question stringlengths 0 34.8k | answer stringlengths 0 28.3k | title stringlengths 7 150 | forum_tag stringclasses 12
values |
|---|---|---|---|
I know that a language evolves with time and constantly keeps itself up to people's needs. But when I read a bible or a poem of Shakespeare, I can see English was very different by then with sentences like: "I love thee." "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name! Or, if thou wilt n... | The short answer is: Always. Languages evolve all the time, very gradualy, as usage changes, words fall out of favor, and new words get used that had never before existed. The fact that new words are added to dictionaries every year (and certain unused words are taken out) is a part of this, but more representative of ... | How/When did English transform to the modern version we use today? | english |
Please tell me which one of the following two sentences is correct. Do we have to conjugate the verb of the object, like in the first sentence? I found a car that works. I found a car that work. | works. It has to agree in number with "a car". | Question on grammar | english |
Is there a word to describe a person who makes up nice quotations? | Someone who makes something up isn't quoting anything, but they might coin a particularly quotable phrase. Such a phrase can be called an epigram , a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way [ODO] ...and the person who concocts it is called an epigrammatist . | Word for a person who quotes well? | english |
This question references a suggested edit I rejected on Super User. The edit suggested that the a in There's no way you're plugging any of those directly into a SATA interface. be changed to an . The result would be There's no way you're plugging any of those directly into an SATA interface. Is this somehow grammatical... | Well the other user was incorrect. He probably thought that SATA was pronounced S-A-T-A. If it was than an "an" in front of the "S" (es sound) is correct. But alas it is pronounced like Satan without the "n". So of course the "an" is silly. The user probably was trying to correct the grammar which is fine, they just do... | "An SATA device"? Weird article choice in suggested edit | english |
I don't expect a lie from you Is this sentence grammatically correct? If not, how could it be corrected? | "I don't expect a lie from you." Your sentence is correct, grammatically. It does, however, require a context to make better sense, as Colin Fine has already commented. For example, if the sentence preceding your sentence were "I expect to hear a lie from John when I question him," then your next sentence could be, "I ... | Is "expect lie from you" grammatically correct? | english |
In association football, rabona is used to describe a specific technique: a method of kicking the football whereby the kicking leg is wrapped around the back of the standing leg—effectively with one's legs crossed. Do we have anything regarding the etymology and origin? | Callum Alexander wrote in "Who Invented the Rabona Kick?": The first rabona actually dates all the way back to 1948 in a match between Argentinian teams Estudiantes de la Plata and Rosario Central. It was Estudiantes de la Plata player Ricardo Infante that scored the historic goal and it was an Argentine football magaz... | Etymology of "rabona" | english |
I'm graduating in translation and one of my 2nd semester's works is a movie review about Philomena . I am stuck, however, at this part: (He's an) expert purveyor of deflating mots on any subject, including his own atheism: “I don’t believe in God and I think He can tell.” I don't understand what " deflating mots " mean... | A mot is: a pithy or witty saying So I'd suppose that by referring to ' deflating mots ', the author is talking about witty comments which tend to cause his opponents (or possibly his audience) to retract or to laugh at themselves—to 'deflate' their ego, in a sense. | What's the meaning of 'deflating mots' in this sentence? | english |
"Anniversary" comes from Latin: "anni" [genitive of annus = year] + "vers(us)" [past participle of vertere = to turn]. I am interested in constructing a similar word which means "reoccurring every 1000 days". "One thousand", in Latin, is mille and the genitive plural of "day" is dierum . Hence: mille-dierum-versary. Ho... | The Urban Dictionary lists an obvious choice: kiloversary , also known as k-day . (Coming soon to a Hallmark card near you.) | 1000 Day "Anniversary" | english |
I learned the language of Plato and Sokrates at school - is it 'old Greek' or 'ancient Greek'? | For a general audience, the language of Plato is ancient Greek , as distinguished from the Greek of the prehistoric, medieval, and modern epochs. To be more specific, you can call it classical Greek , which refers to ancient Greek as spoken during the classical era of the 5th and 4th centuries, as opposed to the archai... | Old Greek vs ancient Greek | english |
We meet twice a week to practice listening of English language news among English language enthusiasts in our community. We listen to mostly AP news broadcasted through FEN (Far East Net Work). At yesterday’s meeting, the opinions of the circle members were divided as to whether the female announcer pronounced ‘off’ or... | To "blow oneself up" is grammatically correct in this context, and is definitely what the announcer should have said. "Blow up" idiomatically means "explode". (It's also used to mean "inflate" in the case of e.g. balloons.) "Blow off" is even more colloquial; the usage I know means to ignore someone/something - to not ... | A suicide bomber blew himself off, or blew himself up in a mosque? | english |
I am creating an indie game and since English is not my first language, I would like some help on this. In my game, you have buildings and units (soldiers and such). The overall theme is militaristic, so I would like something in that area. Now, here are the expressions used by the players: To make a building, you need... | I sounds like you are asking what the raw material for the former would be, so what about the term recruit . You construct a building from a blueprint while you train a soldier from a recruit . This gets interesting when you get more complex units such as an fighter plane , however one can argue you either train the pi... | "Buildings" are to "blueprints" as "units" are to what? | english |
I don't know the correct name of the following characteristic or phenomena to search for it on Google for further study and exploration: Someone says they live in the "Best Democracy" and they says that they can back this up with historical and contemporary evidence. They could be asserting either: Their country is the... | I am not aware of a specific term for this type of ambiguity. I would actually argue that the generic form you present is not inherently ambiguous: Spot is the best dog. Spot is the best dog at running. These two sentences have drastically different meanings and I do not think it is accurate to suggest that the former ... | What do you call the linguistic ambiguity in an assertion "Blah is the Best X? | english |
I found this question when reading a machine manual. In the part about Guarantee, it said "The guarantee will not be operative if any of the following apply:" My question here is that can operative be used in here or is valid a more appropriate choice for this situation. P.S. The manual is a translated version. Thanks | In the example given, there are numerous ways for the guarantor to say no : not operative invalid void null and void terminated inoperative cancelled disallowed not in effect rescinded rejected abandonned surrendered [and probably many others] Lawyers get paid by the word (well, by the hour, but it amounts to the same ... | Do "operative" and "valid" have the same meaning in legal terms? | english |
