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On a webpage called Daily Writing Tips there is a list of 25 subordinating conjunctions including so . The example they're giving is this: “So sure were you of your theory about them, you ignored evidence that you were wrong.” Isn't that an adverb here? Isn't the first clause in fact the main clause while the following... | Here we have a typical case of an inverted result clause.If it wasn't inverted it would be written this way,"“You were so sure of your theory about them, you ignored evidence that you were wrong.” Maybe that was what confused you. So to answer your questions, yes, "so" here is an adverb, and it always introduces the ma... | Example for "so" as a subordinating conjunction | english |
I wrote "No error or issue since 2013". I feel this is natural when I say so. But, in written English, because of the first "No", I wonder the "or" should be changed to "nor". Or, maybe "Neither error nor issue since 2013" will be better. What is better? Thanks in advance! | Neither sentence really makes sense. If you wanted to use nor I would suggest the following: There has been neither an error nor an issue since 2013 | "No A or B" vs. "Neither A nor B" | english |
What are some good words that can be used to describe an action which has taken place after another? Example: We baked the cakes. After that , we left the house. I'm looking for some alternatives for the <code> After that </code> Thanks. | Some words that come to mind are 'subsequently' 'then', and 'later'. | Good words describing an action taken place after another | english |
How are these two nouns different when used in scientific papers? I'm not an English speaker and was having a hard time choosing the proper word. | An effect happens on account of a prior cause . (well, generally, it is prior. There are some weird cases in quantum mechanics). An influence directs things towards an outcome. In terms of science education, I have a B.S. in Chemistry, and I cannot imagine a case where I would use influence in a scientific paper. Gener... | Influence vs. Effect | english |
Oftentimes when people want to emphasize something, an idea is repeated three times, but without closing it as a full sentence. I am not sure how to write this in a formal essay. Here is my example: The effect is that radioisotopes are often thought of as something to be frightened of, something with ominous powers, so... | Yes, when you repeat a word at the beginning of successive phrases, there is a proper grammar to use. Specifically, you need to make sure that the phrases that follow the repeated words are expressed in a similar form or pattern. This is parallel construction. In your sentence, part of getting the parallelism right mea... | What is the correct grammar to use for this common style of speaking? | english |
I heard someone talked about "skimming stones" but read in a book about "stone skipping". Is one from the US and the other from the UK ? Is there any difference or do they have the exact same meaning ? | They mean the same, but there's a significant US/UK split. Here's the US usage... ...and here's the UK usage... But whereas I personally would invariably refer to the activity itself as skimming stones , I see nothing unusual in this BBC piece from a few years ago... How do you skim a stone 51 times? Russell "Rock Bott... | Skimming stones vs skipping stones? | english |
For example, francophilia describes fondness for French culture, language, etc. and an anglophile is a person who is similarly fond of British culture. Is there an analogous word to describe a person who is fond of Irish or Celtic culture or languages? | A hibernophile is a person who is fond of Irish culture, Irish language(s), or Ireland.[1] Although I can't find a direct source for this definition besides Wikipedia, the Oxford English Dictionary lists its antonym, "hibernophobia". Its root is Hibernia , the Latin name for Ireland. Similarly terms include scotophile ... | A word for an Irish-phile, a person who is fond of Irish or Celtic culture | english |
I am not native English speakers, I often see " on the fly " in some program docs or blogs. I don't know the exact meaning of it. Is it a idiom? e.g.: Since sandman doesn't have any advanced knowledge of the database structure, it can't rely on pre-made model classes to register tables. Rather, it needs to introspect t... | We computer folks don't really use it as jargon; it means the same thing it does in standard English. Its possible the term came from Baseball, as that's the only other place I can dig it up. For example, here's a story about players hitting a ball into nearby river "on the fly" (in this context that means, without it ... | What is meaning of "on the fly" in computer science? | english |
Sorry, if this question is naive. If someone asks me, "You didn't go to school today, right?" If I did not, should I answer, Yes or No ? Similarly, "You do not like eating fish, do you?" If I do not like eating fish, should I say Yes or No ? | No, I didn't go to school. Yes, I went to school today. You are right, I didn't. | How to answer this question? Yes or No | english |
If you dispose of an object, its state becomes "disposed". If the object has not yet been disposed of, it is called... The obvious word would be "undisposed". However, I am seeking a positive state, without prefixes. | The best word to use would depend on your context. Here are some examples... Current Active Live Effective Running Added Defined Included Perhaps some indication about where you want to use this word may help. | A state meaning "not disposed" | english |
To snowball means to increase gradually. For example, Inflation has snowballed in the last year. The debate snowballed into a heated argument. I am not able to understand the word snowballed. Does it have something to do with snow and ball? How did this meaning develop? | The idea of "snowballing" comes from a snowball (a clump of snow often used for throwing). If you get a snowball and roll it downhill, it will get larger and larger as it moves down the hill and more snow sticks to it. With the assistance of gravity, it increases in speed as it gets more and more massive. Until it can ... | How did "to snowball" originate? | english |
Is there a possible idiom or phrase in the following context that means satisfactory in all abilities? For example, lets say someone knows three languages: English, Spanish, and Korean; however, their knowledge of all these languages (including their native language) aren't fluent, but not poor either, just satisfactor... | " Conversant " is one word you could use. Alternatively, you could say "their knowledge of/ability in xyz is passable " | Idiom or phrase meaning "satisfactory in all abilities"? | english |
What do we call the food that we made/prepared by following a recipe ? It doesn't have to be a <code> single word </code> actually. I just want a shorter term for that. | Any food which is prepared following a recipe is normally called a dish . Dish is defined as A particular variety or preparation of food served as part of a meal. fresh fish dishes pasta was served as a main dish Edit: In the light of @Aprian's comment: If I use "Share your recipes", would it suggest that they are shar... | Food Prepared by Following a Recipe | english |
