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In New York Times’ (August 13) article titled, “Summers of our discontent,” Maureen Dowd manifests her objection to the possible nomination of Larry Summers by President Obama by asking, “Does the fact that we’ve had no female Fed chairs and no female Treasury secretaries mean that Summers was right when he said women ... | The big guy and the little guy are metaphorical ways of referring to the distinction between corporations or individuals with lots of political and/or economic power and individuals with little or no political and/or economic power. So yes, in this case it means the weak, or more precisely, people in the middle or lowe... | What does “the little guy” in “(Larry Summers) would be an enthusiastic enforcer of bank regulation to protect the little guy” mean? | english |
It was suggested to me that the correct verb to use referring to something I paid for in the past is the word purchased : I purchased x. instead of I bought x. As far as I can tell, the words are almost the same in this context. The only thing I've seen online is that boughten is a colloquial past participle of the wor... | Macmillan tags purchase as formal , while their definition of buy in the sense of of "to get something by paying money for it" has no such qualifier. The phrase bought it is a colloquial or informal way of saying killed . But bought on its own is, as the linked definition says, simply "the past tense and present partic... | Is "purchased" more formal than "bought?" | english |
What does "toolbox meeting" or "toolbox training" mean? The context is "Incident Report/ Toolbox meeting minutes /signed attendance sheet" | A toolbox meeting or toolbox talk is a short daily, weekly or monthly meeting usually (but not always) to discuss safety matters in an informal and clear manner. The AchieveSafety website says: Holding tool box meetings is an excellent and quick way of increasing safety involvement and awareness at grass roots level. H... | What does "toolbox meeting" or "toolbox training" mean? | english |
I am looking for a word (or short construct of words) that could be used to refer to things that a given vehicle could traverse: "sky, land, water. etc." To give an analogue, I can refer to "gasoline, diesel, electricity, rocket, etc." as "fuels" In my specific case, I can't use "environment" because it's being used to... | I would suggest medium 2: a means of effecting or conveying something: as a surrounding or enveloping substance | Is there an abstract word for the environment in which a vehicle can move? | english |
I've noticed that the pronunciations of "picked" gives its sound like "pick" with final sound "d" but for "Crooked" and "Naked" Why do they pronounce them like "Crook-ked" and "Nake-ked"? How can I know when i must pronounce the word like "picked" and when I must pronounce the word like "Crooked"? | Perhaps because of the well-known nursery rhyme. <code> There was a crook-ed man, and he walked a crook-ed mile He found a crook-ed sixpence, on a crook-ed style </code> ... and so forth. The metre of the nursery rhyme demands the separation of the syllables, and as many of us were/are exposed to this as small children... | Why pronunciation of "Crooked" is "Crook-ked"? | english |
I've looked up the words in a bunch of dictionaries and each one says something different. As I understand they're a kind of synonyms. I scanned the article for his name. - meaning, I read it quickly to find a his name? I scanned the article - meaning, there's no information about what I looked for but still I looked f... | In many cases, the meaning will be indistinguishable, but there might also be subtle differences in the intention or the interpretation, revolving around associations with the act of either "scanning" or "skimming". I scanned the article for his name. implies that I looked across the lines of text using a scanning, swe... | "Skim" vs "Scan" | english |
My Greek friend has told me a Greek saying, which roughly translates to: The thief screams to frighten the landlord Effectively it means: You are only making a fuss so that nobody accuses you, and you are the one who is guilty. This seems like a very universal concept, and I was surprised to realise that I couldn't thi... | Though it is basically a misinterpretation,¹ the phrase The lady doth protest too much, methinks. is commonly shoehorned into use conveying the sense of the Greek idiom in question. In practice, the reference is often more oblique, with only “protest too much” retained (possibly even altered slightly to fit the structu... | English equivalent of Greek saying | english |
