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"Who is--or who was--the hooded woman with the owl? Do you know?" "Well!" said Ikey, holding up his cap with one hand while he scratched his head with the other, "they say, in general, that she was murdered, and the howl he 'ooted the while." This very concise summary of the facts was all I could learn, except that a y... | That sentence is a bit confusing because it consists of several dependent clauses strung together with commas. (Not that I'm criticizing the writing of Charles Dickens ;-) Basically, the subject and predicate are: "... a personage ...had encountered the hooded woman, a matter of five or six times." The "personage" (or ... | What does this text from The haunted house by Charles Dickens mean? | english |
From " A Lazy Day " by Paul Laurence Dunbar: No ripple stirs the placid pool, When my adventurous line is cast, A truce to sport , while clear and cool, The mirrored clouds slide softly past. What is the meaning of "a truce to sport"? What part of the sentence does it refer to? | I think you're on to something in your comment: "A truce to X" is being used to mean "a break from X". There is no ripple in the pond because the author is not casting his line; and he is not casting his line because he is taking "a truce to sport", that is, a break from the 'sporting activity' of fishing, so that he c... | "a truce to sport.." from a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar | english |
Is "Everyone is welcome along." a valid English sentence? My English grammaticality is basic at best and I'm not sure how to even research this... | I want to say no, but I can't back that up with a "why," aside from the fact that I've never heard it before. However, "you're welcome to come along" definitely is acceptable and commonly used. It is used when, say, someone's going to the store to buy something. They may say to their friend, "you're welcome to come alo... | Is "Everyone is welcome along." a valid sentence? | english |
According to The Free Dictionary : http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mass+rapid+transit Noun 1. mass rapid transit - an urban public transit system using underground or elevated trains rapid transit public transit - a public transportation system for moving passengers I found strange that the Wikipedia MRT entry only li... | I do not think a layman would think of a train network upon hearing MRT except in Bangkok, Singapore, and other cities where it happens to be part of the official name. As you can see from Wikipedia's page on passenger rail terminology, there is no single common word for these transportation systems (beyond train or ra... | Is it common to use MRT to refer to subways all around the world? | english |
Should I say: "Are any classes taught on Wednesdays?" Or should I instead say "Is any class taught on Wednesdays?" Which one is correct/more appropriate? | They're both grammatically correct, but can have different meanings. The first one (Are there any classes taught on Wednesdays?) could be used within the context of, say, trying to find a class to fill a gap in your schedule on Wednesdays. So the answers you could expect to get are: 1) Yes, we have PHYS101 and PHYS400 ... | "Are any classes taught on..." or "Is any class taught on..." | english |
That's a line from a Twilight book. It's a grammar mistake pointed out by this website. She sighed, and began whispering again. I don't see anything wrong with it. Is the comma the mistake? | There's nothing wrong with that sentence. Some would say that the comma is unnecessary so it should be removed. But it's certainly not wrong, and it could usefully indicate a pause between the sigh and the whisper. In any case, commas are punctuation, not grammar. People who delight in pointing out others' grammar mist... | Why is the sentence "She sighed, and began whispering again" grammatically incorrect? | english |
What is another of way saying "and more" in this sentence? Throughout my life, I have discovered the love for science, mathematics, and literature, all the way to visual arts, badminton, and more. | I think et cetera can be used here. | What is another way of saying "and more"? | english |
I'm not sure I had even heard the term "bucket list" until the movie came out. I get the feeling though that the term long predates the movie. Can anyone identify how "bucket list" came to mean what it means to us today? | Bucket list There's no known evidence bucket list was used as a "list of things to do before you die" before the movie. The OED has bucket list from 29 June 2006, about the film "The Bucket List". There's no evidence in Nexis of bucket list before 2006. There's nothing in Usenet and Google Groups for "my bucket list" b... | Where and when did "Bucket List" come to mean what it does today? | english |
I have a question sentence: "Will this set of vectors form an orthogonal basis for the system?". Is it ok to start with "Will this" or "Do this" is more appropriate? | You should prefer Does this... ? . ( Not Do this... ? .) In general, Math is about things that are eternally true. It exists outside of time. We use the present simple for talking about such things. There are circumstances when will is more appropriate. For instance: If I use this method described to obtain a set of ve... | "Do this" or "Will this" in questions | english |
I often hear 'to make use of something'. Is there any difference from just 'to use something'? | When someone "makes use of something," it implies greater effort and significance than if that person just "uses" something. Consider "Andrew uses his old telephone" versus "Andrew makes use of his old telephone." In the first example, there doesn't seem to be anything special about the way that Andrew is using the tel... | To use vs Make use of. when to use what | english |
Is there a term for a wife of a polygamist if she has only one spouse? | In describing the relationship between the wives of a polygamist, the term co-wife is often used. | Term for a polygamist's wife | english |
I have seen the word 'arch' used as a verb in the context of a villain causing trouble for a hero, or a hero thwarting a villain. It is also used when a villain is actively trying to become a hero's primary nemesis. I've only seen it in comedic or informal settings, or when talking about a hero/villain relationship. It... | I think the verb to arch (to be an arch-enemy or do arch-enemy things against a hero) is from The Venture Bros. cartoon and mostly restricted to the programme and its fans. The top entry on Urban Dictionary is: 1. arCH arch, to arch /ahrCH/ verb transitive to desire to cause harm, foil plans, and generally create aggre... | How did 'arching' come into use as a verb meaning 'to thwart'? | english |
There was the following sentence in Time magazine (September 16) titled “”America’s weak and waffling. Russia’s rich and resurgent”: “2008 summer also put Russia’s military to the test when a war broke out with Georgia. Although Russia crashed its tiny adversary in less than a week, its war machine was shown to be an i... | "Red faces" means people who are blushing from embarrassment. As far as I know, the expression is not generally used to indicate anger. The expression is figurative, it doesn't mean the people were actually blushing, just that they had done something worthy of being ashamed about. You are correct that among would have ... | What does “red faces” in “There were a lot of red faces in the general staff” on inefficient wreck of Russian war machine mean? | english |