It is said that e.g. (informally also written as eg.) is a abbreviated Latin phrase used in place of " for example ". Reference: here , here & here Example: Asia is a large continent containing many large nations (For example, China, India and Russia). can also be written as the following by replacing " For example... | All the relevant information seems already to be in this thread, so this is "icing" on the pre-existing "cake". The reason that "e.g." should introduce a list rather than terminate the giving of an example lies in the Latin itself. "exempli" = "(an) example", "gratia" = "for the sake of". The natural sense, then, is to... | Can e.g. be used in the end of a sentence in place of "for example"? | english |
I often find myself in the situation of wanting to capitalize the phrase "Enterprise IT" due to its frequency of reference as the title of my industry. It feels appropriate when I write: "In Enterprise IT ..." "The Enterprise IT industry..." I would not be surprised if my capitalization is off here. Could one of you he... | This might not be the "right" answer, but no-one else has posted one, so... The initialism IT has to be capitalised - but if it were spelt out in full, it normally wouldn't be... OP works for a company specialising in information technology . In my opinion, OP's use of adjectival enterprise modifying IT smacks of "indu... | Capitalization of the enterprise IT industry | english |
If synecdoche represents when a part of a thing or person refers to the whole, what is it called when the whole is used to refer to a part? For example, we often hear about what "The American People want". Yet such claims usually refer to what a segment of the people support. What is that rhetorical device called? Anot... | Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something refers to the whole of something, or vice-versa. So you may use synecdoche for both. Please check | What is the opposite of synecdoche? | english |
For example, the parts of a sentence that a preposition operates on are called "prepositional objects". I was wondering if there's a name for the parts that are connected by a conjunction? E.g. in "apples and oranges", would we say "apple" and "orange" are the objects of "and"? | They are its coordinands ; see http://www.glottopedia.org/index.php/Coordinand . (That page also lists some alternatives, namely term , member , coordinated unit , coordinate , and conjunct .) | Is there a name for the parts that are connected by a conjunction? | english |
Let's say that one possesses some data or information that one wishes to map to some kind of numerical representation. I can't seem to come up with a word or phrase that describes it well. As an example, it could be used when converting something like a date string ( <code> "2014-01-02" </code> ) to a UNIX timestamp ( ... | You may use numericize or digitize and though it does not imply numeric conversion, you may also use transform | Word meaning "to convert into a numerical form"? | english |
What does "by heaven" mean here? I should be far enough from imagining, he replied, that I knew the cause of any of them, by heaven I should; | It means the same thing as "by God", and it probably came about because people wanted to avoid saying "God" in vain. Similar to words like "gosh" or "golly". | What does "by heaven" mean? | english |
I remember at one point knowing a word that meant "overly proud of your own heritage or culture", and basically being racist or at least biased toward your own heritage/culture. Anyone know some words that fit this description? | For terms that see this in terms of a nation: nationalistic relating to or showing a belief that your country is better and more important than other countries (from Merriam-Webster ) jingoism the feelings and beliefs of people who think that their country is always right and who are in favor of aggressive acts against... | Word for "overly proud of heritage" | english |
A friend of mine insists that you can 'catch a scare', but I've only ever heard 'get a scare'. I googled the expression and mostly got 'catch a scare card' or 'catch a scare crow', with only one instance where 'cops get a scare from an incident'. So is 'catch a scare' acceptable as correct British English or correct Am... | There certainly are figurative usages involving catch . For example,... catch a cold slang for to make a loss/lose one's investment catch it, catch merry hell, etc. be in serious trouble catch on grasp (understand) catch the news [find time to] listen to/watch the news on radio/TV etc., etc. But there are only two rele... | "Get a scare" or "catch a scare" | english |
I’m looking for the origin of the phrasal verb “to be a thing”. It means roughly “exist” or more specifically “be recognised” or “be a phenomenon”. I first noticed it around 2008–2009. Is medical grade tea a thing? I don’t think that is a thing, but I just don’t think that it should be mandatory Unlocking accomplishmen... | I'd guess this fairly recent use is related to the rise of internet memes, and whether an item is widespread or just someone's own: "Is this a thing? Is this a trend?" It dates back to at least 2006 on blogs and 2001 in film and television. The second Urban Dictionary definition is relevant: 2. A Thing An action, fashi... | Phrasal verb “be a thing” | english |
I live in Brazil and speak English as a foreign language. For the past twenty years I've heard people use the adjective fucking more often than ever before in the US: in real life, in movies and on TV. Sentences like "You fucking idiot." I've also heard the word being used as an adverb. My question is: how acceptable i... | Swearing in a foreign language is very rarely a good idea. As well as the difficulty of judging the level of acceptability of swearing in what will by definition be an unfamiliar social situation, there is the difficulty of judging any particular word (the French con is a very mild insult while the English equivalent i... | How accepted is ‘f***ing’ in informal conversation? | english |
As I understand it, 'for' is a coordinating conjunction. Learning German as a second language has taught me specifics about reforming sentences, but it is an awful lot less common in English. If I were to rearrange the sentence: "I ate lunch, for I was hungry," so that 'for' was the first word of the sentence, by my re... | You are right that for is a coordinating conjunction , the first of the so-called FANBOYS . But you cannot move a coordinated clause (starting with a FANBOY) to the front of a sentence: I was hungry, so I ate. *So I ate, I was hungry. It is the same in German: Ich habe gegessen, denn ich hatte Hunger. *Denn ich Hunger ... | Using 'for' as a coordinating conjunction at sentence beginning | english |
For example, method 1 of doing something (say A) requires something else (say B). And I invented method 2 to do A but without the prerequisite of B. I can say: The disadvantage of method 1 is its requirement/need of B. Now I want to introduce my method by saying the advantage of my method 2 is its (the phrase). What sh... | The word "obviate" may sound a bit out of place, but you could try this. <code> "The advantage of my method 2 is it obviates B." </code> or <code> "The advantage of my method 2 is its speed, efficiency, and obviation of B." </code> You also have the option of this semi-quick-and-dirty line: <code> "The advantage of my ... | How to express 'unneed' of something? | english |
Literature is an uncountable noun, so we can't say one literature or two literatures . But is there a countable form, as there is for information ? One piece of information , for instance. | As comments on the original question indicate, "literatures" is indeed countable: "two literatures": ...of Wales , or " media and politics " as "two literatures"; "three literatures": e.g., in English, Latin, and Greek ; or even, " one, two, or three literatures " in the history of Caribbean literature. So it seems "li... | Is there a countable form for "literature"? | english |