I'm examining a number of statements from people describing their views, and one notable trend is the use of qualifying phrases at the beginning of the sentence that specifically address the "truth," "reality," or non/factual nature of what the speaker/writer is saying. Examples include: "To tell the truth," "In my opi... | They are pragmatic markers subclasses modality / veridicality (though Wikipedia still classes them as adverbs - even the multiword examples - at http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:English_modal_adverbs ). Modality refers to the degree of confidence the speaker is claiming for the correctness of the matrix sentence ... | A term for introductory phrases that qualify reality/veracity? | english |
From Guy Wetmore Carryl's " The Precipitate Cock and the Unappreciated Pearl ": He turned again to where his clan In one astounding tangle With eager haste together ran To slay the helpless angle The author uses "angle" to refer to a worm, a key hero of the narrative. Does the meaning of angle here stems from the geome... | Q: Does the meaning of angle here stems from the geometrical figure, or from the archaic sense of hook listed in the Oxford Dictionary? It's short for angle worm , which gets its name from the fishing hook. The OED defines angleworm as: An earthworm of a kind used for bait by anglers. They say it's chiefly US and the a... | To slay the helpless angle | english |
Right now my life is kind of in a mess I'm unemployed and barely have a place to live. If I want to tell my friends that I will meet and hang out with them once I sort myself out. Does "get everything together" have a similar meaning? Like "I will shoot you a message once I get everything together". | Yes, it can mean that, but in a weaker sense, it usually means something like, " once I'm fully prepared ". In the phrase: I will shoot you a message once I get everything together. I'd usually read this as meaning that you need time to prepare a message and I can expect a more complete response at a later date. This w... | "Get everything together" | english |
In a discussion, Person A expresses his view that he finds it irritating that some immigrants in the US could barely speak English even after coming to the country for 15 years. Person B then responds: Agreed. Here people move into areas that cater to their home language, street signs aren't in English, store signs are... | Yes, in this context it means to learn. Pick up has lots of other meanings too. See this link for details. | What's the meaning of "pick up"? | english |
I would like to know if there is a common abbreviation for days of the week in a two letter form. I mean: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; can be abbreviated as Su, Mo, Tu, We, Th, Fr, Sa? Is this the common form? Note that I have also seen Sn for Sunday, and some times St for Saturday (b... | Three-letter abbreviations are more common, but two-letter ones are also fully understandable. In a tabular calendar, even one-letter abbreviations are acceptable, since the position is sufficient to disambiguate the S's and T's. | What are the abbreviations for days of the week? | english |
What would be the difference between these: Everyone of them rose from their seats. All of them rose from their seats. Every one of them rose from their seats. Which one is grammatically correct? For me all are correct. Which one is preferable and why? | 1. Everyone of them rose from their seats. In English, we would not normally use everyone as a single word and follow it by "of them". The "of them" is already implicit in "everyone". When used as a single word "everyone" is a 'mass noun' referring collectively to the entire group of people . As you are already referri... | Everyone vs every one vs all | english |
Given functionality that is common to all applications, what is the best word or words to convey that idea? I think that cross-application fits fairly well here, don't you? If not, what expression would you use in this case? | Application-wide = covering the whole spectrum of that particular one single application. An application wide functionality is synonymous to global properties of an application. Global to the confines of that application. Global as opposed to Local. In software development, functionality sets are segregated into functi... | “Cross-application” vs “Application-wide” | english |
These two phrases seem to be interchangeable in most cases. But I found one case where it seems that "in order to" works, and "for the sake of" sounds like it's not as good a choice of words. Example: I've probably continued to sing in order to write these words. I've probably continued to sing for the sake of writing ... | The phrase in order to connotes enabling I work in order to have the means of survival. The phrasing is fairly stiff in most cases, and the same concept can usually be expressed with to I work to have the means of survival The phrase for the sake of indicates benefit or support I made my comments for the sake of harmon... | "in order to" vs. "for the sake of" | english |