I have often written sentences in the following form which combines a statement with a question, separated by a semicolon. For example, I understand you have received payment for my order; will it ship by Monday? Is this use of the semicolon correct, and is the semicolon commonly used in questions? | punctuation mark: a punctuation mark (;) used to separate parts of a sentence or list and indicate a pause longer than a comma but shorter than a period A semicolon is used to separate two parts of a sentence that have a relationship to each other in terms of meaning when each part could stand alone as a sentence in it... | Semicolon use in statement-questions? | english |
There are four options: everybody, somebody, anybody and nobody. Which one should be used in <code> X </code> place ? | As FF has pointed out, only everybody and anybody are acceptable ( everyone and anyone also work). They work, and the others don't, for the same reasons: Too is a Negative -- too <code> Adj </code> to <code> VP </code> means ' so <code> Adj </code> that <code> Not VP </code> '; therefore NPIs like anyone work within it... | The math problem is too difficult for `X` to work out | english |
Just received this joke: Q: What do you call a midget fortuneteller on the run from the law? A: A small medium at large. the 'Q' I understood. It's a runaway psychic gnome. But what does <code> A </code> means? Is it geometric term or something? | Small in the punchline means exactly what you would expect... Being below the average in size or magnitude. Medium is another word for a psychic... pl. mediums A person thought to have the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead or with agents of another world or dimension. Also called psychic. and at large i... | What does 'A small medium at large' phrase means? | english |
What does this mean? I stumbled across it here : "If the design requires a million trips to the server, expect a dog." (The last sentence in the paragraph titled Efficiency .) | In this case, 'expect a dog' probably means 'expect slow responses'. In relation to cars, 'dogging' started out meaning a problem with wheel alignment, which would cause a slower vehicle (via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogging ). I've heard dogging used in context of slowness for both cars and servers (a car with a m... | Expect a dog: figurative meaning | english |
Given a set of possible actions, you randomly pick one with no reason whatsoever, because you're a fool. I did my exam by randomly choosing my answers. A somewhat related word might be babbling , which suggests there is a foolish/nonsensical/dumb element in action. But babbling seems to be too focused on conversations ... | I like willy-nilly. in a careless way, without planning They can't just spend money willy-nilly. Books lay scattered through the house willy-nilly. In your example, it might be worded: I answered the exam questions willy-nilly. | A word for "I'm foolishly making random choices" | english |
To put this into a context, someone was making a comment about some work that I've done, and she started it with "Bikeshed alert, ... (rest of the comment)". What exactly does "bikeshed alert" mean? | The remark is a play on "spoiler alert," whereby the reader is warned further reading might give away an ending. The meaning of "bike shed" can be found by searching for that term and Cyril Nothcote Parkinson. Parkinson wrote an essay comparing the amount of time a government committee would spend considering the const... | What does "bikeshed alert" mean? | english |
I'm currently composing a letter to a good friend of mine—using actual pen and paper—and I just realised, that I have absolutely no idea how to properly handle apostrophes in cursive script. English, is in fact, a second language to me. My native tongue does not use apostrophes, at least not in a way I'm aware of. So I... | Just as with the dotting of one’s i’ s and j’ s and the crossing of one’s t’ s and x’ s, one adds any diacritics or apostrophes only once the entire word has been written out in full. Otherwise it breaks the flow. Thus in writing one’s in a cursive/script hand, one first writes out ones without the apostrophe, then goe... | Apostrophes in cursive script | english |
This is a comment from a discussion on The effects of exercise on depression: For severe depression, this actually is pretty much the treatment routine. Pills to get just the tiniest amount of motivation, cognitive behavioral therapy to pence that motivation towards positive activities like regular exercise instead of ... | I contacted the author of the quoted example and this is the response I got (emphasis mine): In this context it's supposed to be analogous to "guide" or "direct". The point of my argument being that antidepressants increase motivation for severely depressed. Unfortunately that motivation can be turned into negative act... | What's the meaning of "pence" in this context? | english |
and also has homo- or con- in it? It also needs to be a general word that can be used in, for example, a fiction literary story that has nothing to do with science: an imaginary thing, a word somehow like homogeneous or homologous . I need to say that something is “of the same material” as something else. If I had the ... | There is a word 'homomaterial' I am not entirely clear about its meaning, but it may be of help. You can find more by clicking on this link . | Is there an English word that means literally 'of the same material'? | english |
sanding a doorstep. Does it mean polishing the doorstep? Or filling it in with sands? I read this from the book of Charles Dickens, The Haunted House where it says, "I found the landlord of the little inn sanding his doorstep." | It means the landlord of the little inn was scouring his doorstep, probably with sand and water as it is described as 'sanding'. Stone floors and stone stairs are sometimes scrubbed with sand and water, sometimes with the hearth-stone, or with pipe-clay prepared after the following receipt: Boil half a pint of size [gl... | What does 'sanding a doorstep' mean? | english |
I am writing a paper that involves the description of numerous internet protocols. Because of the rigidity of these protocols, it's difficult for any one description to sound much different from any other. The approach I've taken is to read many descriptions of the protocols, including the official standards, and make ... | What you describe would be best handled by having a "References" section at the end, listing the sources you read. It could include things like "REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) 11168 .......; https://www.wvhepc.org/resources/RFB-RFP/RFP_11168_VoIP/RFP_11168_VoIP_27Mar11_FINAL.pdf " "RFC 793 - Transmission Control Protocol .... | How to cite when describing a protocol? | english |
The call produced a high-shouldered young fellow, with a round red face, a short crop of sandy hair, a very broad humorous mouth, a turned-up nose, and a great sleeved waistcoat of purple bars, with mother-of-pearl buttons, that seemed to be growing upon him, and to be in a fair way — if it were not pruned — of coverin... | I would say the phrasing is at least dated, if not archaic. From OED: be in a fair way of/to - have a good chance of (doing, obtaining, or reaching something) As for what the entire bolded text means, a paraphrasing might be: [The waistcoat] had the appearance of vegetation growing across his torso. It looked as if it ... | What does the bolded part mean? | english |
Which one is correct? Just another random thoughts. or Just another random thought. I'm writing a blog post about recent musings. | Safira's answer is correct if you want to keep the " another random thought" phrasing. However, your last line seems to imply you're looking for a way to incorporate multiple thoughts into the title of a blog post. In this case, I would go for Just some random thoughts This will keep the same feel and meaning of your o... | "Just another random thoughts/thought" | english |