There was the following line in December 2nd AP News, “Chief White House trouble shooter for healthcare gov.web site says the web site is night and day from where it was October 1st. Jeff Zients say they carried out hundreds of software and hardware fixes. I first took “night and day” for “continually,” but later reali... | Yes, it is very common. We (US) say, like night and day to indicate opposites. Google "like night and day" and you'll see the option for idiom. completely different : On snooping disclosures, AT&T and Internet companies are like night and day. -pcworld Bar Sue and the London Plane Are Like Night and Day: Two Review... | Is the usage of “night and day” as “completely different” very common? | english |
This is the kind of a Winter Holidays related question: How is the "process" of long-term excessive use of alcohol during the holidays called in the US and GB? The Multitran dictionary gives me these phrases: barrel fever skull cramps hang-over bottleache But I don't really sure if these words are of a wide use in the ... | Two terms that come to mind are... Binge [drinking] and Bender In my experience, binge is more likely to be associated with rapid consumption of large amounts of alcohol in a relatively short period of time, but either can also be used for extended heavy drinking over a week or more (while on holiday, for example). Whe... | The "process" of long-term excessive use of alcohol | english |
Is there a single word that combines, shock, indignation and hurt one feels at the sheer callousness of someone's conduct or apathy towards something/someone? I was hurt,shocked and appalled by his callous conduct. A single word to replace the above feelings. An idiomatic phrase also works, and if there is conclusively... | " Chagrin " suits your requirement perfectly. cha·grin transitive verb \shə-ˈgrin\ cha·grined cha·grin·ing Definition of CHAGRIN : to vex or unsettle by disappointing or humiliating . | A word that combines shock, hurt and indignation | english |
In the film "Australia", the phrase "Wrong side business" (or "Wrong sided"?) is used as slang for sex. It sounds like typical Australian English or Australian Aboriginal English. However, I've lived in Sydney most of my life, and I haven't ever heard it. Is it used in real life? | I can say, after searching, that the answer is, no . I searched Google, "wrong side business" and got 1 million+ hits. Narrowed down by "-Australia -Dave -Seaman -mix -nualla" and got 258k hits, most of which were still about the soundtrack or song. -Wehbba and Propulse, -Amazon, -Wehbba, -artists, and I got three whol... | Is "Wrong side business" used in real life? | english |
In particular i have an index in mind. I think the word heavily is okay, but is there a better word? Or even better is there a word to mean dropped heavily? | In the stock market, a sharp drop is pretty bad. A plunge in stock price is also serious. A stock price can plummet , bottom out , or crash , although the latter is used more of a collective drop. | What is the suitable word to use after the word fall or drop to mean it dropped a lot? | english |
I often confuse these two things: "I reached home" and "I have reached home". Once my friend asked me, "Where are you? " I messaged him: "I have reached home". He told me not to use "have reached "... reached = past tense, have reached = present perfect Can someone please clear this doubt so that I don't make the mista... | If you were texting the message as you were getting home, or just after arriving home than it should be: " I've reached home ." You use the present perfect because the time of the action is not specified and the important information is that your journey's over and you are now at home. If you specified a time then you'... | Difference between "I reached home" and "I have reached home" | english |
Can food be described as 'nice'? This food is nice; This dish is nice. I always thought it could be, but I was speaking to a few friends and they argued (and strongly may I add) otherwise. | "Nice" is used to describe food ... whenever the food deserves that qualification! OED (1994 edition) 14.Of food; Dainty, appetizing. spec . of a cup of tea. 1712 Arbuthnot J. Bull iii. App. i, This was but a pretence to provide some nice bit for himself . a1766 F. Sheridan Sidney Bidulph V. 193 We sent her up three or... | Can food be described as "nice"? | english |
It is true that as a fox, I should know this, so consider this a spoilers warning. In a recent post, Geek Girl mentions that the mating call of the fox is a series of sharp, eerie barks and that this is called gekkering . This is supported by a citation in Wikipedia, but the reference is not one I have access to. I am ... | There's a possible 1978 reference to gekkering in a Google Books snippet of The Junior Bookshelf, Volume 42 : David Macdonald is a Scottish zoologist and conservationist whose early work was on red foxes. According to Wikipedia: He is known for his documentary films and his popular books, for which he has twice won the... | What does the fox say? | english |
In computer jargon, we refer to "inputs of a function" as "arguments". I was wondering what the sense is in doing so. | From the Wiktionary entry for argument ... Etymology: From Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from Old French, from Latin argumentum (“proof, evidence, token, subject, contents ”) In which context it's worth noting Wiktionary definition #7 (programming) A parameter in a function definition; an actual parameter , as opp... | What is the sense of using word "argument", for inputs of a function? | english |
Women who aren't interested in much more than sex are referred to as " slappers " in British English. British informal , derogatory a promiscuous or vulgar woman. Why is this? I can't find any solid etymology information. | OED has this as a draft addition from 2002 (not everything is reproduced here): Brit. slang (derogatory). A promiscuous woman. Freq. in old slapper. See quot. 1990 for a postulated connection with Yiddish schlepper ‘unkempt, scruffy person; gossipy, dowdy woman’; however there is some gap in sense. Cf. also quot. 1854 ... | Why are promiscuous women known as "slappers"? | english |
That is, something which is especially remarkable in one isolated instance because it rises above being quintessentially mediocre, as is the case in every other example. Consider the chocolate chip cookie. Everyone bakes chocolate chip cookies. They are so commonplace that there are rarely, if ever, any actually delici... | I think I understand what you are after. You describe a scenario in which a person bites into THE cookie, not expecting anything other than the usual mediocrity. S/he is pleasantly surprised, however, to discover it is the quintessence of chocolate chip cookieness. I would call that moment an epiphany , an eye-opening ... | What term describes something which is ubiquitous and consequently poor in quality, but occasionally exceptional and noteworthy? | english |
I.e., would I use "I hate the humanities" or "I hate humanities"? On that note, would the complementary statement be "I love the sciences" or "I love science"? "I love sciences" just sounds wrong, but "I hate humanity" means something totally different. Hmm... No offense intended; I'm just using my source of confusion ... | Science is one of those nouns that can be both countable and uncountable, but it is generally uncountable. We say things like ‘Science has made great progress over the last 100 years’ or ‘More men than women study science’. When it is countable, we usually have something more specific in mind. The sciences means physic... | Is it "the humanities" or just "humanities"? | english |