Is there a general term for punctuation that surrounds a word or phrase? Something that includes brackets and quotes , but there may be other types of punctuation, formal or otherwise, that have the same appearance. Let me give some examples, and their purpose: Parentheses <code> () </code> to separate supplementary in... | I'd go with delimiters . While other things could be considered delimiters, such as (unpaired) periods delimiting sentences, I think the word suitably captures the essence of what you're after. As mentioned in stackexchange-url ("this related question"), enclosures might be an alternative. | General term for punctuation that surrounds a word or phrase? | english |
I am writing an essay on nature and I need to somehow slip in the phrase "I shit you not" Not to seem vulgar or anything, it just seems like the most appropriate thing to add in that context. If this is off-topic or anything of that sort I can easily delete this question. Edit: It needs to be somewhat offensive. | There is a technique to making vulgar and obscene statements gentle, respectful but yet provocative. The intention is to create the thunder without the storm. To offend without being offensive. But you can't just build it in one phrase. You have to build up the intensity which you could otherwise do with a single offen... | Is there a polite way of saying "I **** you not" in a formal essay? | english |
Considering these two sentences in the past tense, using "never": The film has never been released The film was never released Are they both correct? If so, is there a difference in the meaning, or usage? | The first, using the present perfect construction, relates the non-release of the film to the time of speaking or writing. It might continue with the words ‘up until now’. The second, using the past tense, places the non-release at some specific period or time in the past. That said, the meaning depends very much on th... | "Never" and past tense | english |
How can I use a dash to correctly connect two <code> and </code> thoughts in a sentence? Is the following sentence correct with the dash in <code> from </code> or should I remove it? An S database allows access from – and can be opened by multiple applications at the same time. I am not familiar with the English gramma... | Your second example is the correct way to express the concepts in your sentences using commas. The use of dashes would not be appropriate in these circumstances. You mention joining and thoughts. The connection of equally weighted concepts is not usually joined with dashes, and if punctuation is needed, it is usually c... | dash to connect two thoughts | english |
Consider the two sentences below It is of crucial importance that we make more use of technology if we are to make progress. and It is crucially important that we make more use of technology if we are to make progress. What is the grammatical role of "of" in the the first sentence? What is difference between the two se... | Good question. Some contributors to this site would recommend you try Stack Exchange's English for Language Learners website, but I'm willing to attempt an answer to your question. First, the of is a preposition in a prepositional phrase, as in your example, "of crucial importance." Let me suggest also the phrases "of ... | The role and the meaning of the “of” | english |
I'm a Spanish speaker and I need to know the difference between School of English and English School . Sometimes I see these phrases, and I don't know which one is the correct one. | "London School of English" vs "English Schools in London" The first one indicates a school in London whose subject matter is the English language, or in other words they teach the English language there The second one probably indicates schools in London in which classes are taught in the English language, or in other ... | Difference between ‘English school’ and ‘school of English’ | english |
What is the difference between rotation and revolution ? I don't find any difference between the two words from the meanings I read about them. Both words have the same meaning: moving in a circle around an axis. But just because the dictionary definitions are the same doesn't mean they are exact synonyms. Is there a m... | In mathematics, rotation is any angular movement or translation - so a sphere might be rotated on its axis, or around another object or point in space. In astronomy, a distinction is made between an object's turning around its own axis (rotation) vs. its movement around another body (revolution). Apart from these field... | What is the difference between rotate and revolve? | english |
While reading a scientific paper I stumbled about their usage of the word "toilless" (they write it like that, even though I get corrected to "toil less" when typing it). As the whole paper is, to say the least, not perfect in language usage I am somewhat hesitant to link it here. I am not perfect myself and don't want... | Toilless is not a word in common usage, which would explain why it is corrected by your word processor. It is derived from toilsome (as an opposite), circa the 16th century. The meaning is quite intuitive, however. Changing the oil in a car is a toilless task. I would recommend choosing a different word, however, such ... | Usage of "toilless" | english |
