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Pretty much every occurrence of th I can think of see are pronounced as /θ/ or very similar sounds (sometimes slightly closer to f or s ). Still, does th appear in any English word pronounced as two distinct phonemes, /th/ ? I can think of some portmanteaus where the first word ends with t and the other begins with h (... | In the geographical names: Thames, Thame, Theale (although local opinion appears to be divided on that one), Thailand, Lesotho. In the names "Thomas", "Thomson", "Esther". The only common noun, i.e. not a proper noun, I can think of is "thyme". | Is *th* ever used not as a thorn outside of portmanteaus? | english |
In the quote in the title, "of" refers both to the material that makes up the cup and to the stuff that the cup holds. I remember reading that there is a literary device that describes this, but I can't remember what it's called. The device, if I remember correctly, refers to the parallel structure of a phrase whereby ... | It’s an instance of syllepsis , in which 'one word is used with two senses in the same utterance’ (Katie Wales, ‘A Dictionary of Stylistics’) | "Cups of gold and wine" | english |
Some forums have this emoticon: :hsugh: that you could choose to post with your messages. The resulting graphic looks like this: What's the meaning of this emoticon? What emotion does it convey? | OK, so a quick google brought me to this page. hsugh breaks down into two parts: hs and ugh . hs means "happy sad". This is the emoticon for that: ugh is a sort of feeling of confusion (I think, although it might be disgust, or both). This is the emoticon for that: So merging them together you get hsugh, some kind of h... | What is the emoticon ":hsugh:"? | english |
I found New York Times (November 25) article titled “Helpful definition of modern author” intriguing. It provides humorous definitions of book-related terminologies such as authors, publishers, publicists, readers, books, bookstores, Amazon.com, etc. For example: You, Author: Act as Book’s Publicist, responsible for pr... | My reading of this is that the publisher, through the books it has previously chosen to publish, has shaped the market. If a publisher is acting as 'curator' (by choosing which manuscripts it deems worth publishing), it is indirectly curating the book market. To answer the headline question directly: no, it's not commo... | Is “curate the market” common usage of “curate”? | english |
Please consider the follow two sentences: It is hard to agree that by increasing sports facilities is the best way to improve public health. The best way to improve public health is by increasing the number of sports facilities. Why the first sentence does not need the preposition "by" while the second one does. | In sentence 1 what follows "that" is an independent clause that stands on its own: "Increasing sports facilities is the best way to improve public health." There is no need for "by" in the clause. In sentence 2 what follows "is" is a prepositional phrase "by increasing the number of sports facilities." Absent "by", the... | "by" before the gerund, when is needed | english |
Assume things are graded in some way and some level is assigned the attribute 'normal'. Things which stay (always) above this level are called elevated (relative to the norm). Things which stay (always) below this level are called what? Edit: I have intentionally omitted a closer context because I am interested in the ... | "Lowered" or "reduced" might work, but it's hard to say without some context. Example: Bob has an elevated level of foo. Joe has a reduced level of foo. Other phrases that might work are "less-than-average", "below-average", "subpar". | What word describes the opposite of 'elevated'? | english |
Here in India, both the phrases learning by heart and learning by rote are taken to have the same meaning, i.e., blind memorisation without true understanding. However, some sources say that to learn something by heart implies that one knows something so well that it has been thoroughly internalised and imbibed. So is ... | No. They are not the same. In fact, they are not even related much. Sadly though, the expressions came to be used interchangeably and even Wikipedia has merged them into a single entry. Learning by rote is about the technique or practice of memorizing. Learning by heart on the other hand, is the nature or quality of wh... | Do 'learn by heart' & 'learn by rote' mean the same? | english |
When you say "he doesn't fail to disappoint", to me it has a negative meaning as in he always disappoints. But I've heard some people using it as a compliment and in a positive way. So, am I wrong about the meaning or it's the other way around? For example, Christina said on Voice: My glam team doesn't fail to disappoi... | " Never fails to disappoint " in the OP's quote seems to be a good example of what the linguists on Language Log call a misnegation , whereby the utterance means the opposite of what was intended. Here is a sample of the misnegations they analyse: The Republican Party is now at record low levels of unpopularity. Boehne... | Never fail to disappoint | english |
What is a word for the form of literature that evokes images of supernatural creatures like goblins, elves, hobbits etc. in Tolkienian surroundings of misty mountains, caverns, underground lakes etc. | More specific than "fantasy fiction", Tolkien has been described in The Encyclopedia of Fantasy as the father of high fantasy (also known as epic fantasy), a genre "defined as fantasy fiction set in an alternative, entirely fictional ('secondary') world, rather than the real, or 'primary' world". | What is a word for the genre of literature of which Tolkien is the high priest and founder, in its 20th-century incarnation.? | english |
Include logo on the header of all the pages. In the above sentence, is it correct to use on or should it be in ? I have a decent idea of where to use on and in most of the time. But in the above sentence, both seem to be correct. | "In the header" sounds a little better to me. When it comes to text and graphical elements in a document, there seems to be a subtle difference between "in" and "on." "On" is more literal and specific. It makes me think of something actually being on the surface of the page. "In," on the other hand, seems to be slightl... | "On the header" vs. "in the header" | english |
As an American, I was never shocked to see the word "center" spelled as "centre." It didn't bother me at all. Honestly. But then I saw the participle of it spelled as "centring" as opposed to "centering," and it really made me reconsider the whole thing. Do UK (and Australian, New Zealand, etc.) speakers pronounce it s... | British English doesn't use the spelling centering; it’s always centring . As to pronunciation, it’s two syllables, or maybe two-and-a-half with the hint of a schwa, /ˈsɛntriŋ/ /ˈsɛntᵊriŋ/. Spelling the word with a third syllable looks odd because we don’t spell it that way and we don’t say it that way either. Spelling... | Participle of "center/centre" in UK English — "centring"? Seriously? | english |
As the title says - I'm struggling to find a word to describe the value that is added to the price charged for something to avoid passing on manufacturing savings to the customer. For example if building a ship costs my company $1000 and we charge $2000 to the customer. We then change suppliers and the ship now costs $... | The word "markup" has been stackexchange-url ("suggested in comments"), with the stackexchange-url ("response") that "markup does work but in this case the price already has a markup which is distinct from this extra value". This site about accounting suggests that while markup can simply mean "the difference between c... | I'm looking for a word to describe artificially inflating a price to keep it consistent | english |