You know, young girls often do this. They're wandering around a mall or a supermarket, seeing cute stuff, asking about the prices of things, doing chit-chat with friends, having lunch together with girl friends too, but end up buying literally nothing . Is there a single English word that means this kind of activity? I... | Browsing - Surveying goods for sale in a leisurely and casual way. Perusing - Examining carefully or at length. Window Shopping - The activity of looking at goods displayed in shop windows, especially without intending to buy anything. These could all apply to your situation, depending on what you want to focus on and ... | What is a single word for "wandering around a mall or a market"? | english |
Which one of the following is correct? If both - what is the difference? In an optically thin gas ... In optically thin gas ... For example: We consider radiative equilibrium in ( an ) optically thin gas. In ( an ) optically thin gas the condition of radiative equilibrium reads... | 'In 'an'optically thin gas' implies a definable though at-this-stage unspecified gas'. 'In optically thin gas' would cover any gas which is 'optically thin'. | Indefinite article with substances | english |
Is the following sentence grammatically correct? With the exception of a few members of my family, you are the only three people to whom I actually care what happens. | Irrespectively of the fact that the use of "whom" (rather than "who... to") might per se be judged somewhat over-formal for the sentence in question, I think your sentence has another issue which makes it sound odd. To try and explain things informally, your sentence essentially has the problem that you're trying to ma... | Is this an appropriate use of "to whom?" | english |
This is a follow-up to stackexchange-url ("my previous question"). The answerer mentioned that when parentheses are used for inserting contents in a sentence, the grammar flexibility is assumed to be higher. If that is true, what sort of flexibility is applied to other punctuation, especially em-dashes? Are parentheses... | I've tried to think of an example with a very abrupt and fragmentary parenthetical: Place the rocket in a suitable stable container, apply the slow match – CARE! – and move back to a safe distance. v Place the rocket in a suitable stable container, apply the slow match (CARE!) and move back to a safe distance. I think ... | The grammar restriction of dash and parentheses | english |
I always thought the phrase "old school" was a rather modern, hipster invention. It turns out the term itself is rather old-school, with Webster reporting the first recorded use in 1803 . But I'm curious where the term came from. I can imagine it might be a shortening of "old school of thought" or something similar. I ... | The Online Etymology Dictionary dates old-school to 1749 as an adjective and simply notes that it's a compound of “old + school,” in reference to conservative beliefs or principles. This supports your suspicion that it's related to “old school of thought.” The modern slang sense of old school is somewhat different, wit... | Origin of "old school" | english |
I was wondering whether there were any other alternatives to the phrase "highway robbery". I am trying to say the same thing in a light-hearted, but not too casual way. | If you want to be light-hearted, you could use dramatic understatement and say a bit pricey . You also could comment on whether you could afford to commit both an arm AND a leg to the purchase. You might suggest that you are comfortable with being taken for a ride , but not with being run over . You could indicate you ... | Alternative to the idiomatic phrase "highway robbery" | english |
“it would not be fair to everyone else for me to eat all the oranges.” Is that correct? Why there is "FOR", would it not work simply with "WHEN"? “it would not be fair to everyone else when/if I eat all the oranges.” | When I eat all the oranges implies that event is a certainty 1 . Because you will eat all the oranges, it's not correct to start the sentence with the verb would , as that implies uncertainty. It will not be fair to everyone when I eat all the oranges. Both if I ate (or if I were to eat or if I was to eat ) and for me ... | “it would not be fair to everyone else for me to eat all the oranges.” | english |
I confused with this sentence : <code> "The Emplyee class is a superclass, but not because it is superior to its subclass" </code> I know both "but" and "because" can be conj. for connecting two sentences. But here the sentence use both of them to connect two sentences. My question is this situation can be allowe? and ... | Yes, you can put two conjunctions together, but only if the first one is a coordinating conjunction ( and, or, so, but, for, yet, nor ) and the second one a subordinating conjunction ( because, after, although, since , etc.). For example, but because and so although are correct, but not because but or although so . As ... | can two conj.(but and because ) be used together? | english |
The prefix "milli-" means "thousandth" (e.g. 1000 millimeters in 1 meter) and the prefix "kilo-" means "thousand" (e.g. 1 kilogram is 1000 grams). Why is the period of 1000 years called a "millennium"? Why don't we use the term "kilennium"? In fact, we already use Y2K as an abbreviation for "Year 2000". Doesn't it make... | The Latin for thousand (not thousandth ) is mille, and this survives in words like millennium for a thousand years and millipede for an animal with "a thousand feet." Similarly for cent- as a prefix in words like century ; it comes from the Latin for hundred, not hundredth . Just as in English, thousand/thousandth and ... | Prefixes milli- and cent- used for years | english |
I am confused about the preferred way to combine an em-dash insertion with a comma occurring in the outer sentence. Until now, I had preferred to write: The erosion responsible for residuals is less related to the material process of creation—e.g., rewriting in the sense of Mondrian or blurring the edges in the sense o... | Functionally speaking, the two em-dashes function almost like a set of parentheses, enclosing information relevant to the connected clause, but not essential to it. Therefore, they should be contained entirely within the clause they are connected to, which is to say, inside the comma, not outside it. The second renderi... | em-dash and comma, which comes first | english |
I think people name in my language is very different from how it is used in English, so please properly explain it so I can use correctly. In my country, people name usually have 3 parts, if I am named (full name) "A B C", then my child's name will be something like "A X Y" (so I think the first part, A, is family name... | In English your name would be C B A, where A is your family name (what we call a "Last Name" or patronymic) and C is your "first name" or "given name" or even (although it is a more dated term) your "Christian name." B would be called a "middle name" and can be virtually anything--sometimes a parent's last name, some t... | How to properly use name parts in English? | english |
I often hear someone says, "Wow, that's such a nice thought!" Movies and books often have that kind of dialogue as well. As I figure it out, "a nice thought" is a noun phrase. Which means "nice" is a complementary for "thought", and "thought" is literally a noun . I'm also aware that thought is a third form (or second)... | Thought is the past participle of think (I guess that is what you mean by the "third form", though I've never heard that phrase: is it used in teaching EFL?) Participles combine some of the functions of adjectives with some of the functions of verbs. Some can be used as regular adjectives (eg baked in baked goods ). Ot... | Why is "thought" (verb III) a noun in "Nice thought"? | english |