Which one of these is correct: The dead were buried near the village. The dead people were buried near the village. I tend to think that both are fine, however in my test I chose second option and got 0. | Both are grammatically correct. In the dead , dead functions as a noun. In the dead people , dead functions as an adjective. However, it is more common and natural to use the former. | "The dead" vs. "the dead people" | english |
Which question is more proper? [some statement] , is it right? [some statement] , is it correct? | Right can be used more often than correct. Correct implies something is absolutely true. Right can be used in matters of opinion. edit for referencing Let's consider the math problem 2+2. We can use right and correct as follows: "2+2=4, is it right?" "2+2=4, is it correct?" Both are acceptable. However, let's now intro... | "Is it right?" or "Is it correct?" | english |
Sometimes an entity's (be it a person, company, or a government) predictions/choices/decisions seem to be completely arbitrary (based on no evidence or observation). A very colorful example of this is South Park's Margaritaville episode . When learning that a bank is going bankrupt, a board of judges or whatever decapi... | "Eenie, meenie, minee, moe" is a childish idiom that denotes a random, arbitrary decision. In randomly choosing one of two people to be on your baseball team, for example, you point at the first person and say "eenie"; you then point at the second person and say "meenie"; the first person, "minee"; the second person, "... | Idiom for random/arbitatry decision making | english |
I am currently in a dilemma with my significant other. We woke up this morning and one of us said. Person 1: "I am going to brush my teeth and gist." Person 2 's argument was that gist is an overall idea of something, or a snapshot so to say, and should be used in a way such as : "The gist of my morning is that I got r... | In the statement recorded for Person 1, "gist" can be either a noun used as an object of "brush", or an intransitive verb (a verb without an object). Can you brush a "gist"? It might be instructive to replace it with its synonym, "essence": "I am going to brush my teeth and essence." Can you brush your essence? Maybe. ... | Is this a proper usage of the word "gist"? | english |
Consider the following sentence: In July of 2012 Jesse informed us that she was engaged to be married and asked if she could add her fiancée to the lease, beginning the 15th of August 2012. Is it any more or less correct to place a comma after the first date? In July of 2012, Jesse informed us that she was engaged to b... | The sentence is correct with or without the comma. But the comma introduces a break/pause, which can be helpful in a longer sentence, and personally I would include it. As regards formatting of the date, British usage used to be to separate month & year with a comma, but more recent usage omits the comma. (I can't ... | Comma usage: "In July of 2012 ..." or "In July of 2012, ..." | english |
Is there an English term to describe someone that acts as a "mediator" between two people, i.e someone that connects two people together? | There are several words that may be suitable, depending on the context: go-between, intermediary, agent, medium, broker, factor, dealer, liaison, middleman . | How would you call someone that connects two people together? | english |
Friends, would you please tell me if I use "Not only,but also" correctly? 1- Not only have these conditions been not prepared in developed countries, but developing countries also have not accepted them. 2- Not only have not these conditions been prepared in developed countries, but also have developing countries not a... | Regarding your primary question of the position of 'not' following a sentence that starts with 'Not only..', the third option seems correct. Because, the verb to be negated is 'been prepared' and therefore, the position of 'not' would be right before it. But I have my doubts whether the 'Not only..but also' sentence st... | The correct usage of 'Not only' in the beginning of a negative sentence | english |
What is the correct place to use the word tumbleweed ? Can we use it as a metaphor for a person who always irritates us? | Yes, tumbleweeds' traits can, and have been, applied to people: "I'm just a tumbling tumbleweed!" - lyrics to a song written by Bob Nolan , an actor, poet and western music songwriter in the 1930's. It attributes the plant's characteristic trait of breaking off and rolling along the plains with the wind to a cowboy's l... | Where to use the word "tumbleweed" | english |