I have a question about discreet and discrete . People tend to get these two words mixed up, and I would like to help them memorize these two words. Discrete : unconnected; separate Discreet : judicially reserved; prudent (Definitions from Word Smart...) | discrete The best way to remember the difference is that concr ete and discr ete end the same: -ete . Something which is discr ete is pinned down, precise: concr ete . discreet The other one is that clandestine spies and surreptitious lovers should always m eet in a discr eet location instead of on the str eet , choosi... | Ways to Memorize "Discreet" and "Discrete" | english |
I'm writing about art's function of rescuing, redeeming or validating the artist's experience and suffering. Some of my sources have compared this to the functions of magical talismans and power objects, and I'd like to use magical language now and then throughout my paper as a nod to this similarity. The problem is th... | Faith is commonly used in your context in the wild. Some examples: “Magic requires faith ” (“ Magical Faith ” at Malewitch.com ) “Will my style of ‘magick’ work if I have no faith in it anymore?” (“ Faith and Magick ” at Doing Magick is Being Magick! ) “I said in the introduction that magick is Holistic. One of the mos... | Is there a single word for the faith a user of magic has in the efficacy of a magical object or act? | english |
I am just unable to understand why "don't have a cow" can mean "don't panic". What is the origin of this expression? What's more, If someone is getting flurried, can I say "he is having a cow"? | "have" can mean "give birth to". (As in, "She's having a baby.") Having a baby causes a lot of noise, excitement and distress. So imagine the fuss over having a cow! I don't think "he's having a cow" is commonly used. I've only heard it in the expression "don't have a cow". | Why does "don't have a cow" mean "chill out" or "calm down" in American English? | english |
Recently in a newspaper article, I read this line phrase "to conduct a fare probe". Shouldn't it be "to conduct a fair probe" ?? If the former is correct grammatically, can you explain why ?? The context of the above phrase was about conducting an unbiased probe into a crime committed by a criminal. | In the context of conducting an unbiased investigation into an assault, fair would be the correct adjective (synonymous, in this case, with unbiased) for the probe. Maybe a typo in the newspaper? "Fare" has 3 contemporary meanings (a range of food of a particular type, the money paid for a journey on public transport, ... | Fair or Fare? - Which is right in this sentence? | english |
While I'm not native English speaker, I often need to express myself in English. For a week, I have been searching for a term which represents a kind of SQL query: <code> SELECT something FROM somewhere WHERE somethingElse IN (SELECT foo FROM bar) </code> It's a query within another (those in brackets). What term shoul... | This form is called a subselect by IBM . However, a more popular synonym is a subquery , which is used by Oracle . One page says Subquery or Inner query or Nested query is a query in a query. Usage on Stackoverflow: Subquery, 27,768 posts, 2,552 tags Subselect, 3,596 posts, 218 tags Inner query, 1,439 posts, 19 tags Ne... | Expression for some special SQL queries | english |
http://youtu.be/a9GgU3hzGGw?t=1m54s In the following video, a talk host watches an acting performance, and refers to the actor as a "garden shed". I've never heard that expression before. I am also not British. I imagine it means someone who can do anything, though I can't find a source for it anywhere on the Internet.... | It's a reference to the cut, which featured the Doctor (played by John Hurt) in what could loosely be described as a garden shed. No meaning beyond that, I'm afraid! | What does refering to someone as a "garden shed" mean? | english |
When holy cows are used in the phrases? Any sample phrases with holy cow. Also, the meaning of those phrases. | The phrase is also derived from the Brahman belief that cows are holy. I imagine the first group of Europeans who were told that their religion believed their cows were sacred stated with amazement such that they said "Holy Cow!?" And what they meant was: You believe cows are holy? It is used to convey disbelief in som... | what is meant by "holy cows" phrases? | english |
What are the meanings of "about all..." and "hold on to the hand of" in the sentence "There are many times in life when about all we can do is to hold on to the hand of the Divine Guide until we have run through the storm zone." ? Thanks. | In this context, I think the writer has omitted the word "just" as in <code> "just about there" </code> which indicates very little distance left before reaching a destination , or <code> "I just about reached it" </code> which is closer to meaning very little distance between me and my goal. or "just about anything we... | Meaning of "about all..." and "hold on to the hand of..." in the sentence | english |
I am writing a paper about a geometric algorithm where one of the main operations is dividing a rectangles to two smaller rectangles. It is important that there are two pieces, and that the pieces don't have to be equal. I am looking for a single verb that I can use in this context. There are many English words that ar... | Dichotomize means to specifically divide into two parts, with no inference about relative size of sub-groups. It has wide usage, especially in stackexchange-url ("statistics") and maths . There is a famous paradox, called the dichotomy paradox , which is pictorially described by drawing a rectangle and dividing it in t... | Divide to two parts, not necessarily equal | english |
Can a combustion engine be said to intake oxygen? | WP : The net effect is for the engine to intake the same amount of oxygen … [emphasis mine] Yes, in technical writing, words assume all kinds of POSs depending on usage within the domain. Do not try to compare such usage in one domain to another. Intake in the above context means what it does in that context (pe... | Can the verb "intake" be used intransitively? | english |
Although frequently used incorrectly incorrectly in English, the borrowed Italian word paparazzi should be used for a group , while paparazzo is one intrusive celebrity photographer. The dictionary defines the plural of martini as martinis . But similar to paparazzo, shouldn't martino mean one such olive-adorned drink,... | In English, martini is the singular; see here: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/martini The Italian word is actually derived from the English (not the other way round as your question implies), which probably derives as (same link): Origin of MARTINI probably alteration of Martinez (cocktail), from the name Ma... | Is "martini" plural or singular? | english |
Suppose it is now 12 o’clock at noon and I want to tell my mother I will have three meetings: one in the afternoon, one three days later, and one in several months. If I spoke at 9 in the morning, which tense should be used in the following sentences, simple past tense or past future tense? I told my mother I had a mee... | I too am confused about the timings. But I am assuming you mean that you spoke to your mother at 9.00am, when you told her the times of all these meetings. It is now 12.00 noon, i.e. three hours later. Group 1. Based on the above I do not think they are grammatically strictly correct and unambiguous. I would have said:... | I was wondering which tense should be used in the following sentences | english |