Does the word 'rhythm' have one or two syllables? I'm wondering if there are any reasons for or against a sound-based argument vs a written-based argument. | It may appear from spelling that rhythm has only one syllable, because it has only one vowel. However, the M is a syllabic consonant which forms a syllable of its own. Sonorant consonants like L, M, N, and R can act as the nucleus of a syllable just as a vowel can (although English dictionaries often insert a schwa to ... | Does 'rhythm' have one or two syllables? | english |
The list was mentioned only at the meeting. or The list was only mentioned at the meeting. | Both would be understood, but in terms of style that " the list was mentioned only at the meeting " is preferable, and arguably clearer about what the 'only' refers to. Consider The list was only mentioned (not sung, rapped, or chanted) at the meeting against The list was mentioned only at the meeting (but not in the c... | "is only mentioned" or "is mentioned only"? | english |
If B is a spiritual successor to A, then what would one call A in relation to B? The obvious answer would be spiritual predecessor , but that seems inaccurate, since spirit seems to refer to intent - B was intended as a successor, but A is not now intended as a predecessor in retrospect. Are there any alternatives? | I think forerunner fits nicely. Forerunner - a person or thing that precedes the coming or development of someone or something else: The icebox was a forerunner of today’s refrigerator. Listed synonyms include: predecessor, precursor, antecedent, ancestor | Inversion of Spiritual Successor | english |
Do these sentences make sense grammatically, and if so, is this a formal/colloquial/archaic construction? She gave it him. She gave him it. It was provided her by the state. She was provided it by the state. I explained it him in simple terms. I explained him it in simple terms. They granted it her on specific grounds.... | In Modern American English, pronoun objects are subject to a number of constraints that don't apply to noun objects. For instance, pronoun objects must precede phrasal verb particles, while noun objects can swing both ways: * I picked up him ~ I picked him up. I picked up Bill ~ I picked Bill up. And in the example sen... | Dropping prepositions such as 'to' and 'for' | english |
Why we can't put the word information in the plural form? "Give me all the informations you've got", even if it's wrong, sounds more beautiful to my non-native ear than "give me all the information you've got", and I don't know why. Edit: it's not a duplicate question since I know that information is a mass noun, what ... | Because we don't. I'm sorry, but that is the whole of the answer. Languages are as they are, not as anybody (native or foreign) want them to be. | Why can't we say "informations"? | english |
What is a word that is closely defined to "the vertical length of sky between directly overhead and the horizon"? Example for definition: "The sun shown through the fog in the |between-zenith-horizon|" It may also be defined as "the range of directions between directly overhead and the horizon." Example for definition:... | You could call that range of angles the first quadrant , using quadrant in one or more of the following senses. I don't know of a more-specific term for altitudes between horizon and zenith. One of the four sections made by dividing an area with two perpendicular lines. (mathematics) The four regions of the Cartesian p... | What is a word for the length of sky between directly overhead and horizon? | english |
In the movie 'Fight Club' I heard the phrase 'Sixty-nined you' for calling back. Is that common in American English or special for New York where you can press the 6 and 9 to call the last incoming number? | I'm pretty sure that pressing * 6 9 used to apply in Canada too, so it was not just a New York thing. The availability of this feature might depend on who your service provider is. As for using it as a phrase, I do recall hearing it years ago (late 1990's I guess?) in a way similar to what your example, but not so much... | Sixty-nine callback | english |
Is the following usage of "prohibit" correct? The disk crash prohibited me from saving the file. I have an opinion, but want to hear what others think before I share it. | To prohibit an action is to lay down a rule that informs someone that they cannot perform that action. To prevent the action is to actually stop it. For example, I can put up a sign on a lawn that says "Walking on the grass is prohibited", but to actually prevent anyone from walking on the grass, I could put up a fence... | Usage of "Prohibited" vs "Prevented" in a given sentence | english |
Practical example: In order to get a job you need experience. To have experience you need to get a job. What is the right term to call this? | The English term you're looking for is Catch-22. It comes from the title of the 1961 novel Catch-22 , by Joseph Heller. | What is the term for a situation where you need to do first in order to do second, but to do first you need to do second? | english |
Are there any cases where the plural and singular form of an English compound word or noun phrase differ in the number of words contained? In all cases I can think of, the actual words within the noun phrase will change based on the grammatical number, but the number of words will not. Examples, <code> large red car </... | The answer appears to be no, there aren't any such plurals. The comments section on the question have pointed out a few interesting cases but they don't apply to the specific requirements you were looking for: numerical counts: one car => two hundred cars article removal: a car => cars collective nouns: a sheep => a fl... | Compound words/noun phrases in english with different number of words in plural/singular form | english |
I want to know the differences between theses two terms. For my own understanding, I think they mean the same thing but appearences are different. Or could it mean that the control panel is usually in the control cabinet? | Here's an image from Quartz TSL showing a cabinet they made: It has a door, and inside it are a number of panels containing individual controls. You can see cabling feeding the back of an additional panel which is accessible when the door is closed. Control panel: a collection of controls Control cabinet: a cabinet hou... | "Control Panel" V.S. "Control Cabinet" | english |
What is the proper name for a cube which is stretched in one direction. So that it is really four rectangles of the same size with two squares at the ends. Elongated/stretched cube? Rectangular/square prism? | Because all the angles are right angles, it's a cuboid. Because it has the same cross-section along its length, it's a prism. Because all the faces are rectangles of one sort or another, it's a rectangular prism. Because two opposite faces are squares, it's a square prism. Because all faces are not the same size, it's ... | Better name for a square prism | english |
The goal of ABC is to enable the doctors all around the world to share and benefit from the knowledge of (the) others. (meaning of other doctors all around the world) I know that THE OTHERS is used when there is a limited count. But there is always a limited, finite count (people on the world..). Should there be others... | The is a definite article . There is a discussion of that part of speech here . In short, a definite article indicates that its noun is a particular one (or ones) identifiable to the listener The identification of the noun usually occurs in the same sentence or in a preceding sentence. In your example, there are no pre... | Others or the others in this example | english |