Is it appropriate to say “I speak good English” or “I speak correct English”? I believe there can be varied replies depending on context, so let me narrow it a little; let’s say I want to convey how well I speak English. | I suggest you think about the opposites of good and correct . The opposite of good is bad . If you feel you speak reasonably good English, then, by all means, say so. On the other hand, the opposite of correct is incorrect or wrong , and, in this context correct also carries the implication of perfect or without fault ... | Is it “good English” or “correct English” or something else? | english |
Which of these two sentences is more appropriate in a given situation? I am tired. I am feeling tired. I know this might be a very childish question, but English is not my first language and I just want to know more about authentic English. | Let me put it this way: He is feeling dead. Means he is not dead , but is feeling like it. He is dead. Means he is dead. Period. Feeling tired means you are feeling like tired or tiredness is slowing taking over you. In the other example you are tired and don't want to give further explanation. There's nothing more to ... | “feel tired” vs. “am tired” | english |
I am developing a software application for a Medical Committee which will analyse [medical] examination results and issue certificates based on them. The Committee never sees the person and the exam results may be years old, so 'patient' is not a good term. What can I call the person who is being evaluated? In Spanish ... | A term used for the person being evaluated in many scientific and medical studies is subject a person or thing that undergoes experiment, analysis, treatment, etc | One word for 'Person being evaluated' | english |
I remember I learned a structure like the one that this post’s title mentions: All I {need to do | have to do | must do} is do something. But is it correct to use "to do something" after the "is" — as compared with just plain "do something" without the "to"? Or to be more specific, which of the following sentences in e... | Both are grammatically correct. The first is the one I'd use and is the idiomatic one. The second sounds fine and there's nothing wrong with it, but only less idiomatic and that's why you don't see it in your written materials. In addition to that, the to in there is unnecessary and doesn't really add anything to the o... | Omitting the last "to" in "All {I need to / have to / must} do is (to?) do something" | english |
As the title states, if sound is audible, light is visible, what is a smell? And what is an object when you touch it? | Smell is olfactible Touch is tangible | To hear something makes it audible, to see is visible, so what are touch and smell? | english |
In this sentence : The loss of biodiversity is the price we must pay for progress " Or another sentence : Part of the price we must pay for progress is to recognize the degree of pollution that our progress has brought into our water, food and air. I think the expression " the price we must pay for progress ." is being... | Yes, to pay the price is an idiom with that meaning (with a negative connotation): to accept the unpleasant results of some action From the Free Dictionary . | Meaning of "the price we must pay for progress"? | english |
I am not sure whether patient needs to be plural or singular in the title sentence. If it's plural is it then "patients' lives"? | If you are referring to patients in general, you will be unlikely to upset anyone if you punctuate it as: This positively affects patients' lives. | This positively affects patient lives and | english |
According to my grammar book, here are some usages of was able to and could could can be used to refer in general that someone has a skill. e.g. At that time I could still read without spectacles. In that sentence, could could be replaced by was able to ? Would there be any difference in meaning ? When could is used wi... | In the first example, was able to is an alternative. In the second example, could means that the speaker was in hearing distance of the phone, but implies that the speaker didn’t answer it, at least not immediately. If the speaker had said ‘I was able to hear the phone ringing’, the speech is more likely to continue wi... | "was able to" vs "could" | english |
I was just wondering if there a single English word or term that means "trust breaker" (that is, a person who breaks a trust). | The words "turncoat" and "deceiver" can be used to mean "trust breaker," but both have a connotation of betrayal. | Single word for "trust breaker"? | english |
From Dune by Frank Herbert: "I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I... | This is an emphatic interjection used to indicate dialogical flow and break. In the natural flow of discourse a brief interjection may be used as a sentence-like enunciation. It can help reproduce or translate dramatic pauses or silences. At any rate, such expressive use of punctuation and fragmentation is generally no... | Can "But!" be a sentence? | english |