I have read a sentence in “New Concept English”, that is, Harrison had thought of everything except the weather . Here is the context: Harrison lived in Mediterranean for many years before returning to England. He had no sooner settled down than he started to complain about the weather in England because it is always s... | Except is used when some member/s of a set, stated or implied, are excluded for some reason: all the whole numbers except multiples of 10 all the class except Ann all birds except penguins all factors that would affect him ('everything') except the weather. Without (in the fairly closely related sense) means unaccompan... | Whether I should use “without” or to use “except” in this sentence? | english |
From Virginibus Puerisque by Stevenson: Hope is the boy, a blind, headlong, pleasant fellow, good to chase swallows with the salt ; Faith is the grave, experienced, yet smiling man. I did some googling, but nothing meaningful seems to come up. I have two vague guesses about either birds being chased and caught somehow ... | I am sorry that I can support my answer only with an 1834 German reference : It says (roughly translated): With their humorous salt they want to feed or catch time; and remind of children, which say to catch a swallow you only need to put salt on their tail. I would say it means the erroneous believe, that salt is enou... | Hope is good to .. "chase swallows with the salt" | english |
In German, we call the result of one particular dump as well as the doing it itself sein Geschäft machen (to do a deal/business) This is common and fit for print. Is there something similar in English that I could use in the following sentence After his morning _ ,... Or what other ways are there to express that withou... | I don't know of any nouns that fit your proposed phrase, but there are a few verbal phrases that might suit your purposes. American speakers (and possibly other English speakers) use the euphemism of relieving oneself . So, in your example, you might say: In the morning, after he relieved himself... Like the German phr... | Euphemism for poo | english |
I have just seen the following sentence fragment in some new internal technical documentation: ... thereby meaning the Logging thread(s) ha(s/ve) less work to do. I've highlighted the part this question is about. This pattern appears a number of times in the documentation. While from a technical standpoint it makes sen... | Use the plural. If you think it is important to point out that there may be only one because that is the most likely case, then say "...the logging thread or threads are...". However, consider simplifying to just "... the logging threads are..." even here. If you think it is important to point out that there may be onl... | How to deal with unknown plurality | english |
This sentence is pat from my paper which I would like to submit but I am not sure if it is right? Does it sound correct? Is available here correct? This study reveals that S and A have complementary performances and that there are available valuable satellite observed SSM data records over more than 5 years, which can ... | Stripping out the bare bones, Valuable data is available [which will aid in these studies]. may certainly be reformulated: There is available valuable data which will aid in these studies. (Using an existential-there (cleft) construction for 'There is available valuable data.' on its own sounds rather unidiomatic, cont... | Is it right to say available valuable? | english |
[i] Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago . (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) [ii] Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to ... | In the example [iv], you could say the "aboard" is a preposition. Some dictionaries define ago and aboard as adjective; therefore the interpretation could depend on linguists. http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/aboard?showCookiePolicy=true In this dictionary, the part of speech for "aboard" is adverb, ... | adverbs modifying noun phrases and licensing their own complements | english |
Which is correct? "Blazing Fast Speed" or "Blazingly Fast Speed"? In my opinion, the latter because one can't say, for one, "Amazing Fast Speed", right? Admittedly NY Times use it a lot but...: NY Times search for 'blazing fast' (via Google) | Either blazing or blazingly could be valid. We can use blazing to intensify fast , just as something can be burning hot or sopping wet , which sound redundant but are idiomatic. Blazingly , the usual adverbial form, would of course work in this manner. We could alternatively read blazing and fast as parallel descriptor... | What is correct "Blazing Fast Speed" or "Blazingly Fast Speed"? | english |
If he saw that he should act immediately or If he sees that he should act immediately Any differences betweeen these? | They are both valid. There are five main different types of conditional sentence, and your examples fall into two of them. The implicative form (sometimes called the zero conditional) covers the factual implications of one thing upon another: If he doesn't see anything, he can't act. If you don't eat, you will die. It ... | "If he saw that he should act" or "If he sees that he should act" | english |
Want to relieve from academic pressure. Want relief from academic pressure. I think the former one is more proper but my teacher said the latter one is correct. | Relieve means to give the relief . You can't "relieve from academic pressure" though someone could "relieve you from academic pressure". Using the passive, you could "be relieved from academic pressure". So, to use the verb and noun in full sentences each: I want to be relieved from academic pressure. I want relief fro... | "Want to relieve from" vs. "want relief from" | english |
I’m looking for the term for a business that takes raw meats from a slaughterhouse and refines them into charcuteries. | Original guilds producing charcuterie were known as charcutiers . | What is the proper term for a manufacturer of charcuteries? | english |
I want to know if which one is correct, for example I want to say: "The people who is in charge of this process" or "The people who are in charge of this process". I'm a bit confused because of the "who" word in the middle of the sentence. | In this case you would say "The people who are in charge of the process". Here, 'people' is plural, and refers to a group of more than one person, hence the use of 'are', rather than 'is'. If just one person were in charge, you would say "The person who is in charge of the process". | People who is or People who are | english |
In the video JULIA BOORSTIN -- Interview a Broadcaster! -- American English (0:34 to 1:20), a reporter from an American news television channel mentions that it's not a good idea to use the word ' like '. I've tried to find some information about it but nothing comes up in Google. Does anyone know why ' like ' shouldn'... | Some people, like use like all the time, as like, a sort of filler, like, so often that it like gets in the way of understanding what they like mean. And like, David Foster Wallace might get away with it, though some would like criticise him for it too, but it can also make what you say like sort of uncertain sounding.... | Why is it a good idea to avoid 'like' in English? | english |
Is there a single name (word or short phrase) to cover the art of creation of images — drawing, painting, sketching etc. — and specifically excluding sculpture, crafting and other arts that create other products than still images? "Graphic design" is close, but focuses on the utilitarian side, leaving "high a... | Graphic arts . Pictorial arts is also found. | Single name to cover "drawing", "painting", "sketching" etc | english |
