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There are many synonyms for asking a question. Is there one that means or implies that the person asking the question is skeptical and hopes to find the truth? It'd have to be in the form of a trait. For instance, integrity, honesty , etc. The closest I could think of is investigable . | Yes, that person is a "skeptic" and being "skeptical". | Is there a word that means the trait asking a question out of skepticism in hopes of finding the truth? | english |
There is this Reebok ad, "Life puts never in its place." What does it mean? Does it mean that in life you don't put anything in its place? that you don't take the easy way out? | For the primary overt meaning, never say never suffices. However, good slogans often have layers of meaning. The reader will come away with this phrase however hard they try to parse the slogan away from it: never in its place I suspect this is intentional, and has a special appeal to those who would like to see themse... | Life puts never in its place..? | english |
Imagine I'm looking at a photo containing a number of people's faces and I can't tell which one belongs to a certain friend of mine. I could ask him one of two things: "Which one is you?" or "Which one are you?" Which is correct? | 1.) Which one is you? 2.) Which one are you? Which is correct? * Both are "correct". They just have different subjects. . LONG ANSWER VERSION: Let's identify the subject of each interrogative clause, by using the verb's number as the indicator: 1.a) Which one is you? 2.a) Which one are you ? Notice that there is formal... | "Which one is you?" vs "Which one are you?" | english |
As the title says, which one is better? The entire phrase should be something like Any [request of modification/modification request] should be sent to the Manager first Thank you | Request for modification or Request to modify or Modification Request (is a little more ambiguous than the above two) Request of modification is incorrect usage. | "Request of modification" vs "modification request" | english |
Is there a single English word for an activity a person does to try and get closer to someone? This someone might be: Someone they get a crush on, so they're like trying to be her/his boyfriend/girlfriend. or: Someone they want to know deeper. Like what a teacher does to her student, a mum does to her kids, a friend do... | It might be a little old-fashioned but I think " courting " is probably the most appropriate choice. You might prefer (the also old-fashioned) " wooing ". | One word for an activity a person does to get close to someone | english |
In speaking of propositions, not buildings, are premise and premiss variant spellings of the same word, or are they different terms with different usages? The American Heritage Dictionary (3/e) gives premise as the main entry, with premiss as a variant spelling, which I've assumed was British. But one internet source a... | The OED has premiss only as a variant spelling of premise , and has a note "In Logic still freq. in form premiss , but in general use now usu. in form premise . (I can't find a date on the entry, but it includes a citation from 2000) " | Difference between "premiss" and "premise" | english |
In my home state, there is a statute regarding child seats. <code> § 20-137.1. Child restraint systems required. </code> (a) Every driver who is transporting one or more passengers of less than 16 years of age shall have all such passengers properly secured in a child passenger restraint system or seat belt which meets... | In a normal reading, it does not apply to your 11-year old, whatever their weight. What the lawyers would make of it in court is another matter. | Difficulty in interpreting a statute | english |
If odometer provides cumulative data. Then which type of data speedometer provides ? I mean that every measurement of that type of data is a separate value and do not depends on previous or next one in opposite to cumulative data. How we can describe this type of data in English? | The speedometer provides instantaneous data: it shows the value at that instant. When using GRIDc data, note that there are two types of data available: Instantaneous and Cumulative. Temperature is what we call instantaneous data. Instantaneous data does not require manipulation. In other words, at any given time, you ... | Antonym for cumulative | english |
For example; "No puppies were harmed in the making of this soda", implying that puppies are generally harmed in the production of soda, and thus casting the competition in a bad light. Is there a name for this? Is it maybe just a sneaky version of a straw man? | The suggestion/implication that soda's are made by harming puppies is exactly that: an implication, innuendo. In this case, there's a clear suggestion that other soda makers are doing something that might be illegal, so I'd use the word innuendo or insinuation over implication here (as implication is a more general and... | Name for logical fallacy of "implied guilt"? | english |
Here is a sentence from my article. Just wondering if there is anything wrong with having sentences which are too long. He created some data, put up some samples, initiated a sequence and finally, set up a Demo. I mean, the usage of too many commas in a single sentence. | There is no upper limit to the number of commas or words that can go into a sentence. Whether your individual sentence is too long depends entirely on whether your readers will be able to understand and fully comprehend its meaning. He created some data, put up some samples, initiated a sequence and finally, set up a D... | Grammar check on a sentence with one subject, many verbs in sequence, and no conjunctions between them | english |
1) I gained insight _ _ working practices of such companies 2) I gained insight _ _ how a software project is done from scratch | "Into" would be used in both of those examples. I'm not certain of the grammatical rules that govern it but the use of on rather than into would indicate a less detailed view. For example "I gained insight on the working practices of such companies" would be more taken to mean that you knew what the working practices w... | To gain insight (on/into). Two examples | english |
Grammaticists: I have a data set with many records and many fields (the records are rows of the spreadsheet and fields are columns). Each field has a name, for example income or town or home neighborhood . I am trying to refer to unusual values in the column called home neighborhood and the sentence I currently have is... | In cases of ambiguity like this (I assume this is mainly a documentation / bug reporting issue?), you could try simply using a qualifier, like data field or form field : There are problems with the "home neighbourhood" data field. You could also try to reword the sentence so there is less ambiguity: The field "home nei... | What is an alternate word I can use other than "field?" | english |
In a simplified view, there's a motor and a gearbox and when they both are connected the gearbox makes the motor work. You only can shift the gear when both motor and gearbox are disconnected. For this part, there's the clutch. The clutch is the connection between motor and gearbox. To engage means to fit two parts of ... | The expressions need to be considered in context here: The first example "Engage the clutch before selecting a gear." refers to pushing the clutch pedal inwards from its normal rest position, thereby engaging it. Releasing the clutch to move the vehicle forward has to be a smooth operation (not necessarily slow) to avo... | Why do you "let out the clutch" when you technically "engage" it? | english |
