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While watching the excellent 1972 picture "Cabaret", I came across an interesting quote using the expression "to make a pounce". The context it is used in can be found on subzin.com . While I have never heard the expression, its meaning becomes somewhat clear from the context to mean "to make advances to/at someone". W... | Here's the evidence to support OP's suggestion that make a pounce was more common in the past... But here's the evidence to show that relatively speaking it was never actually "common"... It's also worth noting this from etymonline.com... pounce (v.) 1680s , originally "to seize with the pounces," from Middle English p... | Quote from a movie: "To make a pounce" | english |
Are "to split up" and "to break up" colloquial if I want to say that somebody ended a relationship? If they are colloquial, could you give me non-colloquial synonyms except "to end" a relationship? | In my opinion, talking about relationships is usually done in a colloquial context. To give an account of your sentimental life to your boss or in a job-interview doesn't seem right. Why would you want a formal expression to that? [Totally OFF-TOPIC] I always wanted to use the following word but never found the right c... | Is "to split up" or "to break up" colloquial? | english |
My question has to do with the adjectives one can use to describe the very general shape of a fish if we think of these three axes: tail-to-head axis back-to-belly axis side-to-side axis Question 1 What adjectives shall I use to describe the fishes on these 3 axes? tail-to-head axis long vs short back-to-belly axis tal... | Mathematically, the term that describes the deviation from being a circle is eccentricity . The larger the eccentricity, the more ellipsoidal a circle is. A circle is inherently non-eccentric; its eccentricity is equal to zero, by definition. But words like "elongated ellipsoid" might describe a long, thin fish, while ... | Adjectives that describe the general shape of fishes | english |
To the question, How did you get here? the response was, I bike rode. Why is this incorrect? | It is perfectly understandable and grammatical, but not something that a native speaker would say. Compound verbs with an embedded object noun do exist, but they tend to occur in technical writing and not in everyday speech. | If only he had cycled | english |
I'm writing an article on games developed by Open Source principles. The games are not software, as "Open Source" might suggest, but made from paper, wood or something else physical. My problem is that most readers who only look at the title would assume it's about software, not hardware. What would be a good term for ... | Traditional games - used mostly everywhere as the term to contrast against Video games . The term encompasses card games, board games, pen&paper RPGs, miniature strategies, games of skill, and so on. Interestingly, many of casino games are excluded - except for these which are commonly played for fun outside of cas... | What's a good term for games which are not software? | english |
If something is divided into principal divisions, what is the next level "down"? For example, if a generic term for a US state or Canadian province is a "principal country division", what is a good name for the next level down, like a county? Edit: I'll probably just go with Primary Division and Secondary Division, unl... | Primary is to Secondary as Principal is to subordinate/supplemental or subsidiary. ..a level down. Primary Division and Secondary Division vs. Principal Division and supplemental Division. It's more a matter of choice and prevalent usage. | Primary is to Secondary as Principal is to...what? | english |
I am familiar with the idiom “to root for sth” meaning that I am hoping for something to happen or taking the side of something. But what does this have to do with roots? Does it mean that I am putting my root where somebody else stands? Where did this idiom originate? | You need to differentiate the noun from the verb, then investigate the verb for your answer. The noun doesn't help much here. root n.: the part of a plant, usually below the ground, that lacks nodes, shoots, and leaves, holds the plant in position, draws water and nourishment from the soil, and stores food Origin: Midd... | Where does the idiom “root for sth” come from? | english |
I'm writing a letter to my teacher to thank her for letting me put on a party, but I'm confused by these: I would like to thank somebody for your support, guidance and encouragement, and for the opportunities provided to me to organize this event. I would like to thank somebody for your support, guidance and encouragem... | I wouldn't use any of these. I would instead use: I would like to thank you for your support, guidance, and encouragement, and for giving me the opportunity to organize this event. | Provide to somebody to do/doing or Provide for somebody to do/doing? | english |
Is 'give a speech' idiomatic in English? An instance I can think of would be “When that happened, my teacher gave a speech , and then said, "Now everybody wish Elbe a merry Christmas!"' As a bonus question, can anyone suggest an alternative expression which renders the same emphasis? | Although verbs have often been called 'doing words' when the part of speech has been introduced to young children, this is a crude, partial, definition which can cause problems later on. One set of verbs that need special explanation are link verbs , which show a property of (or redefine) the referent of a sentence's s... | Is 'give a speech' idiomatic English? | english |
"Why wouldn't to use xxx?" or "Why wouldn't do to use xxx?" - are these correct questions in the following context: <code> - Why wouldn't to use xxx? / Why wouldn't do to use xxx? - Because I/we hate xxx! </code> | You can't use an infinitive as a subject that way. You can use a normal subject: Why wouldn't Jack use xxx? And you can use a dummy subject: Why wouldn't it do to use xxx? Almost any use of an infinitive as a subject is awkward. About the best you can do is something like, "To err is human". But no native speaker would... | "Why wouldn't to use foo bar?" | english |
Since "quixotic" was coined with Don Quixote as its basis, why is it pronounced "kwicks-OTT-ick" when it should by rights/origin be pronounced "Key-HO-tick"? It even sounds more onomatopoeiatic the latter way, as it resembles in its sonorous qualities "chaotic," which suits the subject. Or is trying to make sense of En... | It appears to be dialect issue. Its not a word that comes up much in daily conversation, but the few people I know who use it pronounce it closer to your second (your supposedly "correct") way. More like KEY-hot-ick (emphasis on the first syllable, short o in the middle). However, there are comments below to the effect... | Why is quixotic pronounced as it is? | english |
The word "Bluechip" is used to refer to large cap companies which are in existence for at least 10 years. But why are they called Bluechips? What does the word denote? | A Bluechip refers to a blue-colored poker chip of high value. Please, also refer to the following link: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=blue+chip | Origin of the word "Bluechip" | english |
Wikipedia on Ottoman Empire gives its naming as coming from the Ottoman Turkish language , but on that very page, the name of the language is transliterated as Lisân-ı Osmânî . In Russian we call the empire and language "Османская"/-ий, also transliterating as "Osman[suffix]". The trail vanishes there... Were telephone... | "Ottoman" comes from French. OED mentions that Byron used the more correct form Othman ... We see that pronunciation with /th/ or /s/ is closer to the original, but in some languages (French, Italian) the pronunciation is different. | Where does the anglicisation "Ottoman" come from? | english |