Terry Pratchett is particularly fond of knees. More than once, he has used an expression describing an abundance of knees, or an excess of knees, or suddenly growign extra knees, to describe his characters. While the concept is, visually, one I can understand, I feel like I am not quite getting the exact meaning of thi... | Writers have their different favourite sources of imagery, and Pratchett likes knees. There's a few different uses here. Excess knees can represent losing control of your legs under the influence of adrenaline, and becoming ungainly. The extra knees of a camel also represents an ungainliness though a contradictory one ... | An abundance of knees | english |
I'm old enough to remember that (around 1980) the first personal computers were referred to, triumphantly, as 'microcomputers'. When did this usage fade out? | Microcomputer originally differentiated them from mainframes (AKA "big iron") and minicomputers . Minicomputers declined in the mid-80s and became obsolete during the 1990s. Mainframes remain in some use, but much less than they once had, while completely new types of larger computer system exist. Differentiation of mi... | When did the term 'microcomputer' become obsolete? | english |
My question does not regard the word, but a facial expression. Albert Einstein’s picture of sticking out his tongue is so popular and humorous, but I’ve been wondering under what situation the picture was taken, and what the picture connotes, every time I’ve seen it. In our country, the gesture of sticking out one’s to... | A directly stuck-out tongue is a gesture of contempt. It would once have been more offensive than now, but because it is now mostly associated with children, it will often be taken as childish teasing rather than an earnest insult. It is this level of cheekiness that Einstein was presumably aiming at. The origins are l... | What the gesture of sticking out the tongue signify as a body language among native English speakers? | english |
Can somebody please elaborate on the difference between illusion and delusion ? Especially in medical terms. | The position is not as simple as David Schwartz makes it sound. There is no reason why an 'illusion' should not be peculiar to one individual. There is nothing inherent in its meaning which says it has to be something which everyone who comes into contact with the circumstances has. Indeed the ODE splits the meaning in... | Difference between "illusion" and "delusion" | english |
<code> "Document streams Segmentation and Classification" </code> What I mean by this title is that i have a stream or a flow of documents and i want to separate these documents and classify them into for example insurance, receipt documents. Does it sound correct in english? Thank you. | It's a plausible enough title in headline syntax. I wouldn't know precisely what you meant from it, but that is true of a great many titles, and as long as reading the following text explained it, that's fine. Whether I would agree that it was a good title is impossible to say without knowing why you chose the word seg... | Is the following title correct? Document streams Segmentation and Classification | english |
I'm trying to think of a noun meaning "the process sought to be undertaken by one who is reactionary." | The word you're looking for is reaction . | Revolutionary is to revolution as reactionary is to _____ | english |
What is a term for a motivational or inspirational phrase that one repeats to oneself? For example, in the movie Cars, Lightning McQueen psychs himself up by saying to himself: "I am speed...I eat losers for breakfast." | In general it is an affirmation , or a self-affirmation . This term would include other ways to affirm something other than repeatedly vocalising it, but that is a common form. Colloquially, it might be called a mantra . In its original use, mantras would be objects of contemplation rather than affirmation, and repeate... | What's a term for a motivational phrase? | english |
If I have 5 dollars, and I exchange them for your banana, that's a zero-sum game. If I have a candle, and I use it to light yours, that is not a zero-sum game. It could be said to be the opposite of a zero-sum game, and I'd like to know if there's a more apt description. Now, what if there's some really infectious dise... | "Zero sum game" is originally an economic term, and so the phrase you're looking for might be an economic term. Your candle example is an example of what economists call a non- rivalrous resource. Basically that means that your consumption of a good does not prevent the simultaneous consumption by another. Other exampl... | Looking for the inverse -- not the opposite -- of "zero-sum game" | english |
Suppose that your job is an academic, then you may need to: 1. perform the research, 2. apply for a research grant. The tasks of the first kind contribute directly to your becoming a better researcher. The tasks of the second kind have to be performed otherwise you will not have funding to conduct the research, however... | I would describe them as: primary roles; and ancillary roles | A word for obligatory but not relevant activities | english |
My teacher ask me to write an essay on this topic, but I have no clear understanding of this phrase. Can someone explain in more simple words? If gold rust what shall the iron do. | It means that if even the best things deteriorate, we can expect no better from the worst. It’s a quotation from the General Prologue to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales : Out of the gosple he tho wordes caughte, And this figure he added eek therto, That if gold ruste, what shal iren do? For if a preest be foul, on whom we t... | Meaning of "If gold rust what shall the iron do" | english |
Is it a possible sentence? Leaders Lead By Solutions. | At first glance this may seem similar to: Leaders lead by example. However, by example is an idiomatic use that stands as its own meaning. We know what the leader is doing regarding "examples", they are being that example (or in the verb sense, they are exampling the qualities desired, but that verb sense is now very r... | Leaders Lead By Solutions | english |
I would like to say that I'm pausing / postponing work on something. I wasn't sure which of the following is the right way to say it: I'm holding off on it for the time being I'm holding off of it for the time being I'm holding it off for the time being I'm holding off working on it for the time being None of the above... | The idiom is: "Hold off on," your first one is correct. I've always found that remarkably clunky and difficult to understand if taken piece by piece, however. You could try "Putting something into a holding pattern" or "Hold fast on something for a time" to preserve some of the vocabulary, or switch to "We aren't movin... | Holding off on it or Holding it off or Holding off of it? | english |
I am looking for a word to describe a person who has high achievements in a particular field. High achievements can be subjective so this word should have personal meanings. For example, I really like an artist, although he may not be the best artist in the world, I just personally like his work so much that he has the... | I believe he is your role model . According to Wikipedia, A role model is a person who serves as an example, or whose behavior is emulated by others. | Looking for a word to describe someone who has high achievements in a particular field | english |