What is the verb in this sentence? The friends had to get the door open soon. I think it is open, but I am not sure. | Yes, "had to" is considered the verb here. The verb "had" typically indicates possession, but in this case it is actually a phrase that's used instead of the modal verb "must." It is actually the past tense of " have to ." So the sentence could be rewritten as, "The friends must get the door open soon." "get" is also a... | What's the verb in this sentence? | english |
When should 'the' be pronounced 'thuh' and when 'thee'? I heard that 'the' should be used as 'thee' before vowels and in some particular cases. All other cases should employ 'thuh'. What are the 'particular cases'? And when is 'a' pronounced 'eh' and when 'uh'? | The 'thee' sound is used in front of words starting with a vowel sound (of which 'United States' is NOT one) such as 'apple', 'elephant', 'ink', 'orange', and 'ultrasound device'. It is also used where one is called upon to distinguish a special instance of something. For example you might say to me 'I was speaking to ... | Pronunciation difference in The and A | english |
More and more often I read sentences such as the following: If you're not familiar with Miami's “Golden Era”, this film captures it brilliantly. If you're not aware of the basics, two teams of five players spawn on corners of a map. If you're not familiar with it, Pinboard is a bookmarking service that lets you save UR... | The examples in the OP's post: If you're not familiar with Miami's “Golden Era”, this film captures it brilliantly. If you're not aware of the basics, two teams of five players spawn on corners of a map. If you're not familiar with it, Pinboard is a bookmarking service that lets you save URLs. If you're not aware of ho... | Is "if you're not familiar with X, it is..." or "if you're not aware, X is..." correct English? | english |
I'm curious about when the English, in early modern period, first found out about texts such as Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon chronicles and realised it was an old version of English? Or did they always know about the history of the English language? When did linguistic studies of the English language begin? I mean, today we... | Oxford University has had a chair of Anglo-Saxon since 1795, about a century, I think, before the rediscovery of Beowulf. The first holder of the chair was Charles Mayo. A later holder, Joseph Bosworth, published what may have been the first major dictionary of the language, in 1838. But, apparently, according to recor... | Where can I find information about the history of the study of Old English? | english |
I was wondering if there is a word for "discrimination on the basis of education / area of expertise". What I mean is a word to describe someones attitude toward geeks of some kind. Example: I want to find a word that ungrounded feeling of inherent intellectual superiority toward a group of people with different educat... | It's not localized to education, but a term that might work is collective/group narcissism , which WP says to be a type of narcissism where an individual has an inflated self-love of his or her own ingroup The terms collective narcissism and group narcissism appear to be equal in popularity, yielding about 500 hits eac... | A word for discrimination based on education or area of expertise | english |
A friend of mine said "...I never saw you during school." For some reason I wanted to respond "Neither I you." I am certain I have heard this reply before, but, looking at it now, it does not seem grammatically correct. Is saying "Neither I you" correct? If not what would be the most concise to tell him that I had not ... | I find it comprehensible. I would not write it, but I could imagine myself saying it. I consider it an elliptical reduction like so: Neither [did] I [see] you. In one of the other answers we have: Nor did I see you. I probably wouldn't use that construction very frequently, but I don't think it is wrong. Probably the c... | Is "Neither I you" Correct? | english |
In finance, "short selling" or "shorting" is the practice of borrowing shares of stock and immediately selling them in hopes they will decline in value, allowing you to repurchase them later at a lower price, repay your debt (of stock), and walk away with a profit. More generally, one who stands to profit from the decl... | The terms sell short and short position seem to have arisen in US stock and commodity markets about 1850; the earliest use I have found is from The Merchant's Magazine, and Commercial Review , Vol. XXVI, Jan-Jun 1852, and it is already coupled with selling long : Note that the writer (somewhat disingenuously) equates s... | What is the origin of "long" and "short" in finance? | english |
Whether we like it or not, we mold ourselves to what society would have us. I don't understand what the society would have us . What is this structure? I've never come across this usage of have . | The sentence just omitted an implied verb at the end. Whether we like it or not, we mold ourselves to what the society would have us do . Whether we like it or not, we mold ourselves to what the society would have us be . | What is this usage of "have"? | english |
Which one of these sentences is correct? The contract will not be signed until you have checked the manuscript and confirmed that everything is ok. The contract will not be signed until you have checked the manuscript and confirm that everything is ok. | Either one could be correct: The contract will not be signed until you have checked the manuscript and [have] confirmed that everything is ok. or The contract will not be signed until you have checked the manuscript and [then/thereafter] confirm that everything is ok. I would say they could even be used interchangeably... | Until you have confirmed + past or present? | english |
What is the difference between: I have plenty of money/friends. I have a lot of money/friends. | "Plenty" is more about relative quantity. Regardless of the absolute quantity of friends/money/time/whatever, it's enough for what you need. Whereas "a lot" is a statement about a large absolute quantity without a judgment on the value of that quantity. E.g.: Me: I have fifteen dollars to spend on this dinner. You: Oh,... | Difference between "plenty of money/friends" and "a lot of money/friends"? | english |
Is it correct to use 'winning' or 'leading' when referring to the current state of a match/game? e.g. for a game between Patriots and Broncos in progress, if Patriots have scored higher points than Broncos, would it be correct to say that "Patriots are winning" or that "Patriots are leading"? | I take winning to express an expectation in the speaker that the current scores would lead them to win. I take leading to mean up in score but not necessarily in a way that implies winning. To give a somewhat clear (though perhaps not if you don't understand American football scoring example), If one team (Team A) has ... | What is the difference between "leading" and "winning" in a game? | english |
What is the difference between: they point their finger at the tree. and they point their fingers at the tree. Do they have different meanings? | It depends on how many people there are. As I'm sure you know, "their" in English is the possessive for a group of people or a single person. They point their finger at the tree. With multiple people, this would imply some sort of collective finger, meaning that they all point with a single finger across all of the peo... | they point their finger(s) at the tree | english |