Her love letters--to and from Daddy--were in an old box, tied with ribbons and stiff, rigid-with-age leather thongs:1918 through 1920;... Why (Daddy) in this sentence was written with a capital D? | The rule of thumb is that if you can replace the name Daddy/Mommy/Dad/Mom with a name, then it gets capitalized. I received 20 letters from ( Daddy. ) I received 20 letters from ( John. ) That works, so capitalize Daddy. I received 20 letters from my ( Daddy. ) I received 20 letters from my ( John ). Wrong. Using my da... | Her love letters--to and from Daddy--were in an old box, | english |
For example why people use "Island of Jamaica" and "Macquarie Island". The latter doesn't use any preposition. When the preposition should be used and when not? | We use The Isle of X when that is its name in English: The Isle of Man , The Isle of Dogs , The Isle of Capri . We use X Island when that is its name in English: Canvey Island , Vancouver Island , Holy Island . We use just the simple name when that is its name in English: Guernsey , Anglesey , Crete ; but for clarity w... | Island of "Name" vs island "Name". Proper usage of the preposition. | english |
The only danger is, lest it should be Too strong a remedy ... Source Can this "lest" be used in this way? Like this... My apprehension is lest my advice should kill her motivation. | Not as such, really. The word "lest" can be loosely read as "if" or "in case". Let's have a look at a larger excerpt of your source text, reformatted more prosaically: The only danger is, lest it should be too strong a remedy ; lest, in removing cold, it should beget too violent a heat ; and into madness turn the letha... | Is this usage of "lest" possible? | english |
I happened to find that definition of the word, ‘regimen’ has the meaning of ‘governing word’ such as prepositions (sic from Reader’s English Japanese Dictionary) besides a popular notion of ‘a set of rules about food and exercise or medical treatment to stay healthy, or improve one’s health.’ What does ‘regimen’ as a ... | The Oxford English Dictionary’s third definition of regimen is: Grammar . The relation of a word, clause, etc. to the word that governs it. Also: a case, word, or phrase so governed by another word. Now rare . I have never come across it with this meaning myself. Since the OED describes it as rare it is probably best a... | What does ‘regimen’ mean in English grammar? | english |
Need help replacing "connected" with a more informal word in the following line: "Preeti connected with neighbors on Chats and Discussions." Connected to me sounds like a very "enterprise" term. Please suggest. | You could use "be in touch" or (depending on the context) "get in touch": "Preeti was in touch with neighbors on Chats and Discussions" "Preeti got in touch with neighbors on Chats and Discussions" | replacing "connected" with a more informal word | english |
On stackexchange-url ("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 corre... | If that is the complete sentence, it would have to be 'The function g has the same property as f.' | The same than / that | english |
Note of importance before I start: I'm not a native English speaker. With that out of way, I wonder about word choices in the Spartacus series. I have watched the first series so far and I have gathered about 30 new words I have never heard. I have a habit of writting down every word I don't know yet and finding out it... | I come across those words when reading novels all the time. However, they are almost never used in conversation. The only one on the list that is somewhat archaic is "tarry", but its still a perfectly acceptable word that you might expect to come across in a new novel if the situation calls for it. | Word choices in Spartacus series | english |
When you have all the parts of a PC and you need to connect them into a working PC, which is the appropriate verb to describe this action: build , assemble or something else? | To me <code> building a PC </code> is buying all the actual components (RAM, SSD, sound card, screen, etc) and putting them all into a case to make a computer. Whereas, <code> assembling a PC </code> just sounds like unpacking one from the box and plugging everything into the right port. | "Build a PC", "assemble a PC", or something else? | english |
I know the two are pretty much synonymous: labyrinth a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze maze a network of paths and hedges designed as a puzzle through which one has to find a way a complex network of paths or passages What are the differences between... | There is a difference physically. A maze is a complex branching (multicursal) puzzle that includes choices of path and direction, may have multiple entrances and exits, and dead ends. A labyrinth is unicursal i.e. has only a single, non-branching path, which leads to the center then back out the same way, with only one... | Difference between "Labyrinth" and "Maze" | english |
I'm writing something about Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Notes From Underground about how we sometimes revel in suffering. I want to then add ... much of which is not only self-inflicted, but also self-imposed. Meaning that not only do we hurt ourselves, we do it on purpose. Is that correct? That was my first intuition when wr... | The only significant difference is that self-inflicted implies a physical injury, whereas self-imposed implies only hardship . Both are invited. self-imposed : imposed by oneself on oneself; voluntarily assumed or endured; voluntary, of one's own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelled; e.g. self-i... | What is the difference between "self-imposed" and "self-inflicted"? | english |
There's a particular sentence which I've been pondering over: All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life. Some people seem to think there's supposed to be a comma after the second <code> had </code> but I don't think there should be. Technically, 4 <code> had </code> words in a row in this sc... | I think you're correct. There is no need for a comma and I don't see how adding one would make the sentence clearer. Those are not independent clauses and without a series, parenthetical element, preposition, conjunction or interruption, adding one would be a mistake. EDIT: Let's suppose there were a comma. "All the fa... | Is there supposed to be a comma when the word "had" is used 4 times in a row? | english |
I'm looking for a word that would describe something like a modern phone that retains a rotary dial. The dial's design was originally functional, but phone's function doesn't rely on the dial any more - it's just an aesthetic choice. | Yes. Skeuomorph . skeuomorph /ˈskjuːəmɔrf/ n. a derivative object that retains ornamental design cues from structures that were necessary in the original. | Is there a word describing a functionally obsolete design choice? | english |
I am trying to capitalize Western Canada or western Canada properly and am wanting a definition for when the "ern" is added as a suffix to a locational distinction of a proper noun. I believe the capitalization is related to the suffix and am grouping two questions. After researching on the internet I have found a tren... | There are no rules to guide you; it is a matter of idiom. Once the area is sufficiently distinct, the description gets capitalized and a new proper name is born. As if that weren't enough trouble, sometimes the adjective form of the cardinal direction comes and goes. I live in South Florida, but other people live in So... | When does a locational distinction change its suffix and capitialization in a proper name? | english |