When should one use the word "coming" vs. "going"? For example, is it "I'm coming home." or "I'm going home."? (Ehhh maybe that was a bad example). "Are you coming?" vs. "Are you going?" may be a better example. I always get confused by this expression but most people I notice use the word "coming". | Coming is from the viewpoint of the destination. You might say to your colleagues "I'm going home" then phone your partner and, if they are already there, say "I'm coming home". While you are home you might say "I came home", though you could also say "I went home" positioning your speech relative to where you were at ... | Should I use "coming" or "going"? | english |
I came across the following sentence in The Guardian (emphasis mine): President Vladimir Putin of Russia said the EU was putting pressure on Kiev and organising mass protests against President Viktor Yanukovych. I've seen this construction used only for royalty, e.g. Prince Harry of Wales, King Stark of Winterfell, Kin... | It is unusual, but not to the point of being weird. The most common usages are exactly as you say. It remains though that a title of Putin is "President Putin", and that he is "of Russia", and so it is a valid phrasing. It's not done as a title, but as a clarification. They first refer to him as "President Putin", and ... | President of [Country][Name] vs President [Name] of [Country] | english |
When we hear about eating disorders, such as binge eating, anorexia, or bulimia, I usually don't know about it. | The commas are fine, but the sentence itself needs a little editing. Try When we hear about eating disorders, such as binge eating, anorexia, or bulimia, we often do not understand much about them. | Is this comma usage correct? | english |
In the physical public forums where democracy began (the Athenian Agora, etc.), the "public conversation" was face-to-face, meaning anyone capable of hearing it was also capable of speaking into it. This meant that each citizen's engagement with the public conversation was "bidirectional" - they were constantly being i... | The better word is two-way or two-way street : allowing or entailing communication or exchange between two persons, groups, countries, etc. involving two parties or participants, as a relationship or agreement; two-sided: a two-way race for the nomination. entailing responsibilities, obligations, etc., on both such par... | Better word for "bidirectional" | english |
Recently one of my friends who is not a native English speaker sent me a mail. In the last phrase he used a harmonic but strange structure instead of the usual phrases like "Best Regards", "Best Wishes", "Sincerely", etc. That phrase was: "With the Wish of Wellness". Question: Is this a legitimate English phrase? If no... | It's valid as a valediction. It leaves out the subject and verb, but then so does "best regards", etc. From context we know all valedictions to include something along the lines of "I send this to you..." or "I ask you..." and possibly also a joining "with". Hence "I send this to you with best regards", or "I send this... | Is "With the Wish of Wellness" grammatical? | english |
The print and broadcast media (radio and television) are only capable of transmitting information in one direction, from the transmitting node (the printing press, the broadcast tower) to the receiving node (the newspaper, the TV). On the medium of the internet, there is no transmitter/receiver dichotomy - information ... | Taken from microphones: Omnidirectional . | Better word for "massively-multidirectional" | english |
My question is about etymology of the name "Glen". Question 1: What is the meaning and root of the name "Glen"? Question 2: In which regions of Britain is the name "Glen" more frequent to use? Question 3: Is there any relevance between the name "Glen" and "Gael" people? For example can we consider "Glen" as an abbrevia... | Glen is a Gaelic word. It is gleann in both modern Scots Gaelic and modern Irish, and glion in modern Manx, but came into English in the Middle English period. It is found throughout Ireland, Scotland and Man, most often originating as translations of Irish, Scottish Gaelic or Manx names with gleann (or Old Irish glenn... | "Glen" and "Gael" people | english |
There was a phrase, ‘the governor cuts against his core argument ” on the issue of how to handle undocumented immigrants in the following sentence in Time magazine’s (Nov 23) article titled, “Christie’s leadership of GOP governors elevates and tests him.": “Earlier this month, Christie dodged the question on Sunday sho... | Like you, I could not find a listing of cut against in a dictionary. However, many dictionaries do list the phrasal verbs go against and cut across (meaning “oppose” and “affect multiple groups” respectively). I wondered if cut against is either a mix-up of these two phrases, or else a sharper wording of go against , a... | Is “cut against sth” an idiom or just ‘cut’ followed by a preposition? | english |
My ear is open to listen you.. Or, My ears are open to listen you.. Which one is right? | Each would be a figurative use of ear to refer to the act of listening, and in such figurative use both the singular and the plural can be used. To describe ears as open isn't very common, though it has at least one precedent My ear is open like a greedy shark, To catch the tunings of a voice divine. - John Keats But t... | My ear is open Or, My ears are open - Which one? | english |
Often times, I use to verb to recover to state that somebody is returning to normal health after having been ill, for instance: he is recovering from illness Recently, I've heard somebody using the verb to recuperate in the same context and with the same meaning: he needs time to recuperate from surgery Can to recupera... | They both come from Mediæval Latin recuperare , and as such both mean getting back something that was lost. Recuperate is more often used only of recovering from illness or money lost in a venture rather than other potential uses. Recuperation would be more often used than recovery of the period spent resting under tre... | "Recover" vs "Recuperate" | english |
"To delete" is to "deletion" as "to discard" is to what? | The thing that is deleted is a deletion ; the thing that is discarded is a discard . The act of deleting is a deletion ; the act of discarding is a discarding . If you like using incredibly rare words, you can use discardure for the act of discarding, as Jon Hanna's answer says. Expect people to think it's not a real w... | "To delete" is to "deletion" as "to discard" is to what? | english |
I'm a graphic designer. I have a project at hand in which I want to draw the underlying concepts in famous quotes. I want to name this project, and I thought of something similar to "quote-drawing". First, I thought of "quotography", but turns out that it's not a uni-lingual term, and it's a compound word made of Engli... | Although quotography is mixed-language, it has the virtue of communicating reasonably clearly and accurately, which I think the apparently-correct parathetography does not. (The knowledge that παραθέτω is Greek for quote is not widespread among English speakers.) You may also find the words ideogram, logogram , and pic... | How to form a word to represent "drawing quote ideas"? | english |
Would a native speaker say 'I was frozen out of fear'? | suggestions maybe petrified or being riveted to the spot…? | What is another way of saying 'my feet felt stuck to the ground' and 'I was frozen to the spot? | english |
From " The Early Bird ", by George MacDonald. A little bird sat on the edge of her nest; Her yellow-beaks slept as sound as tops ; Day-long she had worked almost without rest, And had filled every one of their gibbous crops; What is the meaning of tops here? | It means they slept quite soundly (that is, quite deeply). Note, an entry in Willis's Current Notes , on page 48 of the June, 1857 issue , makes the following claim about “sleeps like a Top” or “as sound as a Top”: The saying is derived from the Italian in which language, the word topo signifies a mouse; it is the gene... | Meaning of "top" in "to sleep as sound as a top" | english |