Media depictions would have it that in some militaries, soldiers traditionally paint icons representing enemies they have killed or materiel they have disabled on the weapons used or vehicles operated in doing so. What terminology is used for these images? | These "glyphs" are called kill markings . I couldn't find a good definition anywhere, but I did find numerous references on Google. The most source worthy is a captioned photo of a 1942 fighter plane . This post from an aviation forum discusses whether or not " kill markings " were seen on WWI fighter planes. In my res... | What do you call glyphs representing kills painted on a weapon or vehicle? | english |
Such as in "that item is 86, we need to buy more" | "86" is most commonly used to refer to throwing something away or refusing service. From Wikipedia : "86","86ed", "86'd", or eighty-sixed when used as a verb in American English, is a slang term for getting rid of something, ejecting someone, or refusing service. Later in that article they do refer to the usage you men... | Where does the food industry term "86" come from? | english |
I was reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. In the 2nd chapter I read the following prose: Yes, there would be a day when his face would be wrinkled and wizen, his eyes dim and colourless, the grace of his figure broken and deformed. The scarlet would pass away from his lips and the gold steal from his hai... | There are several meanings for steal as a verb. Either of these might apply to move or convey stealthily - they stole along the corridor to pass unnoticed - the hours stole by Wilde could have been suggesting that his hair would fade little by little, almost unnoticed. Even more likely, he could be suggesting that the ... | What does "steal" in this Oscar Wilde piece mean | english |
I need a few words that describe a person who is imposing, in a context of overstaying his welcome. Someone that is present unwelcomed and you can't do your usual routines until the person is gone. A person who is not part of the household and is in the way. And excess person → freeloader, parasite, scrounger/unwelcome... | Alternatives to imposer Intrusive and intruder tending or apt to intrude; coming without invitation or welcome: intrusive memories of a lost love. 2. characterized by or involving intrusion. 3. intruding; thrusting in. Obtrusive and obtruder having or showing a disposition to obtrude, as by imposing oneself or one's op... | Words for a person who imposes | english |
I'm not a native English speaker so I'm struggling to get this right. I understand (and stackexchange-url ("this question") confirms) that compound adjectives such as <code> well-organized </code> , <code> high-level </code> , <code> Spanish-speaking </code> , etc, must have a hyphen. In particular, for us non-native s... | Try not to think of this in terms of error, but in terms of what makes a text easier to read. That’s what punctuation is for. In your example, I don’t know what a ‘Cannone da 90/53’ is, so when I read it, the absence of the hyphen makes me wonder briefly if it’s an Italian . A hyphen linking Italian and designed would ... | Hyphen omission: a matter of habit or plain error? | english |
A beautiful woman risking everything for a mad passion. A few wild weeks of happiness cut short by a hideous, treacherous crime. Months of voiceless agony, and then a child born in pain. The mother snatched away by death, the boy left to solitude and the tyranny of an old and loveless man. Yes; it was an interesting ba... | Meanest: Lowliest Blow: What it says Quote is from Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood by William Wordsworth Thanks to the human heart by which we live, Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears, To me the meanest flower that blows can give Thoughts that do often lie too deep for... | What does "meanest flower might blow" mean | english |
Is the following usage correct: I drove from Los Angeles all the way down to San Diego. given that San Diego is at the south of Los Angeles? Can it be used for geographical directions? | It can certainly be used, though it can be interpreted in at least a couple of ways depending on context. To the basic statement I drove from Los Angeles to San Diego. we add down , indicating a direction, and all the way adds that you drove the entire distance. But all the way can also be used to emphasize the difficu... | "all the way down to" phrase with geographical locations | english |
I came across the idiom, “get hold of the wrong end of the stick” in the following sentence of the scene where Barry Calvert, an FBI agent tells his colleague, Mark Andrews about the statement of an illegal Greek immigrant on suspected assassination scheme in Jeffery Archer’s fiction, “Shall we tell the President” P.37... | Given that not a single reference work considers wrong stick as a variant of the well-known idiom, this corruption is likely to be a mistake (albeit quite possibly a deliberate one). The origin of the two related idioms (see below) is thought be related to argumentum baculum or the argument of the cudgel (or staff, hen... | Is the usage of idiom, “get hold of the wrong end of the stick” situation specific? | english |
Etymonline.com gives a lot of definitions regarding an implement or instrument, specifically inanimate objects. But the word has crept into English slang in reference to people, as in "he is a total tool." Would this mean that he is someone's "puppet?" Or if someone said, "He is a tool of IBM," would this mean that he ... | Yes, tool in this context means that IBM can use him whatever way they choose, that he is obedient. It's usually used, though, in a context where the relationship is slightly unexpected, unwitting, or inappropriate. The tool lacks self-awareness. A soldier would not be a good example, then, since soldiers are not expec... | What is meant by the (slang) word "tool," when used to refer to a person? | english |
Marla glanced at her watch. Half past four. She'd been in the subway since morning, doing nothing in particular— just watching trains come and go, people getting on and off. A typical commuting scene. My first impulse was just to write getting instead of get . But after reading the sentence again I said: wait I wrote c... | Just watching trains come and go is fine, and so is just watching people get on and off. A problem arises when you try to put the two together. If you write Just watching trains come and go, people get on and off , the syntax isn’t immediately obvious. It sounds as if people get on and off is a new finite clause, when ... | Should I use verb or verb + ing in the following case? | english |
If I want to question someone about for how many hours a computer is turned on and running - and by the time of the question it is still running - which of the constructions below is more appropriate? For how long has your computer been running? For how long has your computer been run? First of all, I'm not sure if con... | Your first sentence uses a present perfect progressive active construction, while the second is a passive construction. Each has a different emphasis. The second doesn’t necessarily mean that the computer is no longer running, but the first would in any case be more normal. You could make it sound less formal by writin... | Has been run vs has been running | english |