Are there in English any cases of using religious words for swear words, most likely in predominantly Christian regions? I ask because in the Canadian province of Québec, which is primarily francophone , religious words get used for swearing quite a great deal when speaking French. (I suppose this might be explained by... | This question is really very interesting. tl;dr The short answer is no, not really : there is nowhere today in the English-speaking world where religious imagery is anywhere near as frequently used for swearing as occurs in French-speaking Québec. Detail, details, details I strongly encourage anyone who can read French... | Are there religious swear words in English the way there are in French-speaking Québec (like “Câlisse!”)? | english |
I am reading this The Elements of Style book by Strunk and White, I am confused about rule number 11. A participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject There are several examples given, I understood all except this one: On arriving in Chicago, his friends met him at the station. ... | There is nothing ungrammatical about the second sentence. More specifically, there is no participial phrase in the second sentence: there is a subordinate clause followed by a main clause. In the subordinate clause, “When he arrived”, ‘he’ is very clearly the subject; in the main clause, “his friends met him at the sta... | participial phrase at the beginning of a sentence must refer to the grammatical subject | english |
When choosing an adjective to refer to the nature of a calendar system, such as how we have months of varying length, is it more appropriate to use calendric or calendrical ? Is there any difference, perhaps in context? Or is it a British vs American English thing? | The OED has only one entry for both words: there is no difference between them other than the one being a syllable longer than the other. Laconic lovers of brevity who try never to use an -ical word when the corresponding -ic one will do would surely select the lighter calendric . On the other hand, prolix writers and ... | Calendric vs Calendrical | english |
"Sally & Rhod's Wedding" - where should the apostrophe go? | You have it correct. You would not want to place the apostrophe after the s in Rhod. That would imply that it belonged to multiple Rhods. (i.e. Rhods') | "Sally & Rhod's Wedding" - where should the apostrophe go? | english |
Simple subject "I": I went. Replacing it with "me": Me went. That sounds strikingly wrong. We use it for fake "caveman talk". However, there was a time when it worked like this: 1st person singular, subject/object: "I"/"me" 2nd person plural (or polite, formal etc 2nd person singular, yes), subject/object: "ye"/"you" S... | In Old English, thou was used for addressing one person and ye for more than one, both as clause subject. Thee and you were used as object. During the Middle English period, ye/you came to be used as a polite singular form alongside thou/thee . During Early Modern English, the distinction between subject and object use... | What happened first: "ye"/"you" merging to "you", or "thou"/"thee" falling ou of common use? | english |
If light can pass through an object, or if you can see through it, it is transparent . Is there a similar word for "air can pass through", or you can breathe through an object? This adjective would be used to describe a screen door, or certain types of fabric. | permeable if the pores are small allowing liquids or gases to pass through; capable of being permeated; penetrable; especially : having pores or openings that permit liquids or gases to pass through breathable if it's a fabric Permitting air to pass through: a breathable fabric. I don't know what to call this property ... | Is there a word for "air can pass through it"? | english |
I’m now curious because while I was updating the Wikipedia page for Onomatopoeias , I saw two different sets of sounds for scream and shriek . The sounds listed under these two sections seem to overlap. According to Google, both words are synonyms: scream noun a long, loud, piercing cry expressing extreme emotion or pa... | The main different would probably be the pitch and length of the sound. When I think "scream", I'd mainly think of a long, loud cry. When I think "shriek", I'd mainly think of how high-pitched the cry is. I'm easily able to imagine a short shriek, but a short scream doesn't come to me so easily. It just turns into a "s... | What is the difference between “scream” and “shriek”? | english |
When telling a story about myself from the past, I have found myself in an internal debate over whether the correct way to segue into the present is: That was me twelve years ago. Or: That was I twelve years ago. My instincts tell me the first is correct (object pronoun after a verb and it sounds better to my ears). Bu... | Professor Geoffrey Pullum has this to say: Myth: Expressions like "It was me" and "She was taller than him" are incorrect; the correct forms are "It was I" and "She was taller than he." Pullum responds: The forms with nominative pronouns sound ridiculously stuffy today. In present-day English, the copular verb takes ac... | "That was me" vs. "That was I" | english |
I am reading a book that states the hero "knew himself to be among the dead". Does this means that he considered himself as good as dead, or that he understood that all the people around him were dead? Generally, what does "among the dead" means? | As far as I know, there is no idiomatic usage of " among the dead ". It appears to be used in both of the contexts you've provided. In your case, it's that everyone around him is literally dead. Some quotes: ...those hideous nights when we toss and turn in fever and pain, when we lie, like living men among the dead , s... | what does "among the dead" mean? | english |
I'm reading Anna Katharine Green's A Strange Disappearance and found the following sentence: if the girl had a secret—as nearly all girls have, brought low as she has evidently been—it had nothing to do with her disappearance, nor would a knowledge of it help you in any way. Can you use another phrase? What is another ... | brought low simply means to be placed in a less beneficial position by fate, circumstance, as a result of poor choices, or other. Another phrase might be "as far down in her circumstances", or, to use another idiom, "down on her luck". examples: Talbot's death takes the form of traditional de casibus tragedy wherein a ... | What does "brought low" mean in this sentence? | english |
I am a student in contact with a business owner, and I am having a hard time deciding on a complimentary close. Should I use it for every email I send him? I don't want to make it redundant since it is for formality's sake. | For formal emails/letters to a business owner/principal/someone of authority, you'd use "Yours sincerely" or "Yours faithfully", followed by your name on the next line. "Sincerely" is used when you don't know the person's name. (ie. Dear Sir; Yours sincerely) "Faithfully" is used when you know the person's name. (ie. D... | What complimentary close to use in continuous formal email? | english |
I'd like to know if there's a difference in meaning and usage between the words "patrimony" and "heritage". I've noticed there's some overlapping between the two, but it's not clear to me how they differ. If I understand things right, heritage is not necessarily related to wealth. There's cultural heritage, historical ... | Just as patrimony and heritage have the following point in common - both signify something that you get from your predecessors - the two have a difference due to the specificity of the word "patrimonial". Patrimonial strictly means something that you inherit from a male ancestor, more precisely your father, whereas her... | Difference between "patrimony" and "heritage" | english |