I know that the apostrophe can be used to denote the omission of letters in a word, so I'm wondering then if 'em can be used to denote the colloquial shorthand for him , or if it would be more proper to use 'im (and that 'em is really just shorthand for them ). | I have only read or heard 'em used for them , though there is some disagreement in the comments (the discrepancy may be due to 'im and 'em sounding quite similar in speech). You are correct that 'im can be used for him , and if you insist on butchering the language even further, you can use 'er for her . However, keep ... | Is "'em" short for 'him', 'them' or both? | english |
An authentication is the action word for "to authenticate". "To disauthenticate" and "to unauthenticate" do not seem to exist (I might be wrong). So what is the most appropriate opposite action of an authentication ? Edit: As more precision has been requested, I'm more searching a name for the act of reversing/cancelin... | Authentication is seen as "entering the state of being authenticated." An opposite of authentication would essentially mean "entering the state of being unauthenticated". It is more common to refer to the specific process used and the specific context would determine the most appropriate variant. A few examples: Your s... | What is the opposite of "authentication"? | english |
This question was very interesting: stackexchange-url ("What do we call people who go to the gym?") Now I am wondering if there is a word for someone like me who works out at home . What I refer to is weight training, work with bars, HIIT (high intensive interval training) and some yoga or stretching exercises. | No, there is no such word. The closest would be "home training" or "home trainer" but I don't think it is extremely common and is likely to get confused with skill training at home or someone who comes to your home to train you in something. | What do we call people who work out at home? | english |
Here's the context, somebody has written this: Quiet workplace... then - all of a sudden, a loud voice; complaints, criticism, aggressiveness. Everyone's attention is drawn to an argument - and sometimes the spotlight is on the person being publicly executed. And I want to say something like, 'That paragraph is a bit m... | Perhaps theatrical characteristic of the theater; dramatic; esp. (in disparagement), melodramatic, histrionic, showy, or affected | Adjective meaning 'using creative prose/being poetic' | english |
I'm not a native English speaker but I'm always trying to do my best. Unfortunately I have a real problem with dates for some odd reason, I couldn't learn when was my birthday until I was 12 years old. Anyway, as I was learning names of the months on English, and since I know some Latin from high school I noticed that ... | You are entirely correct as to the Latin correlation! Centuries ago (somewhere around 753 BC according to Roman writers), there was the an early version of the Roman Calendar known as The Calendar of Romulus . (I'm not enough of a history buff to know exactly how widespread the calendar's usage was, but the Wikipedia a... | Names of some months don't make sense | english |
Allow me to clear the situation. I was talking with my professor about a piece of software that I had developed. While we were discussing, I wanted to say something like I don't want to sound too cocky, but my code is way much more efficient than what we have right now. But I didn't because I thought "I don't want to s... | To say the same thing, you can say I hope it won't be considered presumptuous to say this, but... or I don't want to sound presumptuous, but... Synonyms that you can substitute here for presumptuous are impertinent, overconfident, arrogant, bold, insolent, impudent, and of course the less formal sounding "cocky". To so... | A formal way to say "I don't want to sound too cocky..." | english |
In the sentence His ID card is missing, as well as his dog, Ian, though it's likely no-one will notice the latter. is it appropriate to remove the commas around "his dog, Ian,"? The sentence seems a bit clunky with, but it doesn't sound quite right without either. This: His ID card is missing. His dog, Ian, is as well.... | Perhaps the first, but not the second comma. I suggest 'His ID card is missing, as well as his dog Ian; though it is likely no-one will notice the latter'. Note I have replaced the comma after Ian with a semi colon. This is not essential, but there has to be some speech mark there in order to separate Ian from the seco... | Omitting commas around non-critical details | english |
I tried checking a few online dictionaries and can't get a feel for whether the word is generally used in a positive or negative sense. What is the connotation of "dissimulation"? | Its hard to say, simply because it's not at all a popular word anymore. The meaning indicates negativity, in the same way "half-truth" generally does, but I've never encountered it in general speech or common use. I had to look it up to make sure I knew what it meant! Apparently an essay by Francis Bacon, " Of Simulati... | Does "dissimulation" have a positive, negative, or neutral connotation? | english |
I just wanted to know what is the English full form of "RSVP", a word which we usually use on invitation cards? I read somewhere it's a French word. So I wanted to confirm if it has any English full form and if it does, what it is? I googled the same but didn't get the correct thing, so thought of asking here. | RSVP is indeed French and it stands for répondez s'il vous plaît . It literally means "please respond". RSVP is now a fixed idiom, even in French. If you spell it out in English, very few people will understand what you mean. You are better off keeping it as an acronym or coming up with something that is purely English... | What is the full form of RSVP? | english |
I understand what the sentence The house is a full day’s journey from here means, but I’m wondering what day’s is short for in this expression. It doesn’t match any pattern I know. A couple of examples: He’s = he is Let’s = let us Mary’s car = the car belongs to Mary Day’s = it sounds to me like something belongs to a ... | The fourth example is the correct interpretation of day's , but with two things to keep in mind. First, in your conclusion you flipped the words around incorrectly <code> * </code> ; the journey "belongs to" the day , not the other way around. You could re-write the sentence as: The house is a journey of a full day fro... | What does "day's" mean? | english |
I was reading an English children story to my niece the other day when I came across these phrases said by three different characters: I want a big, beautiful hat! I want a big, exciting computer! I want a big, expensive TV! Why is the first adjective big and not the adjective expressing an evaluation or opinion? I tho... | Commas between adjectives are typically used for adjectives from the same category: That was a very expensive, boring, useless conference. (Opinion adjectives) ?That was a very expensive boring useless conference. Adjectives from different categories are not usually separated by commas: She's just bought a beautiful ne... | Adjective order: Why is "big" before "beautiful"? | english |
Which one is correct? If I were him, I would doubt if she is serious about this relationship. If I were him, I would doubt if she was serious about this relationship. If I were him, I would doubt if she were serious about this relationship. I presume that (1) is definitely wrong but uncertain about (2) and (3). I see t... | Don’t get confused by the second if not being a conditional at all, but rather the version that means whether . Try changing your second if to either that or to whether for a clearer read. That just puts off the decision of what tense/mood to use. The issue there is that whether clauses could indeed historically trigge... | If I were him, I would doubt if she (is/was/were?) serious about this relationship | english |