I am confused about the sentence below. Which structure is used: importance of + Ving or the importance of + ADJ + Noun ? In recently years, there has been growing awareness of the importance of preserving the world's biological diversity. | The object of the preposition of here is the entire gerund phrase “preserving the world’s biological diversity”, and “the world’s biological diversity” is the direct object of preserving . We can’t have adjectives working as prepositional objects. Since that makes preserving is a gerund, it is here functioning as a nou... | Which can be true? The importance of + Ving or the importance of + ADJ + Noun | english |
When do I use avocation and when do I use hobby ? Or can I use them interchangeably? I need to choose between these two words or a url. Would www.kunalthehobbyist.com sound better or www.avocationistvyas.com?(My name is Kunal Vyas). I am planning it to be a blog like site for penning down opinions/tutorials/anecdotes o... | They are the same thing! One comes from Latin (likely through the Normans AKA French): avocare : to call away/from "ab" (away) + "vocare" (to call) in plain English: The mountain is calling! (as in, work is done, time to ski!) the other hobby from the name of a farm horse (with which you ride during one's leisure time)... | “avocation” vs “hobby” | english |
Very often we find sentences which are not structured conventionally in the subject-verb-object format. Here is an example. When they arrived at the seaside, out jumped all the children with a shout of joy instead of When they arrived at the seaside, all the children jumped out with a shout of joy Are such sentences gr... | Yes, both are grammatical. In the first the writer has foregrounded out , thus emphasising the children's happy exuberance. | unconventional structuring of sentences | english |
This is a excerpt from Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory, and I want to know the exact meaning of might regarding the context. Some say by might we mean: being allowed to and some say it means: being able to Of course we are all aware of the first meaning but relating to the later one, I couldn't find anything rel... | The etymology clearly points at "being able to" or "have the strength to" might (v.) Old English mihte, meahte, originally the past tense of may (Old English magen "to be able"), thus "*may-ed." See may (v.). The first record of might-have-been is from 1848. might (n.) Old English miht, earlier mæht "might, bodily stre... | What does "might" exactly mean in the following excerpt? | english |
One of my friends has corrected someone on their grammar on a social media site. And they think they should say "Nice to talk too". I think it is "Nice to talk to", because "too" is an adverb meaning "also" Am I right? A more detailed explanation than mine would be great! | Nice to talk to could mean You are nice to speak with , while Nice to talk too could mean I also find it nice to talk . In the case of You are nice to talk to/too , it is the former and not the latter. | "Nice to talk to" or "Nice to talk too" | english |
Simply Put, I have the following(similar) sentences: <code> Transducer Introduction. An introduction to Transducer/Sensor. A methodology to meet the deadlines. Introduction to XYZ. </code> All of these are marked GREEN by Microsoft's grammar check . Those Green lines are really Annoying . Whats the proper way to write ... | At least one of your fragments is an acceptable title already and doesn't need revision. To keep a particular title or section from being grammar checked, Select the text you want skipped, then, double-click the language indicator in the status bar (or choose Tools - Language - Set Language), and enable “Do not check s... | How do I complete these fragments? | english |
When and why did the word "like" come to be used to introduce an action, or even as a meaningless filler word, e.g. "He was like, [action or quote]." | In the web article "Valley Nation (OMG. Why does, like, EVERYONE talk this way now?)" at http://chronicfatigue.typepad.com , the author suggests that embolalia, the technical term for the repeated and often unconscious use of filler words such as like , you know what I mean? , totally , soooooooo , everrrrrr , whatever... | When did informal use of the word "like" become prevalent? | english |
Given: Of all <code> ____ </code> reasons for my decision to become a university professor, my father's advice was <code> ____ </code> most important one Which of the following choice is correct? A: the; a B: /; a C: /; the D: the; the The slash ("/") here means "don't fill anything". The author says the correct answer... | It has to be ‘of all the reasons’ because ‘reasons’ is post-modified and defined by ‘for my decision to become a university professor’. | 'of all the reasons' vs. 'of all reasons' | english |