Both side part right/part wrong to me; which one is preferred: A) Note, though, that Don Quixote's “olde” Spanish/English has been preserved in order to retain its intended comic effect B) Note, though, that Don Quixote's “olde” Spanish/English have been preserved in order to retain their intended comic effect | The first version is the right one all right. The oblique stands for or , so the singular its . The second is incorrect. A) Note, though, that Don Quixote's “olde” Spanish/English has been preserved in order to retain its intended comic effect. The language used in the Spanish (or English, as the case may be) has been ... | Which is the preferred usage? | english |
When you intend to say someone has a strong desire to achieve something high or great, is it proper to say they have "high aspirations"? Or would it be "large aspirations", or something else? | High is indeed the collocation of choice here. Big or large don't sound idiomatic. Both the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and the British National Corpus (BNC) confirm this. <code> COCA BNC high aspirations 40 3 great aspirations 7 0 big aspirations 4 0 large aspirations 0 0 </code> The opposite, in fa... | "High aspirations" vs. "large aspirations" | english |
I saw the following sentence: Something unknown has blocked the progress of the biggest diameter tunnel. Then, can I replace these words as follows: Seattle has progressed the biggest diameter tunnel. Before I read this material, I thought the word "progress" was used to mean something like "start". But it seems to be ... | You are seeking to use progress in its verb form rather than as a noun. However, as a verb, it is almost always intransitive, that is, it takes no object. As indicated in ODO [no object] move forward or onward in space or time You can say Seattle has made progress on the biggest diameter tunnel or Seattle has progresse... | Can I use "progress" in this way? | english |
“The novelist must begin by playing the sedulous ape, assimilating the craft of his predecessors; but he does not master his own form until he has somehow exposed and surpassed them.” Source Does "expose" mean that the secrets of the predecessors are now revealed? Or does it have another meaning? | Melville remains one of the best American examples of how every important writer is foremost an indefatigable reader of golden books, someone who kneels at the altar of literature not only for wisdom, sustenance, and emotional enlargement, but with the crucial intent of filching fire from the gods . It is clear from th... | What does this "expose" mean? | english |
When my daughter received the present I bought to her, I asked her: Do you like my present? Is this correct? Or I should say: Do you like your present? | In my view, it depends on the context of emphasis. If you are specifically stressing that the gift came from you, "my gift" would make sense. Also, "my gift" would still be appropriate if the gift has not yet been received or accepted. Generally speaking, once a gift is given, at the time it is accepted, it stops being... | "Do you like my present" vs. "do you like your present" | english |
Which of the followings is the most common way to say 3:15 in American English? A quarter past three A quarter after three Three fifteen Also, in the last example "three fifteen", where do you put the stress (fif-TEEN or FIF-teen)? | It's most commonly three fifteen /ˈθri fɪfˈtin/. In the latter word, the stress is on teen . The other two choices are also fine, with past somewhat more common than after . The article a isn't always included. | Telling the time "3:15" in American English | english |
What is the difference between the following two? On the first of every month... Every first of the month... | The difference is that the first is a prepositional phrase and the second is a noun phrase. There's nothing illogical about the second one. Nor is there any reason to hyphenate it beyond stylistic preference. It's just a different way to say the thing, but everyone would understand it: "On the first of every month I li... | "On the first of every month" vs. "every first of the month" | english |
In Japanese, there is no difference in definition between fun and interesting in their adjective forms. I know that fun also has a noun and verb form in English, but I am wondering is there any difference between "fun" (adjective definition) and "interesting"? In all honesty, they appear to mean the same thing. Is ther... | The basic difference between the two is emotions it appeals to. Fun is enjoyable. It causes pleasure - especially in active forms, as thrill, exhilaration, challenge, elation. Interesting appeals to curiosity - learning, it's about things we want to know, see, learn, examine. Whatever reasons - be it for pleasure, or e... | Difference between "fun" and "interesting" | english |
I happen to be this type who always finds it hard to turn down someone who asks for my help. You know, like when people ask to borrow some money, ask to take them to see a doctor, ask to help with English (I'm a nonnative speaker), ask to teach them some difficult subject, and anything. Moreover, this type of personali... | Perhaps pushover - a person who is easy to overcome or influence: Colonel Moore was benevolent but no pushover or patsy - a person who is easily taken advantage of, especially by being cheated or blamed for something or soft touch - (informal) a person easily persuaded or imposed on, esp to lend money Of the three, the... | A single word for "Someone who cannot say no to anyone asking for help." | english |
I've been wondering about the difference between questions that use can't you and can you not . Like: Can't you tell just by looking? [I read this from a comic-detective series] Can you not hear me? [I heard this from an animation movie] So, does it make a difference when you use can't you and can you not ? Or anything... | A simple stress of the NOT in the sentence, that's all. Can't you hear me? - am I not getting through? Can you not hear me? - is it really true you can NOT hear me? The is it not? is getting on a bit. A little archaic. I would not expect to hear it outside a '50s boarding school movie | Difference between "Can't you" and "Can you not"? | english |
I am doing a persuasive essay for English. I want a word that means "not located yet", as in if you know something exists, but have not yet found the boundaries where it exists. As in genetics, where you don't know the chromosome or area that a specific gene is found, therefore you cannot genetic-test for it. The sente... | Anticipated. "Instead of performing studies on many pairs of twins for the hope that one pair might have the anticipated gene, you could clone an individual already exhibiting the trait." | What words mean "not located yet"? | english |
The word "humiliate" carries very negative connotations; is there a verb for "making someone humble" or "giving someone humility" in a positive way? For instance, "Having children of my own humiliated me" isn't the best choice of words. | I think the verb humble is at least more neutral than humiliate , although the connotation might not be specifically positive. Some examples via COCA from various sources: That's the sign that little Melipona, messenger of the gods, has been trying to deliver all along. The missive is so literal, I can't help but feel ... | Is there a word for "to make humble" with a positive connotation? | english |