Boy gives girl a kiss on the cheek. They approach a lamp post. For a moment, it looks as if they will pass it on opposite sides, but boy grabs girl's hand and pulls her around to his side of the post, to avoid getting 'bad luck.' Boy says, "Bread and butter!" What does 'bread and butter' mean in this situation? | This is a superstitious expression: Bread and Butter (superstition) "Bread and butter" is a superstitious blessing or charm, typically said by young couples or friends walking together when they are forced to separate by an obstacle, such as a pole or another person. By saying the phrase, the bad luck of letting someth... | What does "bread and butter" mean in this situation? | english |
What constructions allow a writer to preserve strict logical coherence and reduce redundancy when conjuncting two noun-phrases? Example Many cultures have used gold or silver bullion as a currency. That sentence could imply that many cultures have used gold - in any form - or silver - only when cast as - bullion, but I... | To avoid the first ambiguity, obviously you could write: Many cultures have used gold bullion or silver bullion as currency. Given that repetition of bullion disambiguates your current phrasing, this isn’t redundant (so, it meets the criteria in your question), but it isn’t the prettiest sentence going. To avoid the re... | What constructions enable a writer to preserve strict logical coherence and reduce redundancy when conjuncting two noun-phrases? | english |
March 24th 1789 In Europe I doubt whether you can; because our government gives it’s offices on it’s own knowledge of persons, and not on the recommendations of others. They give their diplomatic appointments with more caution too because of the distance at which they are to be exercised and the necessity which that in... | I understand you know what 'to induce' means. One must bear in mind that Thomas Jefferson was writing in the late-eighteenth century. The grammar forms which we take for granted, on both sides of the Atlantic, were not nearly as standardised and established as they are today. Having said all that, the way Jefferson use... | Meaning of "induce of" in letters by Thomas Jefferson | english |
What's the difference (or correct way of saying it) between the followings: "Review plan" vs "Review a plan" vs "Review the plan"? "Agree on plan" vs "Agree on a plan" vs "Agree on the plan" "Implementation of the plans" vs "Implementation of plans? vs "Implementation of plan"? I suppose it boils down to when do you ad... | This isn't an academic answer, but a practical one based on the English language as it is used. Review plan - this could be a name for an existing plan designed to review something. The name of the plan is 'Review Plan'. Or, it is shorthand or note form (perhaps in a 'To Do' list) Review a plan - referring to a plan (a... | When to add "the", "a" or when not to add "the" or "a"? | english |
Why does the place of the apostrophes differ in the following two titles? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two's_complement en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ones'_complement Which one is the correct? | Grammatically all the following are correct: Two's complement = complement of a single 2 Twos' complement = complement of a number of twos (plural) One's complement = complement of a single 1 Ones' complement = complement of a number of ones (plural) The wikipedia articles describe two's complement and ones' complement... | Apostrophe difference (Ones' and Two's Complement) | english |
Reading through the Heinz's ketchup bottle, I noticed that their tagline, Grown Not Made could mean something totally different and opposite to it's intended meaning i.e. Grown Not , Made and Grown , Not Made . Questions: Is grown not made correct English (although it's not necessary)? Can that statement, as mentioned ... | The statement “Grown Not, Made” I believe is not grammatically correct. The opposite of “Grown, Not Made” would be “Not Grown, Made”. I.e., “not” is placed before the word to be negated, which is why the original statement without the comma works. | Is "grown not made" correct English and can it have a totally opposite, to the intended, meaning? | english |
I got this sentence from a book, but i don't understand it: Orgasm gets the lion's share of her attention. | The lion's share is the biggest part of something. So the sentence claims that "she" pays more attention to (reaching) orgasm than to anything else. The exact implication of that depend of course on context. I imagine this is not likely to describe someone's attitude to her job or the fact that she likes cooking. | What's the meaning of following sentence | english |
What is "the thing that, in its simplest form, has a receiver and a button, and we use to open the door when somebody rings the door bell" called in English? When I'm speaking English I almost always ask somebody to answer the door or I answer the door myself but today I was thinking, what is that "thing" exactly calle... | Broadly, these devices are called Intercom s . More specifically, the one used to answer the door is called the door-phone. There are differences in terminology used in various countries for the same product. AiPhone (Australia) calls it the 'Intercom'. Samsung markets similar systems in the US as ' Door Phones .' | The thing that we use to remotely open the door in English | english |
Is the following sentence right or should I use "changes" ? The present study aimed at quantifying the change in surface air temperature and monthly total rainfall Here, by change I meant upward/ downward trend or no trends or any other type of patterns in the distributions of temperature and rainfall | Personally, as someone who has written scientific papers, I would leave it as you have it written now. Note, none have the changes . Projected changes in surface air temperature... We first update our analysis of surface temperature change based on... (PNAS) The Effects of Temperature Changes on Salivary Amylase Activi... | "Change" or "Changes" | english |
I'm wondering if there is a term that describes any given physical device that is a "spiritual" combination of two other devices. Meaning, it mimics the form and function of both parent devices. Examples: Spork (combination of a spoon and a fork) Halberd (combination of a staff and an axe) Calculator Watch (combination... | I would propose the term hybrid : hybrid - a thing made by combining two different elements; a mixture By analogy from agriculture, it could casually be called a cross , as in a cross between A and B where A and B (… Z) are its components. A mattock is a cross between a pick and an adze. In certain fields, notably musi... | Word that describes devices which are combinations or two other devices? | english |
Is there any other way of saying 'unlimited time'? We are giving away a product for free for unlimited time. The actual sentence looks like these: Now FREE for Unlimited Users for Unlimited Time. Do I have to add an 'an' before unlimited or just leave it as it is? Or, is there any other way of saying 'unlimited time'? | You may consider: It's free and always will be. | For an unlimited time or For unlimited time or other ways | english |
On run-on sentences, Wikipedia says : This is generally considered a stylistic error, though it is occasionally used in literature and may be used as a rhetorical device. At the end of the article it describes how run-on sentences are used in literature. For example, some authors use them to depict stream of consciousn... | This is opinion based and maybe better asked at a writer's site. James Joyce used run-on sentences to great effect in Ulysses, which, if I recall correctly, has the longest sentence in English Literature. Does the style need a raison d'etre other than that the author uses it skillfully? If one is trying to recreate hum... | How can a run-on sentence be valid as, say, a rhetorical device? | english |