I don't want to change the structure of the sentence. So please tell me which adjective works better in this sentence — great, high or large . Due to the resolution of cameras, vehicles are not visible in regions where the vehicles' distance to camera is great . | The sentence is a little awkward, but I'd choose large, or maybe great -- both work. There is probably an error in the sentence too: <code> ... the vehicles' distance to camera is large. </code> Should probably be: <code> ... the vehicles' distance to **the** camera is large. </code> It is possible that "distance to ca... | "The distance is great" vs. "high" vs. "large" | english |
Is there any word to express "always new needs emerge"? Can renewable be sufficient for this? The context is something like "cannot satisfy the endless renewable needs", in an academic article. | You might consider describing them as evolving needs. The idea of ongoing change is embedded in the word evolving , and the phrase already has some currency . | Single word for "always new requirements" | english |
Catalan: "separar" English: "separate" French: "séparer" Galician: "separar" Italian: "separare" Latin: "separo" Portuguese: "separar" Romanian: "separa" Spanish: "separar" Sweedish: "separera" Then, why do I see "seperate" lots of times? Where does it come etymologically? Will it become accepted? | I believe people base spelling more on sound than on etymology, though this is rather unreliable as the connection between the spelling of English and the sound of English is extremely weak. The ⁄ ər ⁄ sound is commonly spelled as "er", so that is likely their basis for spelling sepa... | Why do lots of people use "seperate" instead of "separate"? | english |
Put another way, would using "supposedly" in the following sentence upset a neutral tone? A variant of qi gong is external qi gong, wherein a qi gong master supposedly directs the flow of qi through other people's bodies through his or her own energies. In the example above, I am not sure if the word is necessary. This... | "In the example above, I am not sure if the word is necessary." – Have no doubts, it is indeed necessary. "I would think that people reading this description would understand that the things stated are not intended to be read as fact." – No, not at all. "Does “supposedly” have a negative connotation?" &ndas... | Does "supposedly" have a negative connotation? | english |
In the summertime, I often rise very early, and repair to my room to do a day’s work before breakfast. quote from the haunted house by Charles dickens | "A day's work" typically means the amount of work one would normally do over the course of a day. There is no objective measure of this as the amount of work would vary by person and by job. For most people, though, it would not be possible to do "a day's work" between waking and breakfast, so in the Dickens quote the ... | what does a 'day's work' mean? is it a full day's work? | english |
Full details are provided so that the method is less mysterious. I would like to replace "less mysterious". Is the following proposal valid for (scientific) writing? Full details are provided so that the method is less like a "black box". | It is less appropriate than you think. The " Black Box " term has a number of meanings. In engineering, it means an operation that acts as part of the mechanism without any clear indication of how it is working. But in aviation, it represents a box that captures a voice recording of the pilot to reveal what has happene... | The use of "black box" as a synonym of "mysterious" | english |
My question is not whether the correct grammar is either "She has just had a baby" or "She just had a baby". I am aware that the official grammar is "She has just had a baby". But in a way that sentence sounds wrong. It is correct in the meaning that it follows the grammar rules and guidelines. However, when you "have ... | She has just had a baby is absolutely idiomatic in British English. I observe that She just had a baby seems to be idiomatic in American English (and has been creeping into British use over the last few decades); I think she has just is also idiomatic in American usage, but I'm not so sure of that. Your understanding o... | has just had or just had a baby | english |
If creating a cover page for a draft, should the "by" in the following format be capitilized? Microsoft Word seems to think so, but it looks visibly appealing when it is lowercase. <code> Underlined Title Name by Firstname Lastname </code> or <code> Underlined Title Name By Firstname Lastname </code> | Microsoft Word only thinks so because it is incompetent at design. It says anything which starts a new paragraph (= after a carriage-return) must be capitalised. Now, normally, that is indeed the case. But this case is about design, not grammar. It's akin to the shortening of newspaper headlines by missing the main ver... | "by" in a Title | english |
What is the correct term for a person who twists facts and provides misinterpretations in an effort to appear infallible? The kind of person who is given a simple logic puzzle, fails to solve it correctly and tries to persuade others that he was in fact correct e.g. by denying obvious implications that were necessary t... | Sophism, and by extent, Sophists, are individuals who use logic to twist the meanings of words in order to present themselves in a better light, or otherwise twist logic to suit their needs. This is the modern day understanding of the word, though it used to carry the meaning of anyone who practiced logical understandi... | A person who twists facts to appear infallible? | english |
Can someone please give me one word for regretting after saying something ? For example, suppose I say something to somebody and then I regret saying that and think why did I even open my mouth. So what will be one word for regret saying that ? | The terms chagrin (“Distress of mind caused by a failure of aims or plans, want of appreciation, mistakes etc; vexation or mortification”) and mortification (“A sensation of extreme shame or embarrassment”) are relevant here, although they may apply to regret for actions as well as words, and are nouns rather than verb... | Word Usage for "regret" | english |
The phrase “Twenty-Three Skidoo” has a very interesting and mysterious history described very thoroughly by the wikipedia article on the phrase. However, this article seems to indicate it’s usually used as a phrase to mean “Let’s get out of here in a hurry!” The place where I have heard this expression used first, and ... | Here's a reference from The Wars of the Godly (Reuben Maury, 1928) ...it will remain alive as a jewel of American folklore until the word Mac shall go to join " Twenty- three, skidoo! " and "O you kid!" in the junk shop of the American argot. As that clearly indicates, the expression was considered passé even then. In ... | Etymology of the phrase "Twenty-three Skidoo" as used in "Hey Arnold!" | english |
The origin of vestige is said to be "from French, from Latin vestigium 'footprint'". vest- means clothes, so does this prefix apply to vestige ? | The etymologies of vestigo "to track" and vestis "clothing" are most probably not related, according to Lewis & Short : vestis , is, f. [Sanscr. root vas-, to put on; Gr. ἑσ-, fεσ-; cf. ἕννυμι, ἐσθής], the covering for the body, clothes, clothing, attire, vesture ve-stīgo , no perf. and sup., āre, 1, v. a. [etym. d... | Etymology of "vestige" | english |