What is the opposite of "abbreviation"? For example, if <code> ELL </code> is an abbreviation for <code> English Language Learners </code> , then <code> English Language Learners </code> is a(n) _ __ _ ___ for <code> ELL </code> . I'm looking for a word that will work for all abbreviations, not just acronyms, so anothe... | I'd go with expansion if I were forced to fill in the blank (although I'm more comfortable with expansion of than expansion for ). You can expand an acronym. However, it would be more usual to say: What does ELL stand for ? Or: ELL stands for English Language Learners. Especially in non-technical contexts, stand for so... | What is the opposite of "abbreviation"? | english |
When querying: Where is your mother at? Is that considered to be proper English language usage? Alternatively, you could just state more simply: Where is your mother? Is adding the trailing preposition considered slang here, does it have no value and should it just be eliminated? | It is not standard English, but it is quite common among some groups. It is, as you say, redundant. You are welcome to eliminate it from your own usage, but neither you nor I, nor even the massed users of ELU, have the power to eliminate it from English. | Is "Where is your mother at?" grammatical? | english |
I kept searching for an English word whose definition I remember, but not the specific term. I have searched but cannot not find it. This is the definition: an event, usually an unpleasant one, that might or might not happen in the future Could you give me some hints? | How about the word ' contingency '. Here's the second of two senses listed on Merriam-Webster's online dictionary: a.) An event (as an emergency) that may, but is not certain to occur b.) Something liable to happen as an adjunct to or a result of something else To be honest, I'm not familiar with sub-sense 'b', and whi... | Vocabulary: an event, usually an unplesant one, that might or might not happen | english |
In Salinger's "Paula" there is the following passage: "I so desperately want our baby born safely, darling. I’m afraid of falling. I’m afraid of a thousand things." Mrs. Hincher paused, suddenly squeezed her husband’s hand, as though some sharp, horrible image had come to frighten her mind’s eye. She continued, "Cars a... | By saying "baby" instead of "the baby" one is making the reference more personal. The baby is third person and is therefore impersonal. "The baby" could be any old baby. By saying "baby" without the definite article, the reference is now to a particular baby - specifically his baby. The conversation may have marked the... | What does "disarm and waylay one's heart" mean? | english |
There was this reddit thread to see who can create the most confusing sentence. Judging by the upvotes, I am guessing it is indeed a correct sentence. If so, can someone decipher this work of art? What exactly does this mean? Has Anyone Really Been Far Even as Decided to Use Even Go Want to do Look More Like? | It is not a coherent sentence. It started life several years ago on the 4chan video games board (probably as a deliberate troll) and led to a several people attempting to decipher it as a real question. Screenshots of this 4chan thread were then posted on reddit, and it has subsequently spread virulently from there. Pr... | Confusing sentence from reddit | english |
On a recent outing I discovered a number of these. Essentially, you look through the hole in the middle and you are facing a landmark, city, specific location, etc. Whilst this one is clearly modern, I am sure this type of thing existed historically. Do they have a name? The place I saw them doesn't have them named any... | Many years ago my friends and I used to pore over local maps looking for potential ley lines. We'd select one for "on-site" investigation, then get out and walk along it - usually for several miles. I was always struck by how often we were able to use footpaths, bridle paths, turnstiles, etc., and how often we encounte... | Is there a name for this type of sculpture? | english |
Is there a word for the feeling someone may have who recently had a blackout or was so hungover that they can't even stand smelling something alcoholic? You know what I mean; the feeling that makes you throw up if you smell or drink an alcoholic beverage. Something like alcoholo-phobic? | I don't think you're going to find a word specifically related to alcohol but I may suggest: "Repulsion" noun [ mass noun ] 1a feeling of intense distaste or disgust: people talk about the case with a mixture of fascination and repulsion Although, actually, on further reading: "Alco... | A word for the feeling of not being able to stand the smell of alcohol | english |
For example, when you are a little hungry and you say "I'm starving", or when you are so tired and you say "I'm dying". What do you call these type of expressions? Just exaggerations? I don't know how to explain this better. | This is an example of hyperbole . | What do you call exaggerations like "I'm starving"? | english |
To my surprise I found that doubtless is used as an adverb without appending the "-ly". Doubtless , some of you will know more examples. It feels wrong, but then again, I am not a native speaker. Would you use it like that, or would you substitute doubtlessly here? | Doubtless means without a doubt *, so it works as an adverb (in addition to being an adjective) even though it lacks the adverbial -ly ending . The -ly ending in the adverb doubtlessly is redundant and unnecessary. Doubtlessly is not wrong, but it can, and maybe should (?) be replaced with the shorter alternative. It a... | Doubtless or doubtlessly? | english |
Is this late or early ? It's a bit unclear to me. Because this question body wasn't meeting good quality standards of this site, I had to write this additional sentence. | Not a moment too soon implies that something happened when it was almost too late; just in time Help arrived - and not a moment too soon. Another minute and he'd have drowned; she found him in the pool not a moment too soon. With this idiom, the five words are usually kept together. One may say She arrived not a moment... | not a moment too soon - is it fast or slow? | english |
Scenario: Someone publicly says, " We have made a decision " in reference to an important choice, but no matter how many people ask what the decision was, the person does not say. Later, when asked about why they refused to disclose what their decision was they reply with " Because I don't want everyone to know ." Ques... | You could try tantalize , with some care. 1 | Is there a word that conveys 'keeping someone wondering purposely'? | english |
Yet another question from Salinger's Ocean Full of Bowling Balls . Holden writes to his brother from a camp: Ask him if he ever read corinthans. Corinthans is in the bible and is very good and pretty and Web tailer read me some of it. What does "Web tailer" here refer to? Is this a cultural reference, a typo, or a reli... | "Web tailer" does not really mean anything in English, and reading the story in context doesn't illuminate much. Given that the fragment of the letter that they're reading contains multiple deliberate spelling and grammatical errors, I would guess that this is a garbled form of someone's name, Web Tailer . Web is proba... | What is a "Web tailer"? | english |
Here is the documents needed. Here are the documents needed. Which is grammatically correct and why? My guess would be the second one because of the plural form. | Documents are plural, so the only correct usage is: Here are the documents needed This isn't an edge case, so it is simple. Compare Here are the potatoes and Here is the sack of potatoes Where the subject is plural, you use are and when it is singular you use is . | "Here is/are" followed by plural | english |