Let's say my sentence is: I am a part of Generations X, Y, and Z. In a case like this, should "generations" be plural or singular? I feel it should be plural, since singular makes it sound like "X, Y, and Z" are one item, but: I am a part of Generation X, Y, and Z. I feel someone would argue that since there is context... | Your initial impression is exactly correct. Consider: I am a member of teams Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie. I have sailed the seas Mediterranean, Black, Red, and Caspian, but have yet to sail the seas Arabian, Indian, or Adriatic. While you could conceivably find a house style guide that requires proper-name groupings like... | When indicating separate items linked by a common word? | english |
If things went south we better have some plan... Is went south a racial term or it's okay to use it in normal conversation to refer if things went wrong? | According to the OED, this meaning of ‘south’ comes originally from stock markets. South on a map is obviously down at the bottom, and when stocks go downwards, towards the ‘south’, they devaluate; hence the expression ‘go south’. There is no element whatsoever of it being a racial term. I can’t even imagine how ‘south... | Things Went South | english |
I'm looking for an adjective which I could use in the following situation for example: "Don't try to understand the joke Joanne said to George; it's a in-joke between romantic partners." becomes: "Don't try to understand the joke Joanne said to George; it's a [X adjective] in-joke." Does the X adjective exist? Is it de... | "lovers' in-joke" is probably simple enough | Suitable adjective for implying romantic connections? | english |
In Dutch one could say things such as Dat hij dat durft! That he that dares! (An exclamation of astonishment) Which would be roughly translated as: that he dares to do that . Is that initial that standard English? If not, how would a native English speaker translate that sentence? | This is quite a common way of constructing expressions of astonishment and strong disagreement in most Germanic languages: using a subordinate clause and leaving out the main clause. Something like, “It shocks me [that…]” is then left unspoken, but pregnantly implied. Google indicates that it works in German, too, thou... | Are sentences starting with "that" (conjunction) standard English | english |
What would you call somebody waylaying in the middle ages? I found the term "highwayman" but that doesn't seem to be any older than 1600 something, so way too new for what I'm looking for. An outlaw seems to be something different again (being an outlaw as a sentence). What term would you use? Are there any references ... | In decreasing likelihood, I might choose " brigand " ‒ 14th Century " bandit " ‒ 1611 " robber " ‒ 13th Century or " thug " ‒ 1810. | Is there a medieval term for a highwayman? | english |
In famous Austin Powers movie series Austin often says: "Oh behave" What does it mean? | What you should realize about the Austin Powers movies that may not be immediately obvious to a non-native speaker is that the character is written by USA natives to be an exaggerated parody of a British guy from the 60's. As such, a lot of his tag lines aren't so much phrases in common use in England, but rather an Am... | Austin Powers: "Oh Behave" - what does it mean? | english |
I am looking for an idiom which means sticking fingers in your ears does not change the fact; the fact remains so, even if you don't listen to the one who is mentioning it. | Don't bury your head in the sand Fig. to ignore or hide from obvious signs of danger. (Alludes to an ostrich, which is believed incorrectly to hide its head in a hole in the ground when it sees danger.) "Stop burying your head in the sand. Look at the statistics on smoking and cancer." This 1760 dictionary says the gen... | An idiom meaning "sticking fingers in your ears does not change the fact" | english |
What does "You're as bad as the old Irish woman who took the two pills to be sure, to be sure..." mean? And if you know what it means, can you also specify the origin of this phrase? To be more specific about the context, I've heard it here: http://youtu.be/BfI9rJ0toWA?t=1m2s | "You're as bad as the old Irish woman who took the two pills to be sure, to be sure..." ? Reduplication is an alleged trait of [Hiberno-English](to be sure, to be sure...) (Irish-English) strongly associated with stage-Irish and Hollywood films. The first pill, she took to be sure , and the second, she also took to be ... | What does "You're as bad as the old Irish woman who took the two pills to be sure, to be sure..." mean? | english |
Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity. The paragraph above is taken ... | The height of inhumanity means the in the most inhumane manner or the most extremely cruel, brutal behavior, ( a crime against humanity ) Sun Tzu's argument is: war always brings frightful misery and vast expenditure of blood and treasure. A war may drag on for years unless you are kept informed of the enemy's conditio... | What does "the height of inhumanity" mean in the context? | english |
What do you call a power cord for example that doesn't fit perfectly in the power socket and you can move it if you press it on the side. I used fiddle but am not sure if that's the correct term. | In most cases of technical use, it is referred as a poor fit . dictionary com : The coat is a poor fit. OxfordCollocationDict : The door was a poor fit and didn't open properly. | What's the term for a cord that doesn't fit perfectly in the socket | english |
I always assumed the phrase "craic on" was actually "crack on", however my naivety was corrected today when I was informed that the correct spelling is, in fact, "craic". I have never seen this word before. Where did it come from and what does it actually mean? | It is an Irish word (pronounced 'crack') which means an enjoyable social activity, a good time, with lots of laughter (and usually booze). Someone returning from holiday might say - 'the beach was not very good but the craic was wonderful'. In Scotland and the North of England 'crack' is also used to mean 'conversation... | What is the origin of the noun "craic"? | english |
From http://css-tricks.com/css-font-size/ (the 1st paragraph is quoted for additional context): Setting font-size in pixels is the most accurate (and I find the most satisfying) method, but do take into consideration the number of visitors still using IE 6 on your site and their accessibility needs. We are right on the... | Noodle → head. Wrap one's head around → understand. So the sentence says that "em values" are probably the most difficult thing to understand, etc. | Meaning of 'to wrap the ol' noodle around' | english |
I came across this sentence in a blog.. "You'll receive no more than 1-2 emails per week, as we hate spam just as much as you. " While I appreciate the sentiment, i can't help but wonder if they hate me! So here's my question : Is this sentence correct? To me, it seems like it should be "we hate spam just as much as yo... | The three rules of writing for the web, in order of priority, are: Keep it accessible. Keep it clear. Never force the reader to stop and think. Keep it short. So the question is: did you have to stop and think about whether they hate you or spam? If you did, even for a nano-second, then you do is better, because it cle... | As much as "you" or "you do" | english |