I am a bit confused about the rule of setting the definite article in a sentence when it is associated to two nouns. The beginning and end of the channel. The beginning and the end of the channel. The arguments belong to the request and to data function. The arguments belong to the request and to the data function. | In English, you are allowed to (but need not) drop repeated elements in parallel structures. The problem with your second example is that you are dropping the elements in the wrong order. The following are all grammatical, and mean the same thing (although the third is ambiguous as it could mean the request function or... | When should I repeat the definite article? | english |
Some times I go through articles and find the expression <code> utilize </code> , I've always been wondering in there are special cases in which it should be used instead of <code> used </code> . Also cause google ngram clearly shows that <code> used </code> is used (sorry for that ;D) much more. Thanks for your help a... | Some dictionaries gloss utilize as using something for a purpose that it is not normally employed for. But prescriptive grammarians are pretty clear on such use. Fowler in Modern English Usage (p670) says: If differentiation were possible between utilize and use it would be that utilize has the special meaning of make ... | When to use `use` and when to use `utilize` in a sentence? | english |
What is the difference between creed and credo ? They seem to have the same definition in online dictionaries. Do they have different connotations? | They are interchangeable, but I think there are some subtleties that may or may not be important. A creed is often a shared and established statement of belief. The Nicene Creed was established to be a statement of faith symbolizing a shared understanding of Christianity between believers. Credo, or "I believe," tends ... | Difference between "creed" and "credo" | english |
I've asked stackexchange-url ("a question about olfactory's relation to observational") and it got me thinking about other senses as well. There are five (or six if you're supernaturally believing), so, what are the exact term to fill out the blanks in the below? It's the bold parts that are interesting and I wonder if... | Vision the beauty is in the eye of the sighted. Audial the euphony is in the ear of the listener Olfactory the fragrance is in the nose of the smeller (I prefer this term to that of inhaler ). Gustatory the taste is in the tongue of the taster. Tactile the touch is in the hand of the caresser. Extrasensory perception t... | Beauty and beholder in respect to other senses | english |
I heard a song this morning that had "We put the us in trust " in its lyrics. It reminded me of the maxim "There is no I in team ." I've heard other, gloomier examples like "harm in harmony" and "utility in futility." Is there a hypernym for "insight based on the presence (or absence) of substrings in another string"? | When a word is within a word, it is called a kangaroo word . Also known as: marsupial , or swallow word Wikipedia says: A kangaroo word is a word that contains letters of another word, in order, with the same meaning. For example: the word masculine contains the word male , which is a synonym of the first word; similar... | Word for "No I in Team" | english |
In John Ormsby's 1885 translation of Don Quixote, the word "despatch" is used. Is that the corresponding British spelling for "dispatch" or is it simply an archaic spelling (in both the American and UK English dialects), or is it both (British and archaic)? | The OED lists both spellings with equal status. 'Dispatch' is by far the more common spelling, uniquely so in the 16th, 17th, and 18th-century examples. 'Despatch' seems to have become fashionable in the late Victorian period. When I was a child in 1950s' Britain I well-remember it often being spelled that way. But it ... | Is "despatch" the British spelling for "dispatch" or is it an archaic spelling (or both)? | english |
Is there a single English word for a single hair that grows on someone's head which is practically bald? I found a picture like this one , this is a movie character: See that one hair? Is there an English word that describes that hair ? [Not just that is one , but also a hair .] | How about a strand? I suppose you could complicate things by adding such words as single and solitary , but a strand is a strand; single and solitary would seem, then, to be redundant (though an argument could be made that strand needs the word one or a to accompany it, since to say "He has strand of hair" would not so... | One word to describe "one hair that grows on someone's bald head"? | english |
How does one decide whether an adverb of manner should precede or follow the verb? In some cases, it seems to be more natural to have the adverb follow the verb, as in: <code> “She moved slowly and spoke quietly.” </code> But in other cases, it seems to be more natural to have the adverb precede the verb, as in: <code>... | Adverbs of manner are usually placed at the end of the clause/sentence. However, it is possible to place the adverb before the verb, to emphasize the adverb. He ate the cake greedily . She greedily ate the cake. Some put adverbs of manner at the beginning of a sentence, to catch the reader's attention and make him/her ... | How does one decide whether an adverb of manner should precede or follow the verb? | english |
Let's say I've sold a product to a customer. A bit later the costumer tells me "wow, this is fantastic". Now, do I better answer with "Thanks, I am glad to hear that" or "Thanks, I am glad to hear this"? What's more correct? | I'll use that , just because I'm not the person saying it . From my perspective, the pronoun that is introducing a clause. Let's see the situation: (1) Costumer: Wow, this [product, which is close to me, the costumer] is fantastic. (2) Salesman: Thanks, I am glad to hear that (the product is fantastic). If we changed t... | What is the difference between "happy to hear that" and "happy to hear this"? | english |
I am creating an application that has a small panel that has an "expand" button. When the user expands it, he will be able to shrink it again. What would be the best antonym of "expand" to use here?I don't think "shrink" is the most formal one. I have found "diminish", "compress", "lessen", "narrow" and "shrink" but I'... | Reduce Become smaller or less in size, amount, or degree If when you click on the "button" the panel is still visible but shrunken in size reduce would explain its purpose. It's a perfectly acceptable antonym for expand . | Proper antonym for "expand" | english |
For example: <code> I did a quick search and found the following, but I am still confused: List item 1 List item 2 etc. </code> Is it appropriate to still use the colon after adding the statement <code> , but I am still confused </code> ? The colon doesn't feel as if it fits so well after the statement is added. Should... | If your goal is to end the introductory sentence with a colon immediately after the word following , you can achieve it by phrasing the sentence along these lines: I did a quick search and—though I remain somewhat confused—found the following: List item 1 List item 2 etc. Having said that, I don't think that anything i... | Is it appropriate to use a colon in this situation? | english |