“There’s some men wouldn’t look at a girl with a baby.” (Ken Follett, Fall of Giants) There is a young student comes here some evenings. (James Joyce, Dubliners) “That’s a smell could raise me out of a concrete grave.” (East of Eden) “I guess it was Cal asked Lee.” (East of Eden) I have a friend called me yesterday. (T... | All but one of these sentences starts with a phrase saying something exists: There's … There is … That's … I have a … I could easily be wrong about this, but my gut feeling is that this is what allows the informal deletion of the subject relative pronoun, although the constructions with it deleted definitely feel infor... | What allows the omission of subject relative pronouns? | english |
Why is the following sentence incorrect? "Neither Gore nor Bush could bring themselves to utter a word in defense of scientific truth." I was told that it should be: "Neither Gore nor Bush could bring himself to utter a word in defense of scientific truth." I really don't understand that due to the fact that "Neither G... | I would say that most would agree that both are correct, and generally they are informally, but there is technically a reason why himself is correct. There is a difference between the conjunctions nor/or and and. When the conjunction is and the subject is plural; but when you use or or nor, you're saying that it's one ... | Neither A nor B could bring themselves to say something | english |
I understand the usage, but "out of luck" itself I don't quite grasp. Where does it come from? I want to know the etymology of "out of" in the sense of not having. | It’s not entirely clear without the context, but out of luck probably means that the enterprise succeeded as a result of good luck. One of the meanings of out of is ‘from (something) as a cause or motive; as the result or effect of; because or by reason of.’ | "Succeeded out of luck" and "Is out of luck" To be out of luck | english |
Is the word " Customizable " a valid English word? Every time i write that word, the spell checker underlines it, and it suggests using "Customization" or "Customize", I'm not a native English speaker. That word exists in online dictionaries so i wonder why does the spell checker underline it. | The Oxford English Dictionary in its revision of March 2012 defines it as: That may be customized; able to be changed to suit the requirements of the user. Frequently with reference to computer software and hardware. The earliest citation is from 1960. If that definition of customizable suits your purpose, then there’s... | Is "Customizable" a valid English word? | english |
When you engage a lawyer or an estate agent, for example, you instruct them. What is the most appropriate word to use when you decide you've had enough and want to get rid of them? There are several good contenders but 'dis-instruct' would seem most appropriate - and yet I'm unable to find this word in any of the commo... | Deinstruct is a good word suggestion, particularly in the legal context (since the word instruct frequently appears in law), and is comparable to words such as deauthorize (and disauthorize), deactivate and disinter (and their corresponding French precursors). That said Latin stems beginning with st commonly take un- a... | Is 'disinstruct' or 'de-instruct' legitimate usage? | english |
There was the following sentence in Sept 29 New York Times article, titled “Obama should ignore the Debt Ceiling”: “The debt ceiling is the fiscal equivalent of the human appendix — a law with no discoverable purpose. It is one law too many. Once Congress has set tax rates and spending levels, it has effectively said w... | OK the backstory is that the US has a statutory limit on the amount of money it can borrow (or amount of outstanding debt it may hold) called the debt ceiling. The sentence is not meant literally. This is not the usage you're referring to (as in * I/I've had one too many beers ). One law too many suggests that it is an... | What does “It (the debt ceiling) is one law too many” mean? | english |
I've recently heard the term curio when talking about a strange or foreign object, whereas previously I would have used the term curiosity in that context. Is the use of the use of curio a more correct term when speaking about an object , compared to curiosity which is a better term for a behaviour , or can they be use... | Curio is a shortened form of curiosity that specifically refers to the “bric-a-brac” sense of the latter word. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it dates from 1851. The two appear to be interchangeable in that sense, although the abbreviated form is more common in my experience, especially when referring to... | Grammatical differences between "curio" and "curiosity" when used as an object noun | english |
A colleague of mine found reference to the word "Exgest" in a contract. In context, this appeared to mean the opposite of the word "Ingest" which was used earlier in the contract. These words were intended to convey the consumption and processing of data in a system. Does this word, "Exgest" , actually exist, and what ... | The proper antonym of ingest is egest not exgest . Etymologically e- serves the same purpose as ex- . egest To discharge or excrete from the body. | Does the word "exgest" exist? | english |
When used as a verb, the word <code> appropriate </code> means "to take (something) for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission". Basically, stealing. However, when used as an adjective, the same word means "suitable or proper" — which stealing is definitely not. So, why is there such a conflict b... | I don't think there a conflict between those two meanings of the word, one an adjective and one a verb, but rather that the connection between them can be obscure. When something is appropriate it is proper: being proper is an attribute or property of the thing. Likewise, when something is deemed proper, that attributi... | Why is it not appropriate to appropriate? | english |
Does PSY attribute his fashion to his district Gangnam? I've been hearing people nowadays going 'I have the Gangnam Style'. Are they meaning they have adopted the cultures of Korea, Gangnam? | “Gangnam” is an area in South Korea, specifically a small area in Seoul, South Korea, home to about 1% of the population of Seoul and is about the size of Manhattan. It is known for its wealthy, “new money”, inhabitants. (The region has only very recently become extremely upscale, with a gradual upswing in the last hal... | What does 'Gangnam Style' mean? | english |
I'm looking at the phrase "THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY". The thing I'm trying to think of is the joke format where you list a bunch of things and then change the last word for humorous effect. I believe that this phrase fits the same format, as "ugly" can be replaced with something absurd. The reason I need the nam... | In rhetoric, this omne trium perfectum (all in threes is perfect or rule of three) is referred to as crescendo , auxesis or climax - an arrangement in order of increasing importance. Auxesis also refers more generally to placement of words or phrases in certain order to obtain climactic effect. When restricted to three... | Name for phrase of words in increasing significance | english |
Eri thought if there were little people living in it, they would be experiencing earthquakes all the time. Or maybe, they would have been so used to the movement that they'd no longer feel it. They'd just go on with their little lives[...] eating their little meals, going to their little jobs, and spending time with th... | An em-dash or an en-dash might be helpful in such cases: They'd just go on with their little lives – eating … or They'd just go on with their little lives—eating … Apart from a pause, it also has the effect of providing a 'directive'. See the Wikipedia page on Dash . | What punctuation should I use in the following case? | english |