We have had a lot of flooding in the UK in the last week or two, with reports, among other things, of rivers 'bursting their banks'. The verb 'to burst' implies 'breaking or splitting as a result of internal pressure or puncturing' (ODE). But that is not what happens when a river floods. The water simply rises above th... | A common term is US usage is overflow (especially of a liquid) flow over the brim of a receptacle: [with object]: the river overflowed its banks In many places, water is contained by dikes or levees and these are prone to bursting . Theses are more often lakes or inland seas than rivers, but some broad rivers are conta... | Why do rivers 'burst' their banks? | english |
Here is a quote from Bertrand Russell's The Practice and Theory of Bolshevism. I have never met a personage so destitute of self-importance. He looks at his visitors very closely, and screws up one eye, which seems to increase alarmingly the penetrating power of the other. I can't imagine what "screws up one's eyes" lo... | Roughly, "to screw up one eye" means to tighten and tense up all the muscles surrounding that eye. This is an image of someone screwing up their entire face. Imagine that, but more localized. And you probably wouldn't close the eye completely, but rather leave a narrow gap remaining to look disprovingly at the person w... | What does "screw up one eye" look like? | english |
Some software I am using has got the word "Glossarise" in it, which baffles me immensely. My spell checker hates it but googling for the word returns results for sites like Urban Dictionary but no reputable dictionaries or resources. Since I am in the position where I work for the company that writes this software, I f... | It's gloss . to insert glosses on; annotate. to place (a word) in a gloss. | What is the verb for "Glossary"? | english |
I am wondering where did A/C abbreviation originate, and especially the slash since aircraft is one word. For instance, I can understand why there is a slash while abbreviating air conditioning . | There are a couple of possible sources, and it may well be influenced by more than one: You get it most often with two-letter abbreviations, where it serves to make the pair of letters stand out as an abbreviation where they might instead look like a word, at least on first glance; the idea being that one will see A/C ... | Where does A/C abbreviation for aircraft come from? | english |
I am looking for a word to use to describe a person who is, in a nutshell free from many of life's burdens most other people are subject to. Someone not carrying a proverbial load, weight, baggage. Someone unencumbered ? Unencumbered with financial worries, bills, emotional baggage, the Jones effect, opinion of others ... | Unencumbered is a very good word. There are others, if you want; one is free spirit a person who is not constrained by convention, as in lifestyle or dress; if you describe someone as a free spirit, you admire them because they are independent and live as they want to live rather than in a conventional way. You could a... | Use of unencumbered in describing personality | english |
On a rather big (and I guess copy-edited) blog by Chris Brogan, I read this: Who would it benefit you to know, or what type of person would it benefit you to know to grow your business. And I cannot fathom it. I do understand the meaning out of context but I am at loss when it comes to analyzing the whole thing. I gues... | This sentence could stand as a perfect counterexample to those descriptivists (and they are many, even on this site) who say that whom no longer has a place in English. It is often considered 'too formal', and who is used to replace it indiscriminately. Often, as here, this makes it impossible to tell at first sight wh... | Sentence analysis for "Who would it benefit you to know, or what type of person would it benefit you to know to grow your business" | english |
In the Christmas song "I Wonder as I Wander", the lyrics say: I wonder as I wander out under the sky, How Jesus the Savior did come for to die. For poor on'ry people like you and like I It seems to me, though, that "like" here is a preposition--so shouldn't that mean that it should say "like me", not "like I"? Am I mis... | I agree completely with JAM's answer. However, there is one fundamental misunderstanding I see in your question: You are attempting to apply the standard rules of English grammar to a dialect which does not necessarily abide by all of them. Supposedly this song was transcribed by John Jacob Niles from a song sung by th... | Incorrect personal pronoun case in "I Wonder as I Wander" | english |
Regarding the sentence, I spoke (on the phone ) [with John] , should the phrase in parenthesis precede the phrase in brackets, or vice versa? Do you know of a principle of construction that pertains to ordering phrases such as the two above? If so, how would you apply it to the sentence in question? Do you notice any c... | The usual way would be to order these prepositional phrases I spoke with John on the phone. This emphasises the more important detail, that you spoke with John, the medium being more peripheral. If someone asked you whether your phone line had been repaired after the storm damage, the importance would be reversed: Oh y... | How should I order the two marked phrases in the sentence 'I spoke (on the phone ) [with John]' | english |
There was the following sentence in New York Times (January 4th) article titled “The commish, the 2nd time around”: "On the eve of leaving office, Bloomberg, defensive about the scar on his legacy, noted to Capital New York that in L.A. Bratton — considered the godfather of the sort of aggressive policing tools that ha... | I think the key to understanding the quote lies in the previous paragraph: Skeptics on both sides of the spectrum, from Al Sharpton to former Mayor Bloomberg, suggest the changes on stop-and-frisk may be cosmetic. Moreover, it all must be put into the context of the entire article, which is not a report on police tacti... | Is there significant difference of meaning between ‘Stop-and-frisk ‘and ‘Frisk and stop’? | english |
What is the meaning of this sentence: What is the Need you are going after? <code> **Edit** here is the context </code> 1) PowerPoint presentation Intro (4 – 5 slides) a) What is the Need you are going after? b) What is the problem we are trying to solve? c) Your Solution to problem | This is very ordinary BizSpeak. The speaker may be talking about How to sell something-or-other , or How to start a business , or How to chair a task force , but the basic principle is the same for all these. You have to start by asking what need is being met by your activity, because unless your activity meets some de... | Need a quick translation | english |
"Ridiculous" means laughable , laughable because it is obviously and hilariously not good enough . However in English "a ridiculous amount of money" is "a ridiculously large amount of money". In general it seems that "a ridiculous amount" is always "a ridiculously large amount": «That's an absolutely ridiculous price f... | To answer the question of drift of meaning, you need a historical dictionary, like OED. I'm not going to reproduce the whole entry. ridiculous A. adj 1. a. Arousing or deserving mockery or derision; absurd, preposterous; risible. α. 1533 T. Elyot Of Knowl. Wise Man ii. 41 Horrible, monstrouse, and in some fact ridiculo... | "Ridiculous amount": semantic change (amelioration) originated from an antiphrasis? When and how? | english |
I noticed that for corrruption/scandals the usage of '-gate' suffix is pretty common, as we have recently seen with 'datagate' and before with 'watergate' Can anyone explain what the relation between '-gate' and scandals is and why this relation arose? Also, is this '-gate' used with the same sense in British English, ... | It comes from the Watergate scandal. | '-gate' as a suffix to coin words related to scandals and corruption cases | english |