I was writing a blog post about my phone this morning, and this is how I started it: Last week, after abusing it for over three years, I retired my trusty old HTC Desire and replaced it with an HTC One. This sentence didn't feel quite right to me, so I changed it to: Last week, after having abused it for over three yea... | There is not very much difference in meaning between those two sentences. Use of the past participle form (having abused) emphasizes that the first action has been completed before the second action begins. However, the use of after makes it seem a little bit redundant. Perhaps it might sound better without after . Hav... | "after abusing it for three years" vs "after having abused it for three years" | english |
Let me ask you a question which I've derived from my programming practice: Let's assume, I have a number of users represented by their names: John, Pete, Stanislaw, Marc, ... What words should I use to name such collection of names of users: user names , or users names ? Thanks. To provide more context, here is similar... | What words should I use to name such collection of names of users: user names, or users names? In the second example, users names sounds like user's names . You are already pluralizing names ; I believe you are modifying names with the adjective user . Using another adjective-noun pair might help clarify the situation:... | What is correct form of writing: "users names" or "user names"? | english |
Why can we say "a change of address", "a change of plan", etc. without any articles in front of "address" and "plan"? Aren't they countable nouns? Is it some kind of idiom for "a change of X" or a special usage of grammar? | It is true that a singular countable noun such as plan would normally be preceded by a determiner. So the following is ungrammatical: * Do you have plan? It seems in the present case, however, that plan and address are being reconceptualised as uncountable ideas rather than as individual examples of a countable entity.... | The article of X in "a change of X" | english |
Is it correct use to as preposition in the following sentence? Books are the best source to knowledge. I have mostly seen of as being used with source , for example "source of knowledge". But I was wondering if I could use "source to" without it being a mistake. | I think it would mark you as a foreigner, though it would be understood. I would say source of knowledge . I might also say source for knowledge , with a hardly different meaning | Is it correct to say "source to" instead of "source of"? | english |
This phrase seems to be a metaphor to me, however I guess you could say "ear" might be referring to a concept of being able to make music well. Would you say it's a metaphor or metonymy? | To have a good ear for music has nothing to do with making music: it means to be able to listen to music, put it in its technical and historical context, and understand what is going on in it. “Ear” thus stands for the great complex of physical, intellectual and emotional capabilities which constitute the c... | Is "to have a perfect ear for music" a metaphor or a metonymy? | english |
I can't do anything rather than waiting. I can't do anything rather than wait. Which one is correct and why? | Idiomatically (and logically, it seems to me) neither of OP's suggestions are valid. It should be... I can't do anything other than wait (or but/except wait ) Valid constructions using rather include, for example,... I would/will do anything rather than wait. ?I'll do anything rather than waiting . I've marked the seco... | "Rather than doing" vs. "rather than do" | english |
In mathematical context, or in the context of mathematical logic, is there a difference between: This is valid for each x. and This is valid for all x. ? If both have the same meaning, which is preferable? | Both are valid here, as is 'every' as GEdgar mentions. I would suggest that 'every' and 'all' are slightly more grammatical in this usage. | "For all" or "for each" | english |
Could anyone please tell me if I used "themselves" properly in this sentences: Such artificial samples can also potentially reduce distortions ... that are due to varying properties of the samples themselves . I'm not a native speaker but my sprachgefühl tells me that there should be this "themselves" at the end of the... | Yes, that's fine. The 'themselves' in this context adds emphasis it was specifically the samples which were causing the distortions. | Proper usage of "themselves"? | english |
Generally , does the word "abstruse" give positive or negative (or neutral) connotations? For example, "daedal" and "profound" would generally be considered a word with positive connotations, whereas "confusing" would have negative connotations, and "abstract" would be neutral. I am aware that the entire sentence needs... | This word may be uncommon enough that its connotations end up being ultimately about individual opinion. None of the dictionaries I have just checked give any mention or relevant samples to indicate any inherent connotation in the word. That said, to me , ‘abstruse’ has a definite negative connotation, like ‘obscure’ a... | Does "abstruse" carry a positive or negative connotation? | english |
A humdinger is a remarkable or outstanding person or thing. The OED has it as originally US dating (as hum-dinger ) from 1905, but says the origin is unknown. Where does the word humdinger come from? Was it used before 1905? | Here is the entry for humdinger in Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (1961): humdinger. A fast aircraft or vehicle; a smooth-running engine: Services, but mostly R.A.F.: adopted in mid-1940 from American airmen. American s[ource]: echoic: hum (speed) + dinger (something forceful). Partrid... | What's the etymology of "humdinger"? | english |
I'm developing a software application for children and it would be useful to have an English dictionary with terms/words sorted by their "interestingness" to children aged 4-8. Terms like "unicorn", "bunny", "cat", "dog" would be on top and terms like "differential equations" and "econometrics" would be at the bottom (... | You can find many word lists in general internet searches, although as a parent of a young child, I found the following resources useful for the 4-8 year age bracket: If you intend to have this age group read the words, then I hope you will consider including words from the Dolch List . The Oxford wordlist allows you t... | Free word list of English words of interest to children? | english |
There is a meme going around in which a game-show contestant is given the phrase: May the force … And they finish the phrase with: … be equal to mass times acceleration. My question is whether the sentence May the force be equal to mass times acceleration is grammatically correct. Would a member of the 'g... | "May the force be equal to mass times acceleration" is perfectly grammatical. Your argument hinges on the fact that the force already is equal to mass×acceleration, but that is irrelevant here. All the grammaticality requires is that a sentence can be parsed, not that it also makes sense or is true. We can even simplif... | Is "may the force be equal to mass times acceleration" proper English? | english |
I am looking for a single word (noun) describing a person or any other entity that determines something. For example: John determines next year goals for his employees. John is a ... of employee next year goals. I was thinking about determiner but that somehow does not sound well... | It does not sound well for you because this word is widely used as a grammar term. However, if we look the word up in the dictionary , we see: "a person or thing that determines or decides something" Therefore this word is suitable in this context. | What's a single word to name a person/entity that determines? | english |