I have a problem to recognize this sentence "I have it cuts every weeks". So, what's the function of "have", and also the name of grammar(if any) or any sentence pattern for similar sentence, and what's the meaning of that sentence? Thank You. | In the (corrected) sentence I have it cut every week the have is a causative verb followed by an object and a past participle . It is used to express the idea of getting someone else to do the cutting rather than doing it yourself. Similar examples of the causative have are: He has his hair cut every week. ( He gets so... | what is the function of "have" in this sentence | english |
I am hesitated when I use the sentence "forgive my fault, please." instead of "excuse me, please." because the word "forgive" has a religious theme and probably carries some additional meanings. Also it seems the usage of the word "forgive" for apologies depends on the social rank of the people in the conversation too.... | While forgiveness is important to some religious views, I do not think it is particularly important in this case. When you excuse someone, you allow them to escape the consequences of their actions. When you forgive someone, you cease resenting those actions. One can forgive someone in your heart, while still holding t... | What is the difference between "excuse me" and "forgive me"? | english |
Here's the context: Dude's an awful troll. If he wants to express his views, he should present them in a more [adjective] manner. What we're getting at here is that the guy sounds obnoxious, but the controversial opinion he holds could still be expressed in civil discourse if presented properly. What word works best fo... | Rather than saying the argumentative person needs to be "more" of something, I would say he would need to be "less". Dude's an awful troll. If he wants to express his views, he should present them in a less provocative/inflammatory manner. (less) provocative Causing annoyance, anger, or another strong reaction, especia... | Word meaning academic or rational, when describing the style of an argument | english |
The sentence structure Subject has got noun to verb . basically places a noun behind a verb with the help of the infinitive marker to , and it makes the transitive verb looks as if it is an intransitive verb. A common example would be I've got something to do now. I'll let you know when I'm done. (If I didn't misunders... | I'd say that the most important thing to get right when looking at the area of transitivity / intransitivity is to realise that many verbs have both transitive and intransitive usages . Some verbs are strictly intransitive (eg arise; arrive; chat). ...... Some verbs are strictly transitive (devour; interject). ...... P... | The type of expression that makes transitive verb to look like an intransitive verb: How common is it? Should I use it in formal writing? | english |
The superlative forms imply that they are the ONLY ones. For instance, if we say, that John is the best football player. We mean, he's the best. So, how is it appropriate to say, "one of the best", when that phrase implies plurality. | If John is the best player (singular noun), then he is better than the rest of the players. If John and Mary are the best players (plural noun) then they are better than the other players. Consequently, there is no problem saying that Mary is one of the best players. She is one of the players who are better than the re... | How is appropriate to say "one of the biggest/best" etc? | english |
I was exploring the phrases for "to fall in love" in some other languages. And I came out with the result, only English describes the state of starting to feel love for someone as "falling". I wonder why this idiom is that way? Only logical explanation came to me is, falling in love is something unwished for, undesirab... | To fall is something involuntary, outside of our control, not necessarily unwished, but hardly something you can plan. The expression "fall in love" as in being overwhelmed by love has been with us for a long time, and occurs eg in Edmund Spenser's epic poem The Faerie Queen, published in the 1590s. Both Scudamor and A... | Why do we say "to fall in love"? Is it something unwished for? | english |
I am reading a BBC article on " Why pressing ‘upload’ means losing your rights ". On page 2 of that article there is a paragraph that reads: Meanwhile, legal thinking on digital rights is slowly catching up with the absurdity of their being almost no current recourse for loss, deletion or the whims of a service provide... | It should definitely be "of there being" in the referenced paragraph. Let us illustrate by providing possible alternative wordings: A consequence of their being is ... A consequence of their being available is ... A consequence of there being a solution is ... These can be rephrased as: A consequence of their existence... | "of their being" vs "of there being" | english |
What is the mean of "one's bearing" in the sentence "To be a conqueror in appearance, in one's bearing, is the first step toward success."? I referred to dictionary and searched but I didn't understand the meaning in this sentence. Thanks. | "One's bearing" is the impression your body language gives. If you walk in like a queen might, proud and regal, you could be said to have "The bearing of a queen." | the mean of "one's bearing" in the sentence | english |
I'm a programmer and making an attachment system. Where you could have a weapon, and different components that you could attach to it, to give it extra behavior. Example: an M16 and a: silencer, scope, laser, etc. Now, I could call the components "attachments" - But what about the weapon? I thought I could call it "Att... | I would suggest extensible . Not all attachments are extensions, but attachments for a practical purpose generally are. I assume you are talking about how the item is described to users. At the level of code attachee wouldn't be the worse name for an interface or base class; the rules of computer syntax and requirement... | What's the word in English for something that could have attachments to it? | english |
In some eastern Indo-European languages like Persian specially in its northern accent Gilaki, the words "thou", "thee", "thy",... have a same meaning and pronunciation as English. But there is a difference. In these languages the usage of "thou" is much more frequent than English. They have no "you" (in singular forms)... | There are two important distinctions. The first is that thou (and thy , thine , thyself ) is second-person singular. Ye is second-person plural. You is second-person of either singular and plural (originally only a case of plural). As such, you can use thou only of one person. Ye would generally be used for either the ... | "Thou" or "You"? This is the problem! | english |
In his younger days, my grandfather wore little leather thongs pulled tight on the sleeves of his upper arms, so that his cuffs would not pick up ink, brushing what he was writing. I've heard someone else describe ribbons used for the same thing. I am wondering if there are standard names for those thongs or ribbons. I... | Sleeve garter is in fact the correct term. I found this neat explanation as to why accountants and copy-editors wouldn't simply roll up their sleeves to avoid wear and tear. Those 30's shirts were a lot baggier/less form fitting than todays so cuffs had a tendency to drop lower on the arm/hand. Garters when wearing a j... | names for sleeve garter | english |