How did we come to say "yonks" meaning a long period of time? "I haven't been to the cinema in yonks." Etymonline has nothing and Oxford dictionaries has: noun: British informal: a very long time: I haven’t seen him for yonks 1960s: origin unknown; perhaps related to donkey's years (see donkey) If it has indeed spawned... | The OED says the origin of yonks is unknown and has it from 1968 in the Daily Mail : I rang singer Julie Driscoll... She said: ‘I haven't heard from you for yonks.’ The Shorter Slang Dictionary (Partridge, Beale, Fergusson, 1994) agrees it's from the 1960s and suggests: Probably from years, perhaps influenced by donkey... | What is the etymology of "yonks"? | english |
I learnt (or I think I learnt) that to express the immediate future, you can use to be + past participle: I am to make one of the most important decisions in my life. She is to be elected as the mayor of the city. Is it correct or did I make that up? [Edit: take-> make ] | Is to v. can be used in a few ways, and does not necessarily state the immediate future— or state the future at all. Directives, for example, can be written this way: Employees are to wash their hands thoroughly and regularly. Enforcement is to cease and desist as per the injunction. As you note, you can express a pred... | Is this correct: "I am to be dropped at the train station"? | english |
I'm trying to make sure my writing is correct for the following sentence: Our scanners are not affected by rain, snow, glare from the sun, or electrical interference from cell phones, radios, Wi-Fi, etc. Another case comes later in the same document that I'm working on: At no additional cost we will customize your scan... | At no additional cost, we will customize your scanner with logos, images, text such as "Maintenance" and "Expiration Date," or anything else your business needs. | Grammar for a list within a list that does not start with a colon | english |
In stackexchange-url ("a recent question"), another user expressed concern that housemate has sexual connotations because of this definition at Dictionary.com : noun 1. a person with whom one shares a house or other residence. 2. a sexual partner with whom one shares a house or other living quarters without being marri... | It certainly does not have any such meaning to me (in England); indeed I would take to to imply that the people were not in a relationship, though that implication might be overturned by other evidence. | Does “housemate” imply a sexual relationship? | english |
The OED supplies no clue to the origin of either gully or googly. It does not in fact mention etymology of the cricket sense of gully, which has led me to infer that it is from the ordinary meaning of gully, i.e. a channel between point and slip. However one responder to an earlier question suggests it is of Indian ori... | Gully derives from gullet , which (like gorge ) is ultimately derived from the PIE root * gwere (= √2. गॄ) meaning to swallow (Monier Monier-Williams). This is where the sense of narrowness derives from. Thus the Indian word (in its various modifications, meaning throat (गला) narrow street (गली) and drip (गल्)) is very... | What is the origin of gully and googly in cricket? | english |
I'm looking for a term for someone who get kicks by being bossy, or getting people to do what they demand. | A martinet is “Anyone who lays stress on a rigid adherence to the details of discipline, or to forms and fixed methods or rules”. It happens to be “a term for someone who get kicks by being bossy, or getting people to do what they demand”. Also consider despot , “A ruler with absolute power; a tyrant”, and dictator , “... | What is a word for someone who likes bossing people around? | english |
New York Times (October 31st) reported Red Sox’s victory in the World Series under the title, “Red Sox Rout Cardinals to Win World Series” It begins with the following sentence: For much of the 20th century, the Boston Red Sox were a symbol of frustration and pain for an entire region. As popular as they were in their ... | The author means: they were in that period good enough to get to the world series and then lose anyway or just plain bad on other occasions My son was good enough to fail Harward i.e. just to get in was an achievement | What does “good enough to lose” in “Red Sox were either good enough to lose, or just plain bad” in the World Series in the past”? | english |
Shouldn't it be "horror filled halloween" or "spooky halloween"? It fits the purpose of the day. Why "happy"? By the way "Happy Halloween everybody!" | The wish for a "Happy" Halloween is a wish for the person to enjoy the day, regardless of how little or how much spookiness they wish for on that day. Likewise, "Happy Christmas" is a common expression in the UK, wishing for an enjoyable Christmas. Though it is true that people attempt to wish one another a "Spooky Hal... | Why do people say "Happy" Halloween? | english |
Some Indian words which have entered modern English, such as 'bazaar' and 'cummerbund', are of Persian origin. So it seems they have completed a journey from Persia to Western India to present-day United Kingdom. How did they get from Persia to India? Was this due to the migration of Zoroastrians? And were there specia... | I believe the Wikipedia article “ List of English words of Persian origin ” answers that question. During the Achaemenid invasion of the Indus Valley, India was invaded by Persia, leading to mixing culture. I believe Persian rule over India was a major cause of Persian and Indian words mixing. The Persian English words... | How did Persian words arrive in English? | english |
Does this sentence end with a dangler? "He managed to remain happy about his work despite being involved in a very dull industry. " | No, the participle involved in your sentence does not ambiguously refer to either he or his work , and it doesn't, because someone's work cannot "be involved in a very dull industry;" what can is work in a more generic sense. The following sentence would probably have a dangling participle: He managed to remain happy a... | Would this be considered a dangler? | english |
According to http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/hardly hardly has 4 meanings. And I was wondering is there any difference between these two sentences. In what meaning the word hardly is used here if you can use it in this way at all: My car has almost run into the crowd. My car has hardly run into t... | The two sentences are very different. My car has almost run into the crowd. Means the car has very nearly run into the crowd, but it has not. You may have turned the car away at the last minute, it may have been stopped by something, or you might be referring to a moment in time just before the car ran into the crowd. ... | Almost Vs. Hardly | english |
For example, if a there is a validation message that specifies that a number "must be a value between 1 and 100" does that imply that 1 and 100 are part of the allowed set of values? I would suggest that 1 and 100 are not part of the allowed range as it states the value must be between 1 and 100. Therefore meaning more... | I agree with your line of thinking because between should be 1 < x < 100. However that isn't the common usage. I build a lot of web apps and we have focus groups we use and I have ran across this example many many times. When presented with a range it is common practice that if you use the word between that the h... | Does "a value between two values" imply the two values are included within the range? | english |