I am not really sure whether I understand these phrases correctly. "a capacity limit for each warehouse" means that each warehouse has its own limit, which may be different from other warehouses' limits?? "capacity limits for every warehouse" means that each warehouse has more than one limit and that set of limits of a... | The reason is that the word each is generally used in situations where we consider the Warehouses individually or sequentially, whereas every and all are used for generalizations. So I think you have understood it but failed to express it. Please refer to this [link] (stackexchange-url ("Difference between "each&q... | "a capacity limit for each warehouse" or "capacity limits for every warehouse" | english |
Rope is typically long, strong and fibrous. So how did us Brits come to use "ropey" to describe something of poor quality? British informal of poor quality: a portrait by a pretty ropey artist While we're on the subject, why do we also say we "feel ropey" when we're not too well or hungover? | In ‘Chambers Slang Dictionary’, Jonathon Green suggests a derivation from ‘roup’, a form of catarrh and originally a disease of poultry. From the late 18th century it was used, according to Green, to describe an object or person that was ‘second-rate, inadequate, run-down, etc’ and came in the 1940s and 1950s to be app... | How did "ropey" come to mean "of poor quality"? | english |
stackexchange-url ("I was told") that a person who delivers long speeches but no information is called a windbag . A demagogue is a political leader who represents popular tendencies (it has a negative color likewise we do not have the democracy and true democracy is bad). Meantime, a prominent writer and theorist of l... | A windbag may just go on and on to no purpose. A demagogue tries to gain support by long-winded appeals to emotion, catchphrases, demonizing, and the like. If you don't buy into a demagogue's shtick , he may seem a windbag to you, but not to others. | Windbag vs. demagogue | english |
I know a lot of words, but it's driving me crazy that I can't think of one for this. I'm sure there must be one. I want to be able to say: I had not only a great view of the ocean from that room, but also a great _ , where the blank means that I could hear it well as well as see it. Does such a word exist? (Rather, doe... | I don't think there is a single word for it, and if there were it would be so obscure as to render it largely useless. I would probably say "aural vantage point". | "View", but for hearing | english |
I was authoring a letter and made a joke about body odor. Regarding the visual sense: "... the beauty is in the eye of beholder..." Regarding the olfactional sense: "... the fragrance is in the nostril of..." Well, of what? Of besmeller ?! That can't be right... Also, I'm curious if my usage of olfactional is correct. | I offer inhaler as a simple alternative, but I love @Janus Bahs Jacquet's olfactor . | What is a person who smells things called? | english |
Finishing my first in class assignment in an English uni, I struggle with the name (especially with "the" and "of" words). I developed a website X and the document should describe the whole process. I was thinking about: <code> The X site solution development report X site development report The development report of t... | The report of X site development | How to correctly name a uni assignment? | english |
The New York Times (December 28) article, Words for the Dumpster begins with the following sentence: With the last tick of 2013, let’s throw out the most annoying, overused and abused words of the year. A few of these terms, “twerking” or “stay classy,” die a natural death when someone like John McCain starts using the... | A comb-over is an attempt by an elderly or prematurely balding man to disguise his baldness and appear more youthful and attractive by growing his top hair very long and combing it over the bald spot. It is rarely effective and usually risible. The expressions cited by your author in this sentence are youthful slang&md... | What does “comb-over” mean in the line, “Overused / abused words, e.g.’twerking’ and ‘stay classy’ are the aural equivalent of a comb-over”? | english |
Is there a term that can be used to refer to both the prefix and suffix of a word? For example, unenjoyable . I'm looking for a collective word that described BOTH un and able . | I think the word you are looking for is Affix Though that also includes other *flexes, than just suffix and prefix Noun: affix (plural affixes) (linguistics) A bound morpheme added to a word’s stem; formerly applied only to suffixes (also called postfixes), the term as now used comprises prefixes, suffixes, infixes, ci... | Collective name for prefix and suffix of a word | english |
"Night, folks; I'm off to kip ." noun 1 British a sleep or nap: I might have a little kip [ mass noun ] : he was trying to get some kip verb (kips, kipping, kipped) [no object] British sleep: ... | There is some more detail on World Wide Words . The Irish usage as brothel is first recorded in Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield : ... to assist at tattering a kip as the phrase was, when we had a mind for a frolic. The phrase tattering a kip meaning "wrecking a brothel". The word then came to be used for lodg... | Why does "going to kip" mean "going to sleep"? | english |
I think of this place as my home. ( OALD ) Consulting the sentence above, can I make an interrogative as these?: [a] As what do you think of this place? [b] What do you think of this place as? Or is this alone, what do you think of this place , possible? Or none? | You wouldn't normally include "as": What do you think of this place? The answer to the question would include the "as": I think of this place as my home. You could ask about that specifically: Do you think of this place as your home? And you could technically get away with: What do you think of this place as? But it is... | What do you think? | english |
If I have to pay an invoice it's my liability. If someone has to pay an invoice issued by me it's also liability. Are there any words that distinguish these two types of liabilities? Disclaimer: Sorry if that's obvious, I'm not a native speaker. | They are the same sort of liability, so there is no need for a term to distinguish them. However, they are not both liabilities on the same set of books . The invoice you must pay is a liability (a payable) on your books, but an asset (a receivable) on your customer's books. Likewise, the invoice your customer must pay... | How to name liabilities owed by me and by someone? | english |
Here is an excerpt from chapter 8 of Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris . Morris quotes some of Roosevelt's writing and calls it ungrammatical. Can you explain what is ungrammatical about the passage? Musing on the behavior of screech owls, he produced one extraordinary, if ungrammatical, image: They come up to the house af... | Reading through the comments on your question, one could conclude that the word ungrammatical has a rather technical meaning. Perhaps it would be useful to ponder whether Roosevelt's statement is as clear as it could be, or could be improved. Consider the potentially confusing part of his statement: "by changing one's ... | Is Theodore Roosevelt's writing ungrammatical? | english |
Or what's its equivalent? The whole sentence was: "Let me give you a round up below the cut" | There are two separate elements here. The first (round-up) , which simply means summary , is a relatively common and established (informal) usage. But below the cut is an unusual turn of phrase that probably only started to appear with the Internet. Cut here is jargon/shorthand for cut-off [point] - the limit at which ... | What does the expression "Round up below the cut" mean? | english |