In the United States and Canada, when someone asks you for "a lift" or you offer "a lift", you are speaking about riding in a car with them. However, in England and other places, a "lift" is an elevator. "Taking a lift" means "taking an elevator". Where else in the world does "a lift" not refer to, or cannot be constru... | In the UK a lift is by far the most common word for "taking somebody somewhere in a car". A ride is unusual in this sense, except perhaps where the purpose is to enjoy the journey rather than to get somewhere. My impression (as a Brit) is that in the US a ride is more common than a lift for taking somebody in a car. | Where in the world does "a lift" mean "a ride in the car"? | english |
I'm a native Spanish speaker who's trying to grasp some of the subtleties of (American) English pronunciation. I think the sounds that give me the most trouble are the triplet of low back vowels: /ɑ/, /ʌ/ and /ɔ/. The word "gone" is especially tricky, because each time I hear it I hear something different: Sometimes I ... | English vowels have a large amount of variation between accents and individual speakers. Even among speakers who pronounce cot and caught differently, gone and on may be pronounced either way. Gone and on do not belong to any lexical set , but the closest one for me is cloth . So it’s generally pronounced /gɑn/, and th... | How is "gone" pronounced? | english |
In a month of Sundays is used to emphasize that something will never happen. But this one, A month of Sundays in Paris, this is not the case. How can this be` understood? | That's not a common expression; judging from Google, it seems to have been used only once, as the headline of a bbc.com slideshow about Paris in August: http://www.bbc.com/travel/slideshow/20130724-a-month-of-sundays-in-paris The implication is that, in Paris, the whole month of August is like one extended Sunday: leis... | A month of Sundays | english |
"Working for the man". Does "Working" act as a noun, verb or something else in this case and why? If I said, "I am working for the man." Then clearly working is a verb. However, I'm confused by the colloquial phrase "working for the man." It seems to have a "poetic" tone if you will. Because the subject does not exist ... | Are you perhaps thinking of the song ‘Proud Mary’? Left a good job in the city, Working for The Man every night and day, And I never lost one minute of sleeping, Worrying 'bout the way things might have been. If so, working is an ellipted form of I was working , and is thus the -ing form of the verb work . It’s rather ... | Is Working a noun or a verb in this sentence? | english |
How can we understand "a torn man"? I found it in Love Is a Fallacy. I sat down in a chair and pretended to read a book, but out of the corner of my eye I kept watching Petey. He was a torn man. First he looked at the coat, with even more longing in his face. Then he turned away, but with not so much resolution this ti... | It may depend on the context, but often the word "torn" is used when describing someone as stuck between two situations or decisions, with each side strongly "pulling" at him. "A torn man" can refer to situations such as a man unable to decide between two women, or perhaps daily has his work contend with time together ... | What is "a torn man"? | english |
Revelation 8:1-2 (of the Bible) says the following (KJV): And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. I want a concise way to refer to these seven trumpets. Options I have ... | The great judgments of the Tribulation consist of seven seals, which were attached to the "title deed" to the earth. In that deed, which only the Lamb is found worthy to open, are all the events that would transpire before God brings history to a close with His destruction of the old heavens and earth and the creation ... | What is the most common collocation to describe the seven trumpets blown in Revelation? | english |
I typically think of words like "bittersweet" or "sandstorm" when I think of compound words. But words like "otherwise" or "maybe" also have two other complete words inside of them; are they also considered compound words? The reason I ask is because most of the stereotypical examples directly relate to the meanings of... | Many words started out as two separate words: maybe (may be), tomorrow, yesterday , otherwise, and hundreds more, but they are no longer considered compound words. As JBJ points out, otherwise comes from Old English othre wisan : other manner. Some may seem mismatched if we don't know their Old or Middle English roots. | Are words like "otherwise" and "maybe" considered compound words? | english |
Richmond May 1st [17]99 (Source of Letter) Dear Sir You may possibly have seen a paragraph in a late publication, stating that several important offices in the gift of the Executive, & among others that of secretary of State, had been attainable by me. Few of the unpleasant occurrences produc’d by my declaration as... | beg leave simply means I beg you to allow me to/give me permission to I beg leave, to repeat here, what I have already said in my former volume, that... from beg ask formally for (permission to do something): I will now beg to make some observations; from Old English bedecian, of Germanic origin; related to bid and lea... | "I beg leave to assure you" — letter by John Marshall | english |
Once upon a time in America, particularly during the 1970s, if you asked an American whether they ‘fancied a shag’, they might well have thought of this: And therefore declined the offer for fear of rug-burn. Meanwhile their kids, being still innocent, would have likely assented to the request, hoping that Scooby might... | Well, it's the fourth definition given on Merriam-Webster for "shag", and under origin, it says: Origin of SHAG earlier argot, probably ultimately from Middle English shoggen , shaggen to shake — more at shog . First Known Use: 1788 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shag and for shog (to shake, jolt, or move in... | Where does the word “sh**” come from? | english |
I need to translate a sentence and I cannot figure out a good way to do so. Can I use the word 'persevere' like this, or are there better ways? Vincas consistently deepens his knowledge, he is not afraid of any difficulties that may arise, but perseveres by means of determination and work. Do I need to change the highl... | Your sentence: "Vincas consistently deepens his knowledge, he is not afraid of any difficulties that may arise, but perseveres by means of determination and work." (23 words) There are probably 50 or more ways of translating your sentence, though into what language it is being translated is a concern, and the particula... | How to use 'persevere'? | english |
There are two episode titles from two separate shows that are written similarly: From Castle: The mistress always spanks twice From Doc Martin: The GP always rings twice Episode titles are usually clever plays on words, so I'm assuming the two titles are alluding to a common expression. What expression (or other cultur... | Probably from the novel ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ by James M Cain, published in 1934: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Postman_Always_Rings_Twice_%28novel%29 | What expression are these titles alluding to? | english |