I copy pasted this symbol from http://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jls/se7/html/jls-15.html#jls-15.8.3 but I want to know what it is called and how to make it. | The § is the section sign or section mark . You can type it in Windows by holding down Alt and pressing 2 then 1 on the numeric keypad. In Linux you can hold Ctrl-Shift-U and then, keeping Ctrl & Shift held, type A then 7 then Enter. | What is § called and how do I type it? | english |
I'm trying to puncuate this sentence, and am not sure if I should use ellipses or an em dash, or simply put a period after the fragment and start a new sentence with "No one." Job loss, major illness, family issues, natural disaster ... no one is immune from difficulties like these. It's for a brochure for a nonprofit,... | Typically an em dash is used in the same way as parentheses are or as commas are in an appositive or an aside, while ellipses are reserved for omitted text. With that said, however, em dashes and ellipses are sometimes used interchangeably. That's a style choice. Neither is wrong grammatically. Someone writing in a str... | Following a listing and ellipses ... How should this sentence be punctuated? | english |
Robert Peston recently wrote on his BBC blog : But it would mean that the perceived quality of all the trillions of dollars of bonds it has sold would deteriorate (here is one of my "dear grandma, love egg" moments - when a government issues a bond, it is borrowing from investors). What on earth is a “dear grandma, lov... | This cryptic metaphor appears to be an allusion to two asides that the author made in another article just a few days before the one quoted. From “Has Labour fallen out of love with business?” : (everything else being equal, the cost of capital rises as shares fall - sorry for the eggs tutorial, Grandma) (Here's more e... | What is a "dear grandma, love egg" moment? | english |
Keeping personification as a related (yet opposite) concept, is there a term that means "to give humans lifeless or inanimate appearance"? For example, in a recent photo shoot, the photographer placed us behind some tree branches, to blend us and make us look like a part of it. So, as one of the answers below suggests,... | Would you consider the word exanimation as an antonym for personification in this context? There are no positive or negative undertones for this version of anti-personification. exanimate lacking life, spiritless, inanimate, lifeless deprived of life, a lifeless body I will offer yet another technical term: antiprosopo... | Term that means making humans look inanimate | english |
I've been watching some online courses and I'm having a difficulty understanding what exactly are they saying. The courses are scientific in nature and rather often an indexed symbols appear. The indexed symbols are usually written with a subscript, like this: When refering to those, the instructor pronounced them like... | You are mishearing the instructor. He is saying "a sub n" and "i sub c", where "sub" is short for "subscript". If the symbols are written with a superscript, like a n and I c , then the spoken version is "a sup n" and "i sup c", where "sup" is pronounced like "soup", and is short for "superscript". | What is the suffix in indexed math symbols | english |
I was drawn to the expression, “How to make you hear our tears” in the following sentence of the comment written by Sonia Sanchez under the caption, “Remembering Brother Martin” as a part of special article - “One Man, One March, One Speech, One Dream" in Time magazine (August 26 – September 2, 2013 issue): “How to tel... | "Hear our tears" is an example of synecdoche, in which a part stands in for the whole. Other examples are "hands" for manual workers, "bubbly" for champagne, or "head count". In this case the tears are standing in for the emotions that produced them, as is "smiled through his/her tears". In your example, it is not the ... | Do we “hear” our tears? | english |
What is the term for a common expression or colloquialism that is inaccurate or misleading, such as the use of "mental math" to mean "mental calculation" or "mental arithmetic" ? | I think you are looking for the word metonymy : a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is called not by its own name but rather by the name of something associated in meaning with that thing or concept. It is closely related to the more general term synecdoche . Edit: Now I've read your comments I like the answ... | What is the term for a common expression that is inaccurate or misleading? | english |
Can "so as to" be used, and if so in what contexts and in what situations? Can it be used formally and in written documents? Edit: I'm looking more at an IT question for example "You can do 'something' so as to get the variable and process it" | This is a very broad question, but to give you a couple of examples: He put on an elaborate ruse so as to deceive her. She tried to look nonplussed so as to conceal her rage. Yes you can use that phrasing formally in writing or speech, although personally, I wouldn't. It has limited applications. EDIT: Yes, based on yo... | Is the usage of "so as to" correct? | english |
Example 1: Peter’s bag Example 2: Chris’s car Is example 2 correct? If not, what is the rule for names that end with “s”? | Example 2 is correct. The rule differs when dealing with plurals. The boys' jackets could not be found. | Adding “’s” when the name ends with “s”? | english |
Using a computer mouse to point to a far away target and running out of table surface (or hand range), one typically lifts the mouse, moves it in the opposite direction, puts it back down, and continues the movement. Is there an English word or expression for this action? If not, how would you concisely refer to it in ... | Lifting the mouse is perfectly adequate, and is used in the business to describe this exact action. For example, take this excerpt from a magazine review of a mouse : The ability to tweak lift-off distance is great; we like to lift our mouse a lot, so by setting the M60 to not track at any height, we ended up with soli... | Is there a word for the action of lifting the mouse to go further? | english |
I have come across these many times “Please excuse me. I have to leave now to put my children TO SLEEP. ” “Please excuse me. I have to leave now to put my children TO BED. ” Is there a difference between any of the sentences? Similarly as follows: "Please SWITCH your mobile phone to silent mode.” “Please PUT your mobil... | I don't know whether you're native English or not, but in the UK, we would never say 'put my children to sleep'. What that actually means is you're intending to either kill them, or use knockout drugs to make them sleep. We put animals 'to sleep', which is a euphemistic term for killing them, in particular with the use... | Difference between the sentences | english |
I'm looking for two technical words used in law: Someone who accepts the law, they will try to do the best things in any situation. The opposite of number one, they reject any law and at every chance will run away from it. for example in the law vocab, "ALIBI" means : A defence where an accused alleges that at the time... | Law-abiding Recidivist, anarchist, rebel, or criminal, depending on the context. | Looking for two terms from law vocabulary | english |
This is about technical context (i.e. not theatre or performances). The phrase - "should mimic the functionality of ..." - how it can be interpreted? From dictionaries it is not very clear - can it mean exact copy, or just a "similar" thing? | They don't mean exact copy here. You can mimic something and have it be a carbon copy; but what they are suggesting (from the very limited context ) is that the process should follow a similar procedure or that the novel process should function by the same mechanism as the established process. An artificial heart mimic... | "to mimic" something, what level of precision does it mean? | english |