What is the meaning of “in a medium” in the following sentence? A major objective in a heat transfer problem is to determine the temperature distribution in a medium resulting from imposed boundary conditions on the surface of the medium . | In this context (it reads like something out of a thermodynamics textbook perhaps?), "medium" simply means "substance" or "material", maybe a pool of water or a block of iron. Google definition: the intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed to the senses or a force acts on objects at a distance. | Meaning of “In a medium” | english |
If I went home and was happy to do so, I can say that "I went home happily ". If I sent somebody else home and he was happy to do so, can I say that "I sent Johnny home happily "? This doesn't sound right because it sounds like I was happy to send Johnny . Is there a way to use an adverb to describe the action of a per... | Adverb placement is very important. However, it is often flexible, which may lead to ambiguity. There is also the problem of adverbs and adjectives. Happily I sent Johnny home. (I'd say we're safe to say this is an adverb.) I happily sent Johnny home. (This is an adverb.) Adverb placement of focusing adverbs generally ... | Adverb for a person who is not the subject | english |
seed·y ˈsēdē adjective 1.sordid and disreputable. "his seedy affair with a soft-porn starlet" synonyms: sordid, disreputable, seamy, sleazy, squalid, unwholesome, unsavory shabby and squalid. "an increasingly seedy and dilapidated property" synonyms: dilapidated, tumbledown, ramshackle, falling to pieces, decrepit, gon... | Nothing so imaginative, I’m afraid. The Oxford English Dictionary says it is ‘apparently in allusion to the appearance of a flowering plant that has run to seed.’ | Origins of "Seedy" | english |
What is the proper adjective form, if any, of apothecary ? My best guess is ' apothecal ', although my resources have not found a definitive answer one way or the other. For example: Jordan opened the package he had brought from the apothecary. It had a clear apothecal smell. | Although the etymology of apothecary relates to a 'storehouse,' the current usage of the term is with reference to a person or his " office " (i.e., practice/ vocation) in pharmacy. As such, its adjectival use with smell is bound to have hilarious outcomes. However, should one insist on using such an expression, merely... | What is the proper adjective form, if any, of apothecary? | english |
[i] She thinks of herself as a poet. ( Collins #7 ) [ii] People are thinking of her for president. ( Webster’s, think of #2.b ) [iii] What do you think of the film? ( Cambridge ) It seems like verb think licenses two consecutive prepositional phrases [PP] as in [i] and [ii]. I’ve not yet found these constructions: ‘thi... | Think , unless it's the intransitive 'display cognition' sense of Rodin's The Thinker , is normally transitive, and its normal object is a complement clause describing the thought. He thinks that the earth is flat . (tensed complement with that complementizer) He never thought to get a permanent visa. (infinitive compl... | what do you think of NP? | english |
The following is taken from the Princeton Review's Cracking the GRE, 2013 Edition. Can someone please help me understand why choice (C) is offered as the correct answer? I know my confusion stems from my faulty analysis of the argument (attached at the end), but I am just unable to identify the gaps of reason from here... | Please note the question, what is the assumption made by the argument. In order for the entire argument to be valid, we have to assume that (C) If consumers from Country Y drive on the left side of the road, these consumers are less inclined to buy [cars built with] steering wheels on the left-side of the car. And the ... | (GRE) Verbal Reasoning | english |
I want to know about the position of always in different sentences. For example: Always she is tidy and on time. Is it correct or not? | Always is an adverb of frequency, like never , often , frequently , and usually . In simple tenses, it usually goes after the verb "to be": She is always on time. She was always on time. With other verbs, it usually comes just before the verb: She always runs before breakfast. In compound tenses, it goes between the au... | The position of "always" in different sentences | english |
What is the right way to perform a positive and a negative adverb comparison in the beginning of the sentence? As an example, which of the following ways is correct: Similarly to yesterday, and opposed to tomorrow, we are eating dinner together tonight. Similarly to yesterday, and as opposed to tomorrow, we are eating ... | I am unaware of any reason not to use like and unlike in the way in which you have used them here. I'd probably go with "Like yesterday, but unlike tomorrow, we will be eating together tonight." | Positive and negative clause comparison in the same sentence | english |
I often come across this phrase "fresh off the back of something" and although I could never find it in a dictionary, I figured out it means "right after something" but what does it really mean "off the back"? Why is the word "back" used in this phrase? | OED has a draft entry from 2010: Chiefly Brit. on ( also off) the back of : on the basis of; by capitalizing on the work or success of. 1906 Baily's Mag. Jan. 30/2 On the back of every successful form of enterprise kindred ventures are too often floated without much regard to the question of whether they contain the el... | What's the origin of the phrase "fresh off the back"? | english |
Here is the sentence - "Life is where my heart is." Has "where" been used at the right place? | Absolutely. "Life is where my heart is..." "Life is everywhere." "Life is at home." Where the heart is, is simply denoting a place or state of matter and hence the entire phrase is acting as an object. | "Life is where my heart is" - Has "where" been used at the right place here? | english |
I'm wondering what the opposite of a paean might be, or if there's such a word in English. I thought there was, but I can't think of it. The example I'm using is that Ernest Cline's Ready Player One . It's a novel about a dystopian future where people spend all their time jacked into a virtual reality called the OASIS,... | Given that a "paean" is a "song of triumph, praise" (see παιάν, sub II, and I'm aware that English isn't Greek!), my inclination would be to go with "lament" or "dirge" (a song of death or defeat). If you wanted to reflect the opposite of "paean", there is a corresponding term in Greek, θρῆνος, which comes into English... | The opposite of a paean | english |
The British informal word for a child. I couldn't get any work done because the sprogs were running riot. ODO has the following: 1940s (originally services' slang): perhaps from obsolete sprag 'lively young man', of unknown origin Anyone got any more on this? | Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English , Fifth Edition (1961) offers this entry for sprog : sprog, n. A recruit: R.A.F.: since ca. 1930; by ca. 1939, also—via the Fleet Air Arm—used occ[asionally] by the Navy. H. & P. Origin obscure and debatable (see esp[ecially] Partridge, 1945); but per... | Whence does "sprog" come? | english |