This question stackexchange-url ("What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?") has an answer, with no embedded examples. The link it provides is not longer active, giving a <code> 404 page not found error </code> . Please don't close this as a duplicate until it, at least, has some answers. The answer to the... | I was perusing the net on the hunt for reliable sources to help me understand the subjunctive mood when I came across this section and it reminded me of this question! I'll quote it in almost its entirety because first, it's very clear and it might be of help to other users and secondly, I liked it. Clause and Phrases ... | The difference between a clause and a phrase? | english |
As the Nexus 5 launch nears, we’re getting one more confirmation that Google is getting all its ducks in order before pushing the big chocolate KitKat covered GO button and releases the new smartphone to the public Read more at http://www.gottabemobile.com/2013/10/30/google-play-store-changes-prepare-nexus-5-launch/#TT... | It's not “getting all its ducks”, it's getting all its ducks in order , that is, putting them in order. ODO has a similar expression under duck : get (or have) one's ducks in a row North American informal get (or have) one’s facts straight; get (or have) everything organized: I want to have my ... | Meaning of "getting all its ducks" | english |
What's a word to refer to unrelated people living in the same house? By this, I mean that they are not spouses or blood-related. Basically what's the "house" version of "room-mates"? I've thought of "cohabitant", "coresident", or even "housemate" but these words give the connotation that the persons involved are relate... | You can use roommate, housemate, flatmate and similar terms to indicate that two unrelated people live together. None of these words imply any particular relationship (unlike cohabitation, which suggests that they have a sexual relationship or partnership). Wikipedia notes a usage difference between American and UK Eng... | What's another word for "unrelated people living together"? | english |
What is an antonym of "supple" in "supple skin"? From Merriam-Webster online dictionary, I saw the antonyms of "supple" are " inflexible, rigid, stiff, stiffened". I don't think these antonyms are proper to describe skin. So what is the antonym of "supple" in "supple skin"? | Stiff seems to be a more clinical term. (I have never heard of anyone's skin described that way in normal conversation.) More clinical terms can be found in this article: Stiff skin syndrome (also known as "Congenital fascial dystrophy") is a cutaneous condition characterized by ‘rock hard’ induration, thickening of th... | antonym of "supple" in "supple skin"? | english |
"Halloween: the one day where we encourage children to accept candy from strangers, go to strangers' homes, and vandalize property and terrorize people if they don't get their own way." Original quote by Yvette Colomb I also notice grammar checks often rebuke my apostrophe placements. I am wondering if there is a missi... | The sentence as written is perfectly correct, and not only that, it is quite clear and well-written. It makes interesting and humorous points about Hallowe'en. There is some ambivalence about the spelling of Halloween, but that's because of that darned apostrophe. In the US (and possibly Canada?) the apostrophe is larg... | What is to use commas and apostrophes? | english |
One of the things I find surprising is that India seems to have had little influence on the vocabulary of cricket. Notwithstanding India being arguably the world's greatest cricketing nation, I can't immediately think of any examples of cricket jargon which come out of India. Can anyone else? | From Wikipedia's Glossary of cricket terms: Doosra a relatively new off spin delivery developed by Saqlain Mushtaq; the finger spin equivalent of the googly, in that it turns the "wrong way". From the Hindi or Urdu for second or other. First coined by Pakistani wicket keeper Moin Khan. Mankad the running-out of a non-s... | What Indian words appear in cricket's vocabulary? | english |
Having a bit of a discussion at work. We have a label that needs to be answered with deceased or alive, however we're not sure what to call the label. Status seems to be a bit too generic. Is there a word to indicate the state of life of a being? | There may not be a word sufficiently natural and succinct to use as a label in a software user interface, especially for such a delicate subject. Instead, I recommend simply labeling the field Alive? with a check box to indicate yes or no. Alternately you could provide two check boxes to choose from, Alive and Deceased... | What is the status of being dead or alive called? | english |
When cooking neglectfully, food sometimes burns and sticks to the pan (or pot, or whatever one is cooking in). What is this phenomenon called in English? Darn it! The spaghetti <code> <stuck to the pot> </code> ! Is there an idiomatic expression? | Probably the nearest to a single-word expression is burnt on . The spaghetti boiled dry and now it's burnt on. Thriftyfun Occasionally it happens that foods are burned onto your cookware, and it can be a challenge to get it clean again. This is a guide about cleaning burnt pots and pans. | What's the phrase for food burning and sticking to the pan? | english |
the Chinese invented the paper the Chinese invented paper I can't decide which article we get before paper — zero article or the . Are we talking about paper in general (so zero article is used before it) or is the definite article the used? | If you are talking about paper in general you never use either the definite nor the indefinite article. You would only use 'the' if you were speaking of some specific paper. e.g. 'The paper in the photocopier is getting low'. | usage of articles: definite article or zero article? | english |
Is punctuation required between the repeated in's? "...users who are still active yet haven't logged in in more than x days..." | No, that sentence is OK, as is. It just looks odd . Punctuation would only make it look odder. On the other hand, when I am writing and run into circumstances like that, I try my best to find another way around the double-word. This is how I would handle this one: "...users who are still active yet haven't logged in fo... | Usage of 'in in' in a sentence | english |
I've seen people writing : "Have an Octotastic day!". I've tried to search online but no useful results. From the context I feel its a synonym for "fantastic". I couldn't see any details on usage of that word? Is it something made-up? | At MrHen's kind suggestion, I'm submitting my earlier comment as an answer... It's very common in informal writing for authors to add "-tastic" to words to make them sound more effusive. So it's not that October is especially fantastic, but merely that you didn't happen to encounter an occurrence of "Maytastic" or "Jun... | What does "Octotastic" mean? | english |
If you are currently doing an activity, then a moment ago you were doing that activity. So if I am doing something, is is grammatically correct to say I was doing it or do I have to use the present tense until I stop doing an activity? An example: <code> I am living. Yesterday, I was living. Therefore, I was living. </... | The problem with some people is that they become too analytic when it comes to grammar. This usually yields to precriptionism. In your case, you are too focused on the timeline of events. Remember that in grammar, tense, verb forms, sentence structure etc is dictated by context and not by any specific spacetime referen... | If someone is currently doing an activity, is it wrong to say they were doing that activity? | english |