I want to write the following sentence: 'Despite the growing attention of the research community, however, there exist several open issues.' I am, however, not sure about the right preposition. 'attention of' is probably not an option but is it better to say here 'attention from' or 'attention in'? Leo tells me that, i... | It's fine as it is. ( Attention from might have been appropriate if you'd omitted the definite article before growing .) | 'attention from/in/of' the (research) community? | english |
I tried to sell my stuff and one of the guys asked me if I could bargain on the item and I said no. He replied with the message, At least Dick Turpin wore a mask. What does that mean? | Dick Turpin was a famous thief. What they mean by at least Dick Turpin wore a mask is that at least Dick Turpin attempted to conceal his identity when committing robbery/burglary. The implication is that someone is trying to rob (or burgle) someone else flagrantly. | Meaning of "at least Dick Turpin wore a mask" | english |
I'm writing an example of constructing logic, and I need to differentiate between an adult female dog, an adult male dog and a puppy and am searching for polite terms. Unfortunately, the word "bitch" has impolite connotations, so I'd rather not use it, but I'm not sure of any other terms for a female dog. Likewise, I d... | I think the obvious answer (the one you already know!) is the best: You can refer to a female dog as a female dog . You can refer to a male dog as a male dog . Of course, if you really need to specify that they're adults, you could do that: An adult male dog could be referred to as an adult male . An adult female dog c... | Polite alternative to the term "bitch" when referring to a female dog | english |
I was drawn to the words, “Love interest” and “Love intelligence” appearing in Maureen Dowd’s article, “Creeping Crowd” which dealt with the N.S.A.’s domestic surveillance, in Sept 28 New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/opinion/sunday/dowd-creeping-cloud.html?hp Dowd describes the ‘surveillance’ as indisc... | "LOVEINT" or "love intelligence" is a jocular or sarcastic pun on "SIGINT" or "signals intelligence", which is a standard term in intelligence agency jargon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signals_intelligence "Love interests" is a standard general term for people we are currently, or have been, or might wish to be, roma... | Does the words, “Love interests” and “Love intelligence” have a special meaning other than plain “love affair” and “love gossip”? | english |
In these sentences: "Can you call me back soon?" "Can you call me soon?" Is the "back" redundant and should it be omitted? | both are right but you usually say : "Can you call me back soon?" when you are speaking to someone over phone and you need to hang up. then you say call me back and otherwise you simply say : "can you call me soon ?" | "Can you call me back soon" or "Can you call me soon?" | english |
"Please do not repeat the mistake" "Please do not repeat the mistake again". Should the again be omitted? “Repeat” means “do again”. So to “repeat again” means “to do again again”. So is the second sentence grammatically wrong? | Both are grammatical; they mean different things. You use the first sentence the first time someone makes a mistake, and the second sentence when they make the exact same mistake again . | "Please do not repeat the mistake" and "Please do not repeat the mistake again" | english |
I want to list some actions that needs to be done and can't find a good phrase for it. I want to write something like: Now we're creating appropriate elements. Operational summary: 1. doing X 2. Having Y 3. Writing Z What would you suggest instead of "Operational summary"? Edit #1 (30 Sep, 22:30): I should clarify that... | From computer science: Procedure Algorithm | A phrase for "Actions to do" | english |
Please help me to find out the appropriate English idiom for <code> Fry the fish using fish's own oil </code> . This is a Bengali proverb/idiom whose word meaning 'When you are frying some sea fish, initially cook use some oil for frying but within few minute fish emit it's own body oil, and the remaining frying is don... | You might want a to use an actual, well-known economics term: R.O.I: "Return On Investment" Or "Pays for itself" You would then explain how the subject does this. Or you might want "you can't make an omlette without breaking a few eggs" suggesting that a price MUST be paid to get the intended benefit. or "Killer app", ... | English idiom for 'Fry the fish using fish's own oil' | english |
What are Jeeves' exact words at 13.31 in this episode ? | The phrase you are asking about seems to be "I am agog to learn, sir." Presumably, the word you are having trouble with is " agog ": In eager desire, eager, astir. In this case, it's used in a somewhat mocking manner; Jeeves doesn't truly care what Wooster has to say, he is just obligated, as a valet, to feign interest... | Eager to know, synonym - What's he saying? | english |
I've recently read this quote somewhere in a book and I can't seem to comprehend it. | It means that you should be very careful if you mix with bad people. The OED’s earliest citation supporting it is this slightly varied form from Chaucer’s ‘Squire’s Tale’: Therfore bihoueth hire a ful long spoon That shal ete with a feend. | What does "He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon" mean? | english |
I searched and found this: stackexchange-url ("“Built-in” or “In-built”"), which says inbuilt is fine. But in a reddit comment , I was told that I should use built in instead of inbuilt . Which is correct? I am using the word inbuilt on http://www.inboundio.com/features | In the Insular English of Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales), Ireland (both the Republic and the Northern part), and surrounding bits like the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, the preferred form is in-built , hyphenated like that. That’s the way the OED has it. Chiefly as ˈin-ˌbuilt ppl. a. = built-in In the No... | Is "inbuilt" a word? Is it alright to use it or should I use "built in"? | english |
which one is correct they are being removed from the black list? or they are removed from the black list? i want to use a passive sentence to express the removal of something from the black list. | It depends on the context, but I would guess you need the first. That’s what you would use to describe an action in progress. Later you might say ‘They have been removed from the black list.’ | they are being removed or they are removed? | english |
I've come accross both phrases for quite some time and I can't seem to distinguish the difference between both of them. Suzy is biased towards Thomas. Suzy is biased against Thomas. In both cases, it is clear that Suzy holds something against Thomas but what is the difference between "biased towards" or "biased against... | Suzy is biased against Thomas can mean only that she has a prejudice against him. Suzy is biased towards Thomas is ambiguous. It can mean either that her attitude towards him is biased one way or another or that she is biased in favour of him. For that reason, it is perhaps best avoided. | Is it "biased towards" or "biased against"? | english |
I have seen this word many times but can't for the life of me able to remember. The word refers to a quote which is often attributed to someone but no one can verify whether the person actually said so. Let me give an example. Einstein (that word) "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb ... | The word you are looking for is apocryphal . adjective (of a story or statement) of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true: an apocryphal story about a former president | word to describe a quote often attributed to but not verified to a person | english |