When using "at the latest", is this correct usage? "I will be in around 10am or 11am at the latest". | The phrase at the latest means no later than . "I will be in around 10am or 11am at the latest" means I will be there by 11 am or earlier. It is somewhat ambiguous to say 10am or 11am at the latest since 10am is obviously not the latest, 11am is. Many would understand this to mean I am hoping for 10am, but surely by 11... | usage of "at the latest" when expressing time | english |
Because Middle English was a hodgepodge mélange of Old English (a Germanic tongue) and Norman French (a Romance language), it seems like Middle English was actually a kind of pidgin or creole . My question is: Was it such, and if so, which one was it: a creole or pidgin ? If so, when did it stop being such — or didn’t ... | I think this is an opinion-soliciting question, best answered by linguists. Since none are coming to your assistance, I'll contribute the little I know from my studies related to teaching Latin. English is definitely not a pidgin language, insofar as pidgin means a grammatically simplified form of a language, used for ... | Is English actually a pidgin or creole? | english |
I would say in jest to someone, "Damn you!, you always get your way." He insisted that I was being abusive. Since my tone or tenor did not convey it, I put it down to his studying in a Catholic school. My question is, in Christian dominated countries today, is 'damn you' offensive or can it be used in jest? | I suppose I've sat through one too-many mandatory in-house session on "bullying," but I do feel the answer to OP's question lies in the relationship between the two persons involved. If OP said, "Damn you! You always get your way" to a small child who has been been taught that Christianity is the "One True View", then ... | Is 'damn you' abusive or offensive? | english |
What are the exacts words in this line of Aaron Tippin's song "Christmas is the warmest time of the year? The time is: 1:36 - 1:39 Here's the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxZz1169s0Q Are they: "It's the sound of silence coming soon"? | I think the verse you're referring to is: Hand in hand in Winterland There's magic in the air It's a sign that Santa's coming soon | what's the lyrics in this line? | english |
I read it from a jewelry website relating to a bottle of perfume or cologne maybe? Some sort of spray? I can't seem to find a definition on google. I'm assuming French roots. | eau means water in French. Eau de cologne is a fragrant liquid (toilet water, where toilet is French for the process of washing oneself, dressing, and attending to one's appearance, or denoting articles used in the process of washing and dressing oneself) with a strong, characteristic scent, originally made in Cologne,... | What does "eau" mean? | english |
We have the word "flash" for "a quick passing of light". Do we have the equivalent for our auditory sense? | A fragmentary period of sound is called a burst of [noun describing sound] . E.g. a burst of noise or a burst of birdsong . | A single word for "a quick passing of sound"? | english |
Although once a word that dared not speak its name, thanks to stackexchange-url ("popular-culture references") as well as the devastating AIDS tragedy, condom seems to be on everyone’s lips these days. But does anybody really know where the word condom (BrE <code> /(ˈ)kɒndɒm/ </code> , AmE <code> /ˈkɑnd(ə)m/ </code> ) ... | A likely origin of the word could be latin condere that means to hide/to keep safe . I've found two references pointing to that, it all gets back to that commercial site . Not a scientific source but sounds likely so I'm risking an answer. I'll sum up briefly one short passage of this long article. A craftsman from Utr... | Where does English get the word “condom” from? | english |
I'm translating a neuropsychological assessment report into English and I'm not sure which word/phrase to use here: The neuropsychological functions related to the performance of volitional and differentiated actions, motor production, perception, verbal memory and attention are... The idea is that these functions are ... | I presume you want to avoid a negative connotation word because you have been told/informed that it is better to use a positive word to express something than a negative. However, unimpaired is widely used in the medical literature, because it stands so directly for the positive opposite to impaired , regardless of gra... | suitable positive alternative to unimpaired (e.g. in neuropsychological function) | english |
Context: The Processing Speed for situations requiring immediate attention is sluggish I'd like to know if this sounds acceptable in a neuropsychological report, or if there's a more suitable word. Thank you! | zac, you might consider the word depressed : reduce the level or strength of activity in (something, esp. an economic or biological system). On the first 2 days after caffeine discontinuance, depression of locomotor .... or, possibly better, impaired, lowered or even lag Significance and sign of transmission as a funct... | does "sluggish" have a negative connotation? | english |
The word infanticide means: killing of babies: the practice of killing newborn babies Is there an equivalent term for killing the elderly? | The word you are looking for is one of either: senicide — as in senior, senile, senectitude, senescence, senate, senator geronticide — as in gerontocracy, ˌgerontologist, gerontophilia, gerontophobe Quoth Wikipedia: Senicide or geronticide is the abandonment to death, suicide, or killing of the elderly. Apparently seni... | Is there a term for "genocide" of the elderly? | english |
When writing dialogue, a dash can be used to denote interruption. For example: “Hello, can I ask you about—” “No.” If a character is interrupting themself, should the first word of the interruption be capitalized? In other words, should the word oh be capitalized in the following quote? “Have you seen — oh my God, you’... | Jane Straus advocates lower-case to follow a dash even after a sentence fragment: I wish you would — oh, never mind. This shows an abrupt change in thought and warrants an em dash. Usage on the internet is non-uniform. | Should the first word after a dash used as self-interruption be capitalized? | english |
Why are "Mother Nature" and "Mother Earth" (and perhaps other similar connotations I am unaware of) feminine personifications? The same question stands for "Father Time" - why masculine? Any explanation as to the history and/or origin (and/or anything else enlightening) of these phrases would be appreciated, particular... | In many if not most mythologies, the earth (from which life springs forth) is feminine. In world parent myths, there was chaos, where male and female are bound together, until separation, the sky is usually male, the earth is usually female. In Emergence myths, a person springs forth from the womb of mother earth. Moth... | Etymology of "Mother Nature" and "Father Time" | english |
What would be a word for the object of adoration? E.g., a public speaker, a movie actor or a character in a novel. In short, if I am a fan of X, then X is my _ _. Please note that the adoration here is not excessive, and therefore I am looking for a word weaker than ' idol '. | I do not know why the lexicon has not considered this but the natural choice should have been, admiree Lamers, M. : The verb admire needs two arguments, the admirer (someone doing the admiring), and the admiree (the entity being admired). Kecskes, I. A speaker may choose which aspects of someone they admire to mimic in... | Word for the object of adoration | english |
When to use anyway and when to use any way ? Anyway I can do it. Any way I can do it. Are these the same? | Anyway is an example of a discourse marker, one of whose functions is " to indicate what speakers think about what they are saying or what others have said ". (Swan, Practical English Usage , p138). Swan groups anyway together with anyhow, at any rate , and in any case , and describes their function as follows: These f... | The difference between "anyway" and "any way" | english |
