the onions. When you say you want "a little (1) and (2)," does that mean you want a small amount of (1) and a normal amount of (2), or small amounts of both?


texts: I will call somebody else, not neither him nor you

texts:
I have a sentence
I will call neither you nor him
I guess it means
I won't call neither you nor him
Out of it it's not clear whether I will call anyone at all but I want to say that I will call but among the people I will call there will be neither you nor him. Can I say it like
I will call somebody else, NOT neither you nor him
or should it be like
I will call somebody else, neither you nor him
I am worried NOT neither you nor him = 2 negations which is a bad grammar.


texts: How would one (formally) describe being socially able to say something because of membership in a certain group?

texts:
How would one formally describe being socially able to say something otherwise considered derogatory on the basis of one's membership of the group towards which the purported derogation would be directed?  For example, "I don't like Chinese food—it's OK, I can say that because I'm Chinese."

TV-Tropes terms this phenomenon "N-Word Privileges", but I (obviously) wouldn't say that in any kind of formal setting.


texts: What's the difference between "She came home angry" and "She came home angrily"

texts:
Are these two sentences grammatically correct?
What's the difference between them?

She came home angry
She came home angrily


texts: "it" as a true/logical subject or preparatory subject

texts:
I have a difficult time to analyse "it" as the true/logical subject or preparatory subject in a article, like this sentence:

In rejecting probability, and the larger area of mathematical statistics within which it belonged, China's statisticians discarded a large array of techniques, none more critical than the era's newest and most exciting fact generating technology—large-scale random sampling.

From Aeon article " Counting China"
Would you please help me understanding the it refer to...


texts:
Here comes  a very stupid question. I always wondered what type of grammatical phenomenon allows adverb phrases to be placed right next to each other repeatedly. So something like this.

  I ate a bag of popcorn [at 8'o clock] [in a movie theater] [to get rid
  of my hunger].

All the bracketed phrases are adverb phrases, and it seems to me that all of them modify verb "ate". Now here is the stupid part. Is the reason they are able to come right next to each other without any thing that actually connects them (for example, conjunction) because those adverb phrases modify the one that comes right next to them? I know for sure adverb phrases can modify other adverb phrases, just like how adverbs are able to modify other adverbs.

So "at 8'o clock" modifies "in a movie theater" and "in a movie theater" modifies "to get rid of my hunger". But all of them also modify verb "ate" at the same time. Is my explanation grammatical, or is it plainly wrong?


texts: What is the basic difference between "made of" and "made from." Both expressions are used in English. For instance, "This chair is made of wood," and "Cream is made from milk." Though the question is quite simple, I often confuse the two expressions. How do we differentiate them and what is the rule or logic behind their use?


texts:
Is the expression "I will refuse nothing that you ask of me" equivalent to saying "I will do everything that you ask of me" in a strict sense?

Thank you,