I'm having trouble as to what you call two words that contradict each other. For example, "That was weirdly normal." I think this kind of word play is used in puns and jokes. But I do not know how you call this king of word play. Also, I think this can go beyond just using two words, like two phrases in a sentence or t... | 'Oxymoron' is probably the word you want. | What do you call two words that contradict each other in a sentence? | english |
So it goes like this: “Sally, you look groovy. You aim to win at the best DRESS competition tonight, don’t you?” "Sally, you look groovy. You aim to win at the best DRESSED competition tonight, don’t you?” I've heard people say best dress cannot be used in the context of boys because they do not wear "dresses". But wha... | The competition you speak of is called "Best Dressed," not "Best Dress." Your first example is therefore incorrect. The second one is fine. Now, there could be, in theory, a "Best Dress" competition if, for example, a bunch of seamstresses compete in making the best dress, with judges determining which dress of the one... | Difference between "best dress" and "best dressed" | english |
This is my first question on this stack exchange. I'm hoping this kind of question is welcome here, and excuse my ignorance, but my confusion evident below is exactly why I am a Software Engineer rather than a writer. Run-on sentences haunt my dreams. When using the phrase <code> "including but not limited to" </code> ... | My choice would be: There are many activities, including, but not limited to, running, jumping and swimming. The comma before including shows that a new clause, even if it’s a non-finite clause, is to follow, and the comma before but and after to , indicates a weak interruption to that clause. The comma between running... | Punctuation for the phrase "including but not limited to" | english |
When I want to emphasize a result or aim, I use a phrase with 'so that'. Other authors use 'such that'. I wonder if there are any rules or if both can be used interchangeably. For example Experts from different backgrounds are invited so that diverse opinions can be heard. vs. Experts from different backgrounds are inv... | So that , as in your first example, means ‘in order that’. Such that means ‘of a kind’, as in ‘The experts we invited were such that diverse opinions could be heard.’ | What are rules on 'so that' vs. 'such that'? | english |
I have researched and found out long time no see is a direct translate from the Chinese phrase, 好久不见. As much as we use it almost everyday in our lives, is it actually grammatically correct? Since it is a direct translate, is it grammatically approved? | Should we apply the terms grammatical and ungrammatical at all? That depends on whether English grammar has anything useful to say about it. And since it's a fixed-form idiom that doesn't combine with other words into valid English sentences, I'm not sure that is the case. But I think we do parse it, or at least treat ... | Is 'long time no see' grammatically correct? | english |
Chuck a wobbly is Australian slang for someone throwing a tantrum, and I like it because it invokes amusing imagery. I'm not certain of its origins however. I can see how it may be equivalent to the similar-meaning idiom "throw a fit", where "chuck" is also Australian slang for "throw", but I can't be certain of what "... | Chucking a wobbly comes from throw a wobbly and wobbly refers to a fit of anger, possibly suggesting the person is mentally unbalanced. The 1994 Shorter Slang Dictionary (Partridge, Beale, Fergusson) says: throw a wobbly to become angry, agitated or mentally unbalanced; to behave irrationally or unpredictably. Later 20... | Origin of "chuck a wobbly"? | english |
"Would that I might forget him," Ned said bluntly. — A Song of Ice and Fire Does the sentence in quotes mean, "I would forget him if I could"? | Welcome to EL&U! Yes, it's a dated way of saying, "I'd forget him if I could." Perhaps a little less dated, but still quite rare, is the expression "would to God," as in "Would to God I could forget him," which means, I wish I could forget him [but I can't, even with God's help!]. Or, "Would to God I could get him ... | Meaning of "would that I might forget him" | english |
Given two options, we can use 'either and 'neither' to show no preference. Do you want to watch A or B Neither, I don't like either. The only option I can see for more than two options is: 'any' and 'none' Do you want to watch A, B, C ... ? None, I don't like any. Actual Question : Is there, or has there ever been a wo... | Any (vs. either ), none (vs. neither ) are your options AFAIK. The last option in a multiple-choice list is None of the above , not Neither of the above , (even when the options are just two.) | Words similar to 'either' and 'neither' for 3 items | english |
Often I see "killing spree" but is there any difference between "killing spree" and "killing streak" ? Or is it "killing spree streak"? | Relatively speaking, killing streak doesn't really exist as a "known collocation". There are only 550 instances in that Google Books link, compared to 44,800 instances of killing spree . But there are 102,000 instances of winning streak , and only 1050 instances of winning spree. I would say most of the "non-standard" ... | Difference between "killing spree", "killing streak" and "killing spree streak" | english |
This is a well worn phrase I'm trying to avoid in my writing. I'm looking for another word to replace 'hum', which I take to mean the background noise resulting from people talking. I came up with 'murmur', but ideally, I'd like a word that suggests a deep pitch. You see, I'm writing about a group of men, and in my hea... | “A rumble of men's voices” might be an appropriate phrase, using rumble 's sense “A low, heavy, continuous sound, such as that of thunder or a hungry stomach”. | The 'hum' of conversation | english |
I'm a bit unsure if I can go about excluding author last names in citations for a paper I've been writing. I have to compare two characters from different stories in the same anthology. I have quotes from the two stories throughout the work, but introduce the authors+characters at the beginning of the essay. I was alwa... | Citation protocols vary according to different house styles, but the key point is that they should make it easy for the reader to track down any source on which you rely, whilst not, at the same time, impeding the reader’s flow with excessive lists of names and dates. It’s impossible to say precisely how these principl... | Does MLA require intext citations to include author's last name if you introduced his name earlier in your work? | english |
Let's say I'm an independent software developer who gets paid, by the hour, to create tailored software for solving one person's particular problems; I'm a contractor and a service provider . What's a good noun to use for the person who commissioned work from me? Employer came to mind, but that sounds very… "permanent,... | That party is quite often referred to as the contractee Project owner (also called client or principal) or other entity that enters into a contract with a contractor or vendor and receives specified goods and/or services under the terms of the contract (such as a purchase order). The verbiage, "hereinafter referred to ... | Noun to use for a person who has commissioned work from a contractor | english |