I was doing my chemistry homework and came across this sentence: "Atomic radius increases down and to the left of the periodic table." It seems awkward to say "to the down of," but, because left and down are the same part of speech, is it grammatically correct? | They are not the same part of speech as used in this sentence. Down is an adverb describing the direction of motion: “it increases down the table.” Left is an noun, as indicated by the definite article. To the left is an adverbial phrase. To the down, making the adverb down into a noun, is incorrect. | Is "to the down of" correct | english |
From Etymonline "Showing the fig" was a vulgar gesture made by sticking the thumb between two fingers, a display which vaguely resembles a fig, itself symbolic of a vagina (sykon also meant "vulva"). What does "fig" mean in "showing the fig"? I looked up the dictionaries, which say either a kind of fruit or nothing, wh... | All you need to do is parse the excerpt from etymonline, and use your imagination: | What does "fig" mean in "showing the fig"? | english |
I am reading a book "Pro git", in the preface, the author says: I would like to dedicate this, my first print book, to my little girl, Josephine, whose release date was nearly the same as this book’s. So what does "Josephine's release date" mean? birthday? wedding day? or other meaning? | "Josephine's release date" means when she was born. The author is joking that his first print book was released on almost the same day his daughter was born. | what does somebody's "release date" mean? | english |
We usually use the word 'sick' to refer to something that you are tired of or don't like. So it is quite clear when we say I'm sea-sick, that we mean, one is sick of travelling by sea (eg: boat) due to the constant movement. I think we can use the 'sick' postfix in different situations to mean the same negative feeling... | Compound words, and especially compound adjectives, are notoriously variable both in composition and sense in which the modifying part is modifying the head (if a head can be identified). Hamawand, in Morphology in English: Word Formation in Cognitive Grammar identifies 12 senses in which the head may be modified. I th... | Contradictory meanings of 'sick' | english |
I've had a browse of some of the questions here on commas and can't see if this has been asked. I have been fastidious about my punctuation and grammar, but find the advent of online social networking and texting is really taking it's toll on maintaining these lifelong habits. I am not an expert, but have (what I thoug... | I think that you may be asking the wrong question. Unless your job is to punctuate someone else's writing without changing any of the words, your main responsibility to readers is to say what you mean coherently and accurately—not merely to say it in a way that you can justify on the basis of some theory of punctuation... | Constructing long and detailed sentences, and the correct use of punctuation | english |
What is a review said on the following passage? Physical activity is being increasingly recognized as an effective tool to treat depression. PhD candidate George Mammen’s review published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has taken the connection one step further, finding that moderate... | In this context, a review is an essay or article which reviews the existing literature or research on a topic in order to suggest a possible consensus among authorities about a particular point. A graduate student might be expected to perform such a review in order to discover what prior research might have been made o... | What is a "review" in this context? | english |
Here I am editing this book I am trying to get ready for publication. I am running into a number of places where I've got nodding and shaking of the head in response to questions. The original author writes: "I nodded my head yes." "...she shook her head no..." I am also seeing occasional "shake...yes" and "nod...no". ... | I would say: I nodded my head yes. is the correct one. Because you're just nodding your head and that's it . Meanwhile, if you write it like this: I nodded my head, "Yes." That means that you're not only nodding your head, but also literally saying the word "yes". | He nodded his head yes; she shook her head no | english |
I’m writing a piece of documentation and I want to add the links I'm referring to at the bottom of my document. Since they are links and not books, I think the section title should not use the word bibliography . The most appropriate term that comes to mind is linkography . However, I don't know if this word even exist... | I'd avoid "Linkography", as readers are unlikely to be familiar with it. You can write "References" instead. This works for links as well as books. By the way, be careful of the etymological fallacy. The word bibliography may contain biblio- , but that doesn't determine its meaning in the modern language. To figure tha... | Can I use "linkography" instead of "bibliography" when referring to web links? | english |
I'm not sure of the meaning of the last word in the last line of G.M. Hopkin's " In the valley of the Elwy ": <code> God, lover of souls, swaying considerate scales, Complete thy creature dear O where it fails Being mighty a master, being a father and fond. </code> Is that an adjective, i.e. fond = affectionate? Or is ... | yes here fond is adjective, i.e. liking or affection. "Being a father and affectionate of souls." | Being mighty a master, being a father and fond: what "fond" is? | english |
There are two sentences in David Copperfield that I don't quite understand, with regards to their (possible) figurative meaning. Chapter XIII: [...] a muslin curtain partly undrawn in the middle, a large round green screen or fan fastened on to the window-sill, a small table, and a great chair, suggested to me that my ... | The phrase to sit in state originally referred to the king sitting on his throne and carrying out his official duties, and has been extended metaphorically to encompass a broad range of official and formal situations. I don't know why it's in the passive (i.e., seated rather than sitting ), but Google Ngrams shows this... | What is the meaning of these two sentences in David Copperfield? | english |
I'm trying to get a proper understanding of exactly what a long, run-on sentence really says. The actual text is from Michigan law, but I'm not seeking a legal interpretation rather a full understanding of the grammar. The full text is ADVERTISEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ADVANTAGES , but the part which of interest is ... an ... | It appears to mean the following ... an amount to be used for advertising agricultural or industrial advantages of the state or county or any part of the state, or for collecting, preparing or maintaining an exhibition of the products and industries of the county at any domestic or foreign exposition, for the purpose o... | How should a long sentence with multiple "or"s and commas be understood? | english |
There's a great poem by G.M. Hopkins, in which I but vaguely get the meaning of the two last stanzas, stumbling at properly parsing the sentences in my mind. In particular, I don't understand the bit with "be in at the end I cannot". At the end of what? And I hope I rightly understand "wind" to be a verb meaning "to fi... | wind , I think, is employed in a double sense: as “sense” or “detect” and as “follow a twisted path”. eye after means “follow with one’s eyes”— John Gilroy suggests (cogently, to my mind) that Hopkins is echoing Shakespeare's coinage “after-eye”. T... | "be in at the end I cannot", from G.M.Hopkins' poem | english |
On a two-dimensional Cartesian plane we can naturally subdivide the space into four quadrants at the origin. In three-dimensions, the partition into eight parts are known as octants . In four-dimensional space we have sixteen parts; what is the corresponding name for each partition? Wikipedia has an n-dimensional name ... | The Latin for sixteen is sedecim , so one could coin the term sedecimant for the 16 orthants of four-dimensional space. | Word for something partitioned into 16 parts? | english |