Are there any adjectives inspired by Helen's beauty? I can see examples from more recent history like: Boycott from Charles C. Boycott or Bowdlerize from Thomas Bowdler. Some Greek mythology inspired words/phrases are : Herculean Achilles Heel Narcissistic However I could not find anything that refers to Helen of Troy'... | From OED: Helena , n. Etymology: < Latin Helena, < Greek Ἑλένη female proper name. The Greek Helene was the sister of Castor and Pollux, the name given to double meteors at sea; but there was perhaps association also with Greek ἑλένη torch . Obs. A meteoric light seen about the masts of ships: cf. corposant n. he... | Adjectives or words inspired by Helen of Troy's beauty | english |
I'm watching SOA and a guy who says " oh, it's a twist-off ", referring to the bottle cap that is supposed to be twisted off the bottleneck, rather than being leveraged by a bottle opener. Then I've realized that I don't know the name of the alternative(s). What'd he say if he'd be expecting a twist-off but discovered ... | The traditional bottle cap is simple known as a crown cap or crown cork , and there was a time when simply saying bottle cap indicated a crown cap which invariably required a church key or similar tool to remove. But just as the advent of the push-button telephone requires us to specify rotary phone , and of the mobile... | Alternatives to twist-off | english |
Are there any historical or political reasons for the rather consistent refusal of the International Phonetic Alphabet on the part of American academics? Did Mark Twain's home-made-English-spelling-centred phonetic rendering of regional pronunciations set a trend? | I don't know, but here's an interesting quote from Abercrombie's book Fifty years in Phonetics. In America phonetic notation has had a curious history. Bloomfield used IPA notation in his early book An Introduction to the Study of Language , 1914, and in the English edition of his more famous Language , 1935. But since... | American refusal of the IPA: why? | english |
Daniel Jones' Outline of English Phonetics and Alfred C. Gimson's Introduction to the Pronunciation of English are considered the "Bibles" of British English phonetics. Are there equivalent works in the American English tradition? | For a Bible-sized book on American English phonetics, check out: stackexchange-url ("Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology and Sound Change") For the most popular book on the subject (ranked by the US amazon.com book website), check out: stackexchange-url ("A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English") | The "Bibles" of American English Phonetics | english |
Could someone suggest a good word to use in the sentence given below? It is for use in a legal operational protocol manual and should fit within context. I'm currently using "accepted", due to a lack of terminology. What I'm trying to say, is that something is automatically accepted. Before criticizing my word usage or... | Consider incorporated combined into one body or unit; united I would also consider changing the phrasing to The revision information at the bottom of the list below is incorporated into the latest version . | "Accepted" not correct for legal document | english |
Consider the following text: Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks. Lick on these nuts and suck the dick. Get the fuck out after you're done. And I hope in my ride to make a quick run. I am wondering about the meaning of the very last sentence, could somebody clarify what is meant by this? | The last line should be written And I hop in my ride to make a quick run. To hop in one's ride means to get into personal car. To make a run means to transport illicit cargo. The author in this case is lamenting that as a drug runner he lacks time to spend tender moments with his beloved wife. | A song by Dr. Dre | english |
In my native language, there is a singe word to say to someone who apparently are doing something they never did before, or being in state they never were before. Like: Mr. X had always been late. But today he came on time. Mr. Y said, "[...], you're always late before." Or: Ms. A had never kept in touch with Mr. B. On... | A person acting against their perceived tendency is behaving uncharacteristically . When the person's behavior is undesirable we may say they are not themselves . But the given examples are of behavior desirable to the speaker, and a phrase that might be used is what a pleasant surprise! But this phrase has other uses;... | One word to say to someone who's being in a state they're usually not (or doing something they never did)? | english |
What is the difference between "a desert island" and "a deserted island"? Are they synonyms? | I think people are being misled by overly literal interpretations. Let's first note this definition from Oxford Dictionaries (it's also the one automatically shown by Googling define desert island )... desert island - a remote tropical island, typically an uninhabited one "Carwyn seemed like a castaway on a desert isla... | "desert island" versus "deserted island" | english |
It is correct to say : "All of them are lovely." "I'd like all of those." "All of" before a pronoun is correct. It is not correct to say: "All of the airlines are on strike." "All of my friends are going to a party". In those sentences you leave the "of" out if you want to be correct. Why is everyone doing that now? | Google ngrams shows that "all the" always been much more common than "all of the", but has been steadily declining since 1800. "All of the" was rare before about 1900, when it had a noticeable rise, and has continued to increase very slowly, though it remains will below "all the". | When and why did most educated people start saying "all of the "? | english |
The English language is always evolving, and current day slang will soon become mainstream, just as much our current vocabulary originated as slang. If so, then why is it is writing/speaking slang discouraged in many US schools? | As Fumble Fingers said, people learn slang naturally; it does not need to be taught in schools, which have a large enough responsibility to teach valid subjects, such as history, mathematics, science, social studies, foreign languages, etc. Also, slang changes very quickly, whereas idioms do not. For this reason, idiom... | Why don't we teach slang in schools? | english |
The following string appears in Jenks, E. "The prerogative writs in English law" Yale Law Journal 32:6 (1923): ...the accused in the meanwhile [was] to be kept in one of the new gaols ordered...to be built...in every county, in some borough or royal castle, at the King's expense, and if possible of the King's timber. W... | Re-read the sentence. The of refers to the gaols, not the prisoner. It means that the jails (gaols) are to be built of the King's timber (wood). | At X's expense and of X's timber | english |
I always wondered why these adages are called 'razor', and if there is another meaning to razor than the one related to shaving or the razor blade: Occam's razor Hanlon's razor | They are called "razors" because they are a method of simplifying the analytic process of determining the cause (Occam) or intent (Hanlon) of an action or event, much like a butcher would use a blade to separate the unwanted fat, which just gets in the way, from the delicious, and desired meat. The razor was probably s... | Why are these two adages called "razor"? | english |
This is monologue from Caddyshack movie, which's become pretty famous internet mem. And some points of his speech are hard for understanding for me. So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I... | Jim’s comment has explained almost everything: It’s about the game of golf. He explains what a looper is in the next sentence: A looper, you know, a caddy.... A driver is a kind of golf club. You whack the golf ball with the golf club. There are eighteen holes on a golf course. To have something going for you, means yo... | I find that this monologue is very hard to understand | english |