I have seen a lot of teenagers nowadays going by the lingo "They see me rollin', they hatin'". I'm sure they use it to address their haters but what does it necessarily imply when they relate themselves to a 'rolling' action? | <code> Rolling </code> could mean driving/cruising around specifically or it could also be taken in a much more general sense to mean "conducting myself (publicly)". Google around for the expression "that's how I roll". Also see the music video by Chamillionaire "Riding Dirty" - or much better yet, its parody by Weird ... | What does it mean by "they see me rollin', they hatin'"? | english |
I'm trying to find the best way to describe being so physically deformed, that its only, somewhat recognizable, feature is its own body shape. Mutant doesn't work for me, as it implies the reason of deformation, and I need something more general. Freak seams right, but sounds silly to me, so I hopping for something els... | The word you are looking for is gargoyle . Although coined in connection with carvings and sculptures (grotesquely carved waterspout), Gargoyle can be applied to a person with a grotesque appearance. An intriguing word is invunche , a monstrous human creature from a disturbing South American legend. One of these can be... | A single word desribing creature with misshapen and obscure features? | english |
There are two main approaches to extracting information from less structured or even free text web pages: classification-based approach and sequential labeling-based approach. It is from my thesis. A revision suggestion from the committee is that I should add an indefinite article before "classification". In other word... | My understanding is that determiners (an article is a determiner) can be omitted when the noun is a proper noun (Jim is speaking.) a plural noun (Approaches to consider are...) a non-count noun (Dessert is being served.) So you might try substituting plural nouns as in this example: There are two types of approaches to... | Should I put an indefinite article in front? | english |
I heard it in the couple movies and podcasts, and was able to trace it to the Cole Porter song "You Do Something to Me" from 1929. I think it's where it came from, but I just want to be sure. Also, how popular it is among native speakers/Americans, and what group of people using it the most? Age, race, gender, type of ... | It was created by Cole Porter, a songwriter who was known particularly for his exceptionally clever and inventive wordplay. This phrase is just one example. It is not, however, a commonly used phrase. I find that references to it really are only making allusions to the original source. It isn't in common speech at all.... | What is the origin and scope of usage of the phrase "Voodoo That You Do So Well"? | english |
What word would mean "a grand, symbolic action" more specifically, taken in an attempt to prove a point? For example, I am trying to figure out the word that would fill in the following sentence using the above definition: "Charlie gave every last dime he had to charity, just to prove that he didn't care about material... | The gift of the signet ring to Mordecai by Ashuerus was an impressive gesture of the honor in which he was held. Because there's are negative connotation to expressions such as gesture politics , you probably need some kind of positive qualifier for this sense ("impressive" in my example, "one hell of a" in OP's). | Word for a "grand, symbolic action"? | english |
Planting a tree will help the environment. And, as a [positive] side effect, you will have a nice decoration in your backyard. Is there a word I can use to describe a side effect that is also positive? I considered bonus , like: Planting a tree will help the environment. And, as a bonus, you will have a nice decoration... | You can use the words : Benefit, advantage, feature, plus point and more.. | A word for "positive side effect" | english |
I've recently been studying etymology and I received a book titled Flappers 2 Rappers: A Study of American Youth Slang written by Dr. Thomas Dalzell. Dr. Dalzell's research goes as far back as the 1850s and one of his entries of that decade is "tight fit" meaning a good joke. According to http://www.etymonline.com/ the... | A Collection of College Words and Customs (1851) by Benjamin Homer Hall says: | What is the origin of the idiom "tight fit" meaning a good joke? | english |
We say that a movie is a "good watch" and a book is a "good read". Somehow, to say that an audiobook or an album is a "good listen" doesn't sound right to my ears, but perhaps that's only because I've never heard it. | All three are equally correct; depending on which you hear or say most commonly will reflect on which modality you use media the most and will correspond with how correct each one "rings". "A good listen" is what I use when recommending music: I really can't recall hearing other people use that phrase. "A good read" is... | What is the equivalent of a "Good Watch" for an audiobook or record? | english |
Is there a difference? This Ngram shows an interesting trend. | In the most common case they are completely indistinguishable — and in recent years they’ve come to be used with comparable frequency, as I show in the graph below. That said, there can be differences between them in certain “rescue readings” given enough set up, but these differences are ones that Google N-gram is use... | What is the difference between "better yet" and " better still"? | english |
I've just lost a word I use frequently whenever talking about the reasons for punishments. The word should (I think) fill the blank: Punishments, such as jail time, __ people from doing crime. The word is related to stopping, hindrance, incentive, restrict, etc. In this usage, it should also imply that it stops people ... | You seem to have mentally misplaced the word deter and the various words created from it using derivational morphology. There are many synonyms of hinder and deter , but one normally thinks of deterrence as a (potential) factor in doling out criminal penalties. Things like restrain, obstruct, impede , and dissuade aren... | Word Meaning: Stopping Someone from Doing Something (such as in the case of punishment) | english |
There was the following statement in the article written by Michel Norris in Time magazine (August 26 issue) under the title “One Dream.” “Trayvon Martin case, Obama said, “I think it’s important to recognize that the African-American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and history that does... | I'm not certain of this, but it seems to me that he is saying the president has a better understanding of what Trayvon Martin’s life was like than he is saying. In other words, his statement about the community’s collective memory is stronger and more thoroughly shared by the community than his words imply, and that Pr... | What does “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear” as a metaphor of “the distance between the preacher and the President”? | english |
According to my understanding the choices to this question is only A . But the answer sheet says the correct choices are A and C . The question asks the conceptualization about gender in western culture. In choice C it says: The idea of male/female binary gender is not generally considered the norm of contemporary West... | There is no way for us to answer this question definitively; the authors of the question are the only ones capable of doing so. But the following possibilities seem plausible to me: There is a typo in Answer C and "not" should be removed. (Very likely.) There is a typo in Answer C and "male/female binary gender" should... | A GRE verbal question -- I think the given answer is wrong | english |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.