That’s why it’s particularly appropriate for us to take this opportunity to foreground poetry as an aural experience. — Source Is this "to" the same as "something to say?" P.S.: Isn't this presumptuous? It's like we have the right and legitimacy to do this! | To is a particle which often precedes the plain form of the verb when it is functioning as an infinitive. It can no more be omitted before the verb foreground in this sentence than it can be omitted before take . If you think the sentence is presumptuous, then that is up to you. It is not a matter of grammar. | What is the second "to" in "to take this opportunity to foreground poetry"? | english |
How do you use "timbre of the times" and what does it mean? I read: Given the timbre of the times, I wouldn't have done it. Thanks. | Timbre of the times is used idiomatically. Literally, timbre means the characteristic quality of sound that distinguishes one voice or musical instrument from another or one vowel sound from another: it is determined by the harmonics of the sound and is distinguished from the intensity and pitch Effectively, it means t... | How do you use "timbre of the times" and what does it mean? | english |
A single t between vowels sounds like a d to me (or like an r in my language, Brazilian Portuguese). May I say the tt spelling the same way, or does that only work for a single t ? | Yes, the spelling doesn’t matter, just the pronunciation. In most North American and some Antipodean dialects of English, both Katie and kitty have an alveolar flap there, just like the one in the middle of Portuguese or Spanish cara . It is represented by [ɾ] in IPA. | Correct pronunciation of "TT"? | english |
I am reading Candide by Voltaire. Candide urges a sick man to find a cure for his illness, and the man responds with "Alas! how can I?" said Pangloss, "I have not a farthing, my friend, and all over the globe there is no letting of blood or taking a glister, without paying, or somebody paying for you." A search of the ... | It is an old name for enema. As the example, here is an extract from "Medical observations and inquiries, Volume 3" (1769), where glister is used when a patient had a hard time swallowing and eating, so it was advised for the patient to: ... take a glister twice a day, made of near a pint of strong mutton broth with th... | Meaning of "Taking a Glister" | english |
This is written on a railroad platform: Is the English text OK? Or "cross the line" is better? Or both are equally correct? | The instructions in your image are correct because they state specifically which line not to cross. (Do not) "Cross the line" is used idiomatically to warn someone not to exceed a threshold (the line) in a particular action or behavior. | "cross this line" versus "cross the line" | english |
Example one: Once they give their money, that's it , they don't want to hear it anymore. Once they give their money, that's that , they don't want to hear it anymore. Example two: Today's lesson will only cover the introduction about the course. And That's it Today's lesson will only cover the introduction about the co... | I think you're right in that there's a little difference in nuance, but not a lot. That's that to me means End of Discussion. That's it to me means that's all . I do believe there is more flexibility. You can have either grape or orange juice to drink, and that's all. You're grounded and that's that. I kind of like, "T... | "That's it" versus "That's that" | english |
This wouldn't by necessity include OR preclude cannibalism, but certainly would be predicated on there being aliens (though humans might well do this). Most humans won't eat Dolphin or any of the other smarter mammals. In particular I'm more concerned with sentient beings eating other species/beings that are self-aware... | I'm not aware of any such word. While of course people speculate on the existence of sentient life on other planets (or on this planet), we are not in contact with any such beings or even aware of the existence of any specific such beings, so it is not surprising that we would not have words to describe many potential ... | Is there a word for beings that will eat other Sentient beings? | english |
I'm trying to figure out how best to write that I've been awarded for obtaining the second best (is it better to say highest ?) grade|mark|score. I'm talking about the final grade|mark|score of a degree (not of a single exam), which is represented by a number instead of a letter. So far I've been writing "Award for the... | "Awarded/Commended for obtaining the second highest mark." | How best to write this sentence. Grade | Mark | Score related | english |
I looked at the Cambridge and Oxford dictionaries online and they don't contain this word. But typing it into google takes me to the Merriam Webster definition . So does this just come down to taste? The reason is that my computer programming team needs to establish a standard (in programming you write "subaccount" if ... | sub- is a derivational prefix, which means that it's generally thought of as attaching below the word level. Adding it to an existing word creates a new word. Compare words like subtotal or subspace . Would you say either of these is more than one word? The difference here is that subtotal and subspace are established ... | Is subaccount one word? | english |
The shop is five minutes away. According to the dictionary, away is an adverb. An adverb modifies a verb. In the above example, what word does away modify? Why is away not an adjective? The shop is five meters tall. tall is an adjective in the second example. It modifies five meters (does it?). So why is away an adverb... | Sometimes away can be an adjective. The OED has an adjectival sense for away in its sense 11a: 11 a. Of the position attained by removal in place: In another place; at a distance; at (a stated) distance, off. spec . In reference to games or matches played away from the home ground. Hence as adj .; also as quasi- sb ., ... | Does "away" serve as an adverb or an adjective in the following sentence? | english |
I'm translating some software from German (where there's a correct way for everything) into English (my native language, but also where I do so much more just by feeling) and I'm stumped by things like: T value X coordinate Y coordinate My sense is that all three should not be hyphenated or capitalized (though I'm not ... | This isn't German; there is no rule. This isn't covered by English grammar, but by the conventions of whatever field of science/engineering you are writing in. In the fields of math, physics, and computer science, the ones I am familiar with, the question is whether the variable you are talking about is named x or X . ... | Hyphenating/capitalizing values and coordinates | english |
This question is about a specific Seinfeld episode "The Package". For those that are familiar with the show, Kramer breaks-up Jerry stereo package and sends it back to him with a insurance. That way he could claim that the USPS screwed it up and get the money for it. Once the package arrived, here's the dialogue: Jerry... | The idea is that the Post Office will have a budget for 'losses in transit' and they can just pay the claim and the accountants will just transfer the loss to that budget without affecting the real business. Similar ideas are that 'you can write it off against tax' if you claim [the expense] as a deduction from your ta... | Meaning of "Write Off" in a particular context | english |
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