The master said, with vehemence, "It's far above instinct; it's REASON, and many a man, privileged to be saved and go with you and me to a better world by right of its possession, has less of it * that this poor silly quadruped that's foreordained to perish;" * and then he laughed, and said: "Why, look at me—I'm a sarc... | I don't know the work in question, but it looks like this is a very bad edition of it. I think you're right that the "that" should read "than". Taking out the confusing parenthetical section, it should read, "it's REASON, and many a man has less of it than this poor silly quadruped ... ". The part I've omitted says tha... | Can someone please explain the bolded parts to me? | english |
He has no right to question. What would this sentence be if we were to make it affirmative. This question appeared in an exam. I tried It is unlawful for him to question. but the answer given was He has hardly any right to question. Now "hardly any" implies "some" so this alters the meaning of the sentence. What would ... | I might object to "unlawful" as it introduces a new piece of information; the original sentence doesn't specify whether the right is legal, moral, contractual or anything else, while "unlawful" means "he has no legal right". But that said, I think it's a reasonable enough answer, as there won't really be a perfect answ... | Affirmative form of "He has no right to question." while preserving the meaning | english |
I'm writing an email about something nice (a newborn child), and was about to use the word "heartfelt". Just then, I noticed I may have heard the word almost exclusively in the context of a sad situation (condolence). Is there a good reason for my hesitation, or is "heartfelt" appropriate in either situation? If not, w... | "Heartfelt" can be used to express positive feelings: Her joy was truly heartfelt! You have our heartfelt thanks. But it is most commonly associated with sorrow or grief. When in doubt, choose a different word. | Is "heartfelt" reserved for sad moments, or can it be used for happy ones? | english |
Using 'set' as 'begin' or closely similar way. The sentence "Set your journey to the wellness.." is ok? Set goes right here? From definition, I want to use "set" for this purpose.. cause (someone or something) to start doing something. "the incident set me thinking" | Which "wellness" is this? I suspect you might mean "Begin your journey to wellness", but can't be sure. Set does not have this meaning, but the idiom "set out on" is used specifically for journeys, so "Set out on your journey to wellness" works, though it focuses a bit more on the idea of a literal journey than a figur... | Set your journey to the wellness.. "set" used as "begin" , goes right here? | english |
Is there a word or a term used for someone who hops from idea to idea? More specifically, for someone who jumps from idea to idea without ever really completing any of them. | A dabbler might fit. Thesaurus dot com offers a bevy of synonyms, from which I'd pick a tinkerer . If solely intellectual effort is implied, a scatterbrain may be it. Turning to adjectives, fickle-minded sounds fine to me. P.S. Found another adjective: flaky Russians tend to say that someone has "stackexchange-url ("se... | 'Someone who hops from idea to idea' | english |
Can someone explain how this works ? Is this passive ? He was to get an ice cream or He was to have done something I am to do that . Is this wrong ? How can we change these sentences without losing the meaning. Is this present tense? | Is (or are ), followed by to and a verb is one of the ways English has of talking about the future. So we can say ‘He is to visit New York next year’ as an alternative, but with a different emphasis, to ‘He is going to visit New York next year’ or ‘He will visit New York next year’. When be is in the past tense, it nor... | He was to get an ice cream, is to , was to . Be to + infinitive | english |
Say I have a definition and I am trying to find an English word that represents it, and I provide an example of said word (think word=fruit, example=apple). Someone gives me a word whose definition is a superset of mine (think food). How would I go about expressing "My example is contained within the definition of the ... | "Contained by" is a reasonable enough choice. A more precise usage would be My example is a hyponym of yours. Or conversely: Your example is a hypernym of mine. These each have precisely the meaning you are seeking, that a word defines something that is contained within the definition of another. Neither are particular... | Is defined by vs. is contained | english |
I am looking for a translation of the French military term coup de main . (Not the common French civilian usage which translates as helping hand .) The term occurs frequently in the correspondence between Napoleon and his subordinate commanders, as something one should always look out for both on offense and defense. (... | The British military term is undoubtedly coup de main , usually though not universally italicised as a formerly foreign term. The Wikipedia article on the Battle of Arnhem (chosen pretty much at random from dozens of examples) has "a troop of Reconnaissance jeeps from the 1st Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron, under Maj... | Is there an English idiom equivalent to "coup de main" | english |
Ray: Good Job, Ken! Ken: Good Job, Yourself! "Good Job, Yourself" - is this one of ways to say "you too"? | In an informal chatty register this seems perfectly alright to me. | Good Job Yourself | english |
I have been wondering what it means when people use "respectively" in, before, and after sentences. For example: We are looking for a babysitter to pick up and supervise our kids ages 6 and 3, respectively, on Monday and Friday. I don't know if this person used it correctly, but if they did what does it mean? If they d... | Respectively means 'in the order described'. I think this is a lovely example where one might make a number of interpretations concerning the author's intentions: "We are looking for a babysitter to pick up and supervise our kids ages 6 and 3, respectively" could mean they want someone to pick up their 6-year old and s... | When to use "respectively"? | english |
I am Thai and I noticed that many friends of mine who are European (German, French, Russian,...), South Asian (Indian, Nepalese, Bangladesh,...), Arabian (Iran, Lebanese,..) learn English much faster than I do. Most of them can speak English very well when living in English Speaking country for just a few years. I live... | In general, if one's first language is a tonal language, it will be more difficult to learn a non-tonal language. Going in the opposite direction, non-tonal to tonal, the difficult is even worse. As we age, our brains lose the ability to discern differences in sounds that we don't often hear. For the same age-related r... | Why European, South Asian, Arabian learn English much faster than East Asian (Chinese, Korean, Japanese)? | english |
What is the earliest recorded joke in a published work in the English language? | Apparently, the oldest recorded joke in any form of English is about 1,000 years old, and is found in the Exeter Codex, written in Old English. See the article in Wikipedia about the Codex Exoniensis. The jokes in question are riddles in the form of double-entendres. | What is the "oldest joke in the book?" | english |
You can say, "I have a question." You can say, "I have had a question for a long time." Right? But what about, "I have had had a question ..."? Optional side question: how do you punctuate the previous sentence? Is "have had had" grammatically correct? If so, what does it mean? Also, is it then correct to use "have had... | I have a question. Present tense. Right now I have a question. I have had a question Perfect tense. At one point, I had a question. It may or may not be true that I still have it now (might be made clear from the rest of the sentence). I had had a question. Pluperfect. At one point it was true that at an earlier point ... | I have had had a question | english |