For example, in the picture above, there are three of them. How should I refer to them? As in a sentence like: I excused myself and went to the toilet, but all of the [...] were occupied. | These are called stalls . Wikipedia shows the definition of "stall" as a small enclosure of some kind, usually less enclosed than a room. and gives these examples: In a cathedral, the stalls are the seats built into the quire (or choir) in the eastern end of the structure. In a theatre or concert hall auditorium, the s... | What do you call the individual enclosed defecating areas in toilets? | english |
In an English-language book, we conventionally have, among the first few pages, a page displaying essential data concerning the book: Library of Congress Cataloguing Data, various credits, publication date/location, copyright and other legal information, etc. What is this page called? Do we have a specific term for it?... | The page in question is conventionally called the Front Matter . Reference . (Thanks to John Lawler and JLG, q.v. comments on question.) | Book Publication Data Page | english |
I am not sure if my title is clear but perhaps this example will clear things up. I wanted to write the word "amygdala", I sounded it out and concluded that it must be spelt "amigdala". When I looked it up I was disappointed that what sounded like an "i" should have been a "y". I am curious if there are any rules of th... | I don't think there is anything about pronunciation or spelling that should tell you whether a word is more likely to contain a "y" or an "i" in an intermediate position. About the only thing you have to work with is the word origin. Words derived from Greek are much more likely to have "y" in their spelling than are w... | Are there any rules to differeniate when to use the "i" vs "y" in spelling | english |
I recently asked Whatever happened to ( some noun from the past )? But then wondered if I should have preferred to split whatever into two words: What ever happened to ( some noun from the past )? I came to English.SE to resolve it. I read the (related) questions: stackexchange-url ("Whatever happened to "what eve... | Whatever pron. Everything or anything that: Do whatever you please. What amount that; the whole of what: Whatever is left over is yours. No matter what: Whatever happens, we'll meet here tonight. Which thing or things; what: Whatever does he mean? Informal: What remains and need not be mentioned; what have you: Please ... | "What ever happened to" versus "Whatever happened to"? | english |
The horizontal (left-right) dimension is called longitude. The vertical (top-bottom) is called latitude. However, I'm not sure how to adjectivize and adverbize those terms. The best shot expressing the meaning I can think of is " latitude-wise " for the vertical case. Here, I have two questions. Is there a more sophist... | First off, you have the terms reversed: latitude is a horizontal line and longitude is a vertical line. As far as using them as adjectives and adverbs: latitudinal (adj), latitudinally (adv) longitudinal (adj), longitudinally (adv) | What's the correct term for horizontally and vertically on a map? | english |
Saw this thread . In the thread, poor is implied in a sense that it is more severe than bad . I myself would choose to replace poor with terrible . But I don't see anything implying that in dictionaries. Is that always the case— poor is worse than bad —if the two words are used under the same context? | I think that the list clearly is meant to be in order of quality, and that one is meant to infer that poor is worse than bad . Given the common usage for these two words, I don't see that they have any clear ordering between them, so the inclusion of both of them in an ordered list of this type seems a bad (or poor ) c... | "Bad" or "Poor" is more severe? | english |
I want to know the opposite of the word peripheral. For instance, one can have peripheral branches of the trigeminal nerve and upmost or something. What is the right opposite word of peripheral ? | It's not clear what you mean by the "opposite" of peripheral. If you say that peripheral means of the periphery, around the edges, then one "opposite" is at the centre, or central . | What is the opposite of Peripheral? | english |
I found "ere" was used a lot by Tolkien and some other authors. When can I use "ere" and when "before" in the following sentence? Let's go ere I change my mind or Let's go before I change my mind Is "ere" still used in English? | Oxford Dictionaries Online describes it as literary or achaic. For that reason, it is best avoided in normal contemporary speech and writing. | "ere'" or "before"? | english |
Question 1: What is the meaning of "I am sick of you" exactly? Question 2: Does the meaning of this expression change depending on the context? Question 3: How offensive is this expression in comparison with some alternatives having similar meanings? | It means that the other person’s personality or behaviour is so objectionable that the speaker no longer wishes to continue the relationship. It is hard to imagine any context in which it would be well received, unless it was clearly being spoken in jest. It is very offensive compared with most other things that might ... | How offensive is the expression "I am sick of you"? | english |
I'm searching for a broad word that is summarized by sexual transgression . Is there a single word to describe a type of behavior of those that pursue rape, pedophilia, adultery, incest , or molestation ? | There is no single word to cover your broad field of Sexual Predatory Behavior or even your narrowed field of Sexual Transgression . We do call those who have transgressed so sex offenders . However, it is a very broad term which includes even some types of texting. There is a distinction made between a sex offender an... | Word for morally negative sexual behavior | english |
The relation between asinine and ass is pretty apparent, and I know that ass isn't a very acceptable word, but is asinine? If it were used in an essay for school or during discussion would it be considered vulgar or inappropriate? Alexy's course of action in this text was rather asinine. | asinine adjective extremely stupid or foolish: Lydia ignored his asinine remark ODO The word has one s because it's derived from the Latin asinus, "ass; donkey". There's nothing remotely vulgar about the word. As for connotation, it imparts an air of contempt. | How acceptable is "asinine" | english |
“These cookies are fun to make and especially fun to eat.” ( source ) Semantically, these cookies is both to-infinitves’ object; and to-infinitves seems to be the semantic subject of both funs, as is in the sentence of "It's fun to take a walk". Is this right understanding? Or do the to-infinitves become semantic objec... | These cookies are fun to make and especially fun to eat . As the OP suggests, this is a stackexchange-url ("Conjunction Reduction") of These cookies are fun to make and these cookies are especially fun to eat. Let's just take one of these, OK? It's the same structure in both conjoined clauses. These cookies are fun to ... | fun to make and fun to eat | english |
I’m thinking about the opposite ends of a blood vessel, so perhaps the “upmost” blood vessels and “deepest” blood vessels. My problem is that I like neither word quoted in the previous sentence. What pair of opposing words would work better in this sort context? | The proper medical terminology is superficial and deep . Veins located close to the surface of the skin are called superficial veins and the veins found in the muscles of the arms and legs are called deep veins. | What is a better antonym pair than “upmost” vs. “deepest” for blood vessels? | english |
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