"When he found his seat on the plane, Sam recognized the person who was sitting in the seat next to his. It? She? was a woman he knew." Which is more common/natural? Isn't 'it' more correct – grammatically speaking – than 'she', since 'a person' can be a 'he' or a 'she', and obviously you cannot use the singular 'they'... | It was a woman he knew is perfectly good, but a different construction from she was a woman he knew : It there is not a gender-neutral personal pronoun* but a dummy or presentative subject: it can even be used with plurals ( Who was at the door? It was everybody from next door ), because it doesn't refer. There is no u... | Which pronoun to refer to "person"? It? He or She? They? | english |
[a] It makes the tree grow. [b] I never heard him speak. I’m wondering why causative and sense verbs ( make, hear ) license bare infinitives for their complement, instead of taking to infinitives? What semantic difference is there between bare and to infinitives? I glimpse a clue that this adjective complement is “more... | It was not always thus...see the following http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Psalms-23-2/ | Why do these verbs take bare infinitives? | english |
so for example, what is the clearest way to refer to -10 in the vector $v$; $v=(1,2/3,-10)$. I initially was going to refer to it as the largest entry of $v$ but don't want to run the risk of having the reader infer that I'm implying $1$ (obviously, in this paragraph I'm talking about the 'largest' of an non specific v... | One could refer to the extreme value or an extreme value . For example, “We use the convention of flipping the sign of P_q so that its extreme entry is positive.” Using largest-magnitude as an adjective is also a possibility: “We adjust the sign of P_q such that its largest-magnitude entry is positive.” Similarly, entr... | How do you call the largest unsigned item in a list? | english |
I am reading a book and I came across a phrase I don't understand: A newspaper office seems to attract every conceivable sort of person, to the prejudice of discipline . I don't know what to make of "to the prejudice of discipline" . Can someone please explain? Please search the text of the book for the context. | In this case: prejudice means "detriment; damage". prejudice: [..] damage or injury; detriment: a law that operated to the prejudice of the majority . to the prejudice of : to the detriment of. (source) discipline means "behavior in accord with rules of conduct". "to the prejudice of discipline" means that the discipli... | What does "to the prejudice of discipline" mean? | english |
For changing one's home from one place to another, I've heard people in western part of the world using the sentence: I'll be moving next month. In India, even in the English news channels, I've heard many people using the phrase: I'll be shifting next month. Which one is the correct usage? Or are both of them correct ... | In American and British English, "to move" is the standard verb to express the idea of relocating one's belongings from one dwelling to another (among other connotations): I moved from Baker Street to High Street. "To shift," when referring to objects, generally has more of a temporal sense associated with it: I shifte... | Which is correct: I'll be moving next month or I'll be shifting next month? | english |
Forgive any naivety. I have come from SO to SE to ask a question. I am looking for a font, where the hole in a character ie O, A, P, Q. Can be used to insert an image. I do not need a recommendation for a font. But what I am asking for is the word used to explain this area. Can someone please provide me with the specif... | In typography , anything that isn't ink is referred to as whitespace. An area of whitespace that is either partially or entirely enclosed by a letter, whether uppercase or lowercase, is typically called a counter . However, there is an exception to this: in the lowercase letter "e," the whitespace is also referred to a... | The hole in a character | english |
I wonder where this info would be available. Maybe it would have to be reverse engineered. More generally, are there any style guides that are more prevalent among leftists? | The notes at the end of Manufacturing Consent appear to be MLA. | What style manual does Noam Chomsky use? | english |
I've seen the idiom 'keeping well' being used to mean 'in good health' in some contexts where British English is expected. But Americans seem surprised by it. Is that idiom uncommon in American English? | only cont. : Reverso (see below) records it as of 'exclusively continental usage'. De tuenda sanitate by Plutarch: " Advice about Keeping Well " Plutarch had more than a casual interest in medicine, for, besides this essay on keeping well, his other works abound in references to the behaviour of the sick and their trea... | Is the idiom 'keeping well' recognized only in British English? | english |
In the Bengali language there is an idiom, "sobjanta gamchawala" (wise towelsman), meaning a man whose occupation is merely to sell towels, but claims to know everything and gives valuable advice on any and every topic. As you can imagine, wise and valuable are used here as sarcasm. In Bengali, the phrase is used to po... | In English, we have the infamous know-it-all : one who knows everything; hence, a person who makes pretension to great knowledge, especially one whose didactic conversational habit conspicuously reveals his belief that he has superior knowledge on many subjects; a wiseacre ; a know-all ; -- usually ironical. [Colloq. &... | Is there an English idiom for Bengali idiom "সবজান্তা গামছাওয়ালা"(wise towelsman)? | english |
Im trying to understand the idiomatic expression "at a loss." According to this source: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/at+a+loss it can either mean "Below cost" or "Perplexed; puzzled." However, I'm wondering if it can also be used to mean the same as the definitions of the word "loss." Can one say: "I'm at a loss of... | The two relevant expressions are: I am /she is /they are at loss vs. sold at a loss I will ignore the price at a loss expression here. The meaning of I am at a loss as to where my pencil is is not the same as I lost my pencil . The former means I cannot reason my way as to where I have placed my pencil, emphasizing the... | Idiomatic Expression "at a loss" | english |
Could anyone tell me what does rock on Wayne mean? The context is Classes don't usually have data, but if they do, rock on Wayne. | The user is most likely paraphrasing the character Garth from “Wayne's World,” a sketch which began on Saturday Night Live and was adapted into a feature-length film. Party on, Wayne... Party on, Garth is an oft-repeated mutual affirmation between the two lead characters, Wayne Campbell (portrayed by Mike Myers) and Ga... | What does “rock on Wayne” mean? | english |
Does Bill Pugh's last name rhyme with 'tug', 'few', or something else? | Pugh is a Welsh name derived from 'ap Hugh' meaning son of Hugh and is therefore pronounced 'Pew' not 'Poo'. A traditional Welsh spelling would actually be Puw as Huw is the Welsh form of Hugh. Pugh/Puw | How to pronounce "Pugh"? | english |
I want to emphasize A and B. So I wrote: "A and B are needed to be highlighted." I feel it is not natural. What would be better way in written English? | You sentence is incorrectly structured. You could say <code> A and B need to be hightlighted. </code> That would make more sense. | Better expression for "is needed to be highlighted" | english |
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