Is "But" allowed in the beginning of a sentence as synonym to "Though" or "However"? You can afford it. But think twice before buying it. Won't using "But" instead of "However" mark me as non-native speaker? | If anything it would mark you as a native speaker, because native and non-native speakers alike are taught not to do it, but native speakers grow up hearing everyone else doing so, and ignore those teachers. It's quite likely that the condemnation of starting with a conjunction is because some children have a habit of ... | "But" in the beginning of a sentence | english |
I speak Thai belonging to Sino-Tibetan language (Chinese, Japanese, Korean..). In Sino-Tibetan language, we mostly use tongue to construct the sound, we use very little air from lung to make sound. But when we learn English, we have to change & use a lot of air from lung, try to make it nasally & sometimes blow... | I speak a little Thai so I think I know what you are referring to. It's not a matter of lung air but a matter of how you let the air out when you are speaking, and when . The phonotax , which sound structure syllables and words have, is very different for English and Thai. 1 . the number of possible consonants phonemes... | Why Germanic type of Language (German, English,...) uses a lot of air from Lung to contruct the sound? | english |
There was the following sentence in the article of Time magazine (November 21) titled, “Senate Democrats go ‘Nuclear’ to curb the filibuster”: “During the Bush Administration, Republicans threatened to go nuclear when Democrats held up judicial appointments. But use of the filibuster has skyrocketed to unprecedented le... | In general usage, to "go nuclear" is to use a nuclear option, either literally (to engage in nuclear warfare) or more often, figuratively; to engage in an option with serious consequences so bad that they would normally be ignored. Most often acting with extreme aggression to the point of doing something you can't back... | What does ‘go nuclear’ mean in “Senate Democrats go ‘Nuclear’ to curb the filibuster”? | english |
After searching product on website, should I show one of these? <code> There is no any product </code> or <code> There is no any products </code> ? Some people on Internet said that singular is used after uncountable noun and plural after countable one but I don't agree with that. I think singular should be used after ... | Plural. We use singular when there is exactly 1. But your sentence is wrong, because you have used two determiners ( no and any ) to qualify one noun. I suggest: No matching products found. | Plural or Singular after "no" | english |
What is the origin of "bored out of my skull" phrase? I've seen it used quite a few times recently, but cannot pinpoint it to anyone. | The OED’s definition of bored out of one’s skull is ‘beside oneself with boredom, bored stiff’. It is slang. The earliest citation is from 1967: 12 good men and true, glumly spruce, resigned to a long haul and bored, bored out of their skulls. | What is the origin of "bored out of my skull" phrase? | english |
I am confused between : Will, legacy, Commandment, Precept, Behest, Testament and more. Which word refer to the declaration or the message by which a person ask the world to do certain things after his death, like his recommendations and the distribution of his property..etc. | The most common is almost certainly will . The others are all certainly used, and the doubled-up "will and testament" is quite common particularly in the wording of wills themselves (such doubling up is particularly common in matters of law, as per "aid and abet", "cease and desist", "null and void" an so on). While co... | What's the most common word refer to the after death letter? | english |
this is a very short question but me and a couple of friends have been discussing this for a little. Does anyone know why Americans and British people especially insists on saying "Aloominum" and "Aloominium" respectively? | Both forms derive from alum (and related, alumina ) because aluminium is one of the elements in it, and was discovered by investigating alum , and -ium as an ending for elements (particularly the most earliest named as elements, like helium , and also metals). Davy first called it alumium . However, while he tended tow... | Different ways of saying Aluminium | english |
Is "an assortment of [something plural]" singular or plural? Removing the [something plural] makes the answer easier: An assortment was here. makes more sense than An assortment were here. Put in the [something plural], eg. "people", now I'm not sure which way sounds the most correct: An assortment of people was here. ... | US English is is more cut-and-dried on this topic. "An assortment of people was . . ." is correct. "An assortment of people were . . ." is not correct and this very construction is commonly used by test writers to test agreement in number for the very reason that it does sound correct. I tried a couple of grammar check... | Is "an assortment" singular? | english |
Hello I was concerned about this. Is this a correct proper formal English? There shouldn't be any issue, should it? | It should read: 'There shouldn't be any issue, should there?' Unlike in French which can use the uniform n'est-ce pas'on any sentence, English forms its closing interrogative endings, both positives and negatives, precisely as the sentence is worded. For example: 'He did go, didn't he'? 'They ought to know better, ough... | Shouldn't be, should it? | english |
Consider the following sentence from wikipedia . Many people embrace their fetish rather than attempting treatment to rid themselves of it. When I read it, it flows naturally.But when I analyze it, it seems to me that something is wrong with it. "Rather than" connects heterogeneous forms: people embrace rather than att... | "Rather than" can be followed by a gerund or a bare infinitive. (There are exceptions when it the two verbs it connects follow another verb that is the main verb of the sentence, but I'll ignore that case for this answer). To take an example first of something that can't be used with such non-parallel forms: *People mi... | [clause in simple tense], rather than [verb in -ing form] | english |
Why do we use indefinite articles in sentences as follows: John is a doctor. Mary is training to be an engineer. He wants to be a dancer. | "John is a doctor" simply describes John's profession. "John is the Doctor" would require some antecedent, because it implies that he is someone that has been implicitly or explicitly mentioned before. "I have two friends, a doctor and an engineer. They are coming tonight" Then some time later... "Oh, you remember that... | Indefinite articles and job titles | english |
I need to write a door writing that states formally, "students are not welcomed in this kitchen, please use the café..." I've drafted some examples but I was wondering if there is a formal sentence which may sound more formal (like a warning from the principal) and also more native. z.B. "staff only" "Students are not ... | You want to be authoritative. But do you also want to be nice about it, or do you want to be intimidating and scary? Here are several options, from nice to threatening and scary. Nice: "Staff only please." Still kind of nice: "Staff only. Students please use the cafe." Firm: "Staff only. All others keep out." Harsh: "S... | How can I say "Staff Only" with a formal warning sentence? | english |
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