An example, just a minute ago I was looking for a word to replace candidate Amongst the candidates for the album title. since the candidate is a person, not the one-of-many album titles. So, I was wondering. When faced with a problem as such, where do you go to look for a certain word, if you cannot remember it / do no... | A candidate doesn't have to be a person. When you have questions like this, you can try an online thesaurus, such as http://thesaurus.com/ | How do you find the right English words? | english |
The definition of an internet troll: In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, 1 by posting inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a forum, chat room, or blog), either accidentally[3]... | Someone who is an instigator or trouble maker. Often the one who starts & passes on all gossip. An extreme example of someone outside of the internet who say goes "trolling" around, is someone who goes looking around for one thing or another. The phrase has been used many times to refer to older men who "troll arou... | Another word for a troll not on the internet | english |
Does the following sentence make grammatical sense? <code> Unfortunately, my wish has yet to be granted. </code> If not, what is wrong with it? | Nothing wrong with it. Examples, Unfortunately, my daughter has yet to be married. Unfortunately, my true love has yet to appear. Fortunately, the party has yet to disperse (therefore, the party is still on). Unfortunately, the snow storm has yet to cease. yet (yt) adv. 1. At this time; for the present: isn't ready yet... | Does this make grammatical sense? | english |
What's the difference between these two? "He is not obviously guilty." "He is obviously not guilty." | The first sentence, "He is not obviously guilty", is saying that the fact that he is guilty is not obvious. In this case, "obviously" is an adjective modifying "guilty". "Not" negates the phrase "obviously guilty". The second sentence, "He is obviously not guilty", is saying that it is obvious that he is not guilty. In... | What's the difference between these negative sentences? | english |
I see these water jars in many food service areas (hotels, company cafeteria, etc). I'm wondering if there is a specific name for them. "Water dispenser" seems too unspecific . I wonder if they original from a certain style or region, which does have a name? | I Google image searched "glass water jar with spigot", and then clicked through to view page for about 15 selected images. Results, in order of commonality: Beverage dispenser Infuser jar (Indicating that there would be cut up fruit to flavour the water) Spigot jar | Is there a specific name for this kind of water dispenser? | english |
... Virginia has sustaind a very serious loss which all good men will long lament, in the death of Mr Henry. He is said to have expird on thursday last. The intelligence is not absolutely certain but scarcely a hope is entertaind of its untruth. With the most respectful attachment I remain Sir your obedt Servt ... ( So... | ... scarcely a hope is entertaind of its untruth. This is a passive construction, so the first thing to do in understanding it is to make it active. That needs a subject, so introduce something like We : We entertain scarcely a hope of its untruth. Then look up entertain . This is ODO: entertain verb 2 give attention o... | "Entertain of" - June 12th 1799 Letter by John Marshall | english |
Here are two example questions: What did he mean by that? What does he mean by that? Question 1 seems correct to me because it uses the past tense word 'did,' but the word could also signify that his meaning has changed; which it hasn't. This is why I also think that question 2 could be correct. Would I use Question 2 ... | Using the present tense implies that whatever was said or written has present relevance; for example because a decision has to be made or action taken based on an interpretation of the message. It is certainly more likely that a recent message will have present relevance, but it is also true that something written some... | Should I use "did" or "does" when asking a question about the meaning of what someone said? | english |
looking for a word that communicates following a measure will lead to many negative consequences UPDATE: I would like to use the word as I write about proposed policy changes; namely, a bill in the senate proposes to establish the minimum down payment of a mortgage to 5%. A person giving testimony against this measure,... | That which acts against what you are trying to do is detrimental , though in order to use it properly, you would have to say what it is detrimental towards. If it were a bill that causes greater difficulty in purchasing homes, you would say it is "detrimental to home purchases", or if it is adversely affecting stocks, ... | Word for "measure that leads to negative consequences" | english |
Would it be: I'm a cat-person-turned-cat-and-dog-person. I'm a cat person-turned-cat and dog person. I'm a cat-person turned cat-and-dog person. | Generally, you hyphenate words that are linked together when you want to make sure the reader knows it's a single subject. So when you hyphenate, just think if it makes sense as a single verb or noun taken out of context. So the 'best' way to write is... I'm a cat-person turned into a cat-and-dog-person. Here's my reas... | To hyphen or not: cat person-turned-dog person vs. cat person turned dog person | english |
Can you please shift a little? or Could you please shift a little? which one of the two is correct? | Can is asking the question are you capable of it. Could is asking the question would you mind doing it. Both are grammatically correct. It's a matter of what you want to ask. | Can or Could - which one is correct to usein question | english |
This statement is false : What does this one liner mean? I just read this in a site of one-liners. Though this is grammatically correct, I wonder if it will have a solid meaning. Can we use such a sentence? | What does this sentence mean? and Can we use such a sentence? are two independent question. As for #2, one can certainly use the sentence to try to demonstrate the phenomenon of paradox (as per jwpat7 and the Wikipedia article). As for #1, I surmise it depends on one's theory of meaning, which is covered in whole subar... | This statement is false | english |
I'm looking for an expression to describe a situation where there was a transaction where some kind of advantage was expected but in the end there was not actual change or advantage. I was trying to describe a scenario where one owns a business, say a pawnshop, that involves multiple complicated transactions, but for v... | breakeven, perhaps that is the word that you are looking for. | Expression for a transaction where there was no change or advantage | english |
In written English, is it okay to emphasize words by capitalizing them? As in: I would NEVER do that! Are there other methods to achieve this? On an aside: Dutch uses acute accents for emphasis: Ik zou dat nooit doen! [normal] Ik zou dat nóóit doen! [emphasized] | In non-electronic written English, capitalization is rarely used for emphasis. Much more common is italics or underlining. While underlining was very common in the age of the typewriter, word processing has made italics more accessible (it has long been the preferred technique for emphasis in printed materials). In ema... | Is one allowed to use capitalization for emphasis? | english |
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