New York Times’ article written by Scott Schieman, et al under the headline, “When Leaning in doesn’t pay off” starts with the following sentence; http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/opinion/sunday/when-leaning-in-doesnt-pay-off.html?hp “Why do women not have as many leadership roles in the workplace as men do? Some have... | In body language, leaning forward (in) is generally understood to convey interest and engagement whereas leaning back conveys detachment and lack of interest. Sheryl Sandberg uses the term "Lean in" to describe how women act/react in a business or boardroom scenario where a group of people are sitting around a table an... | What does “leaning in” mean as basic qualifications of women in the pursuit of positions in the workplace? | english |
Meaning "Going Dutch" is a term that indicates that each person participating in a group activity pays for himself, rather than any person paying for anyone else, particularly in a restaurant bill. It is also called Dutch date, Dutch treat and "doing Dutch". Etymology One suggestion is that the phrase "going Dutch" ori... | The reasoning for this etymology is as follows: A Dutch door comes in two equal parts; if you split the check with your boy- or girlfriend (I am fairly sure that originally "going Dutch" was not used for large parties, but only for going out on dates), that also comes out to two equal parts. As John Lawler remarks in t... | What is common between "going Dutch" and "Dutch door"? | english |
Today I read from a book the phrase “meditation is allowing what is ”. Can anyone explain what this phrase means in other words? Context: So let’s keep it simple. Our definition of meditation: Meditation is allowing what is. | “Allowing what is” describes the mental attitude which the meditator takes during practice. It means accepting reality (what is), with an attitude of giving consent to or accepting without opposing (allowing). One takes this attitude towards the focus of meditation: letting the breath, or footsteps, or chant take place... | Explain the phrase "allowing what is" | english |
A forum poster was giving an account of his visit to his friend who is an owner of a burger shack, and in one part he said: We smoked some of the Mr. Nice I brought along to give him and his employee for the trouble and blew it up into the hood in classic poverty restaurant style :coolface:. What is a hood? Is that the... | In this context, sense 9 of hood applies: “A metal covering that leads to a vent to suck away smoke or fumes”. The “classic poverty restaurant” / burger shack will have a big heated stovetop, or grill, with a noisy fan to move smoke from grease burning on the grill – or in this case from the joints they smoked – out of... | What is a "hood" in this context? | english |
Is the head "noun" or "adjunct", and which is the correct plural form? "nouns adjunct", "noun adjuncts", or "nouns adjuncts"? "nouns adjunct" sounds the most correct to my ears. | An adjunct is a thing. There are various kinds of adjuncts; for example, there are adverbial adjuncts as well. In linguistics, an adjunct is an optional, or structurally dispensable , part of a sentence, clause, or phrase that, when removed, will not affect the remainder of the sentence except to discard from it some a... | Which is the head noun in "noun adjunct" | english |
What does period mean at the end of a sentence? For example: The stronger your core the easier your YRG(yoga) is gonna get period I didn't heard the sentence clearly because of the speaker's American accent. | Period in the context that you are referring to is used as an idiom of sorts. It means there is no counter argument. For example, "Chuck Norris will kick anybody's butt, period." or "Abstinence from sex is the best STD prevention, period." There is usually a pause after the sentence and before the word "period". Anothe... | What does "period" mean at the end of the American phrase? | english |
I'm sorry for such an unclear title, but I really can't figure out a better one to include all my questions. The following passage is quoted from "An Illustrated Brief History of Western Philosophy": One is sometimes invited to believe that the final stage in the understanding of Aristotle's metaphysics is an appreciat... | ‘Rather’ means ‘instead’. ‘Such an understanding’ refers to ‘the understanding of Aristotle's metaphysics’ as described in the previous sentence. What has been engendered by ‘inattention to Aristotle's logic’ is the belief, false in the writer’s view, that ‘Being qua Being’ is something that deserves to be taken seriou... | A couple of questions in regards to this passage | english |
Is there a rule for when one has to say to be a positive influence on... or to have a positive influence on... ? For example, The practice of singing songs is/has a positive influence on people. | In your example sentence, using ' is ' sounds very awkward to me. ' Has ' seems much more natural. I'm not sure if there's a rule, but in general, I'd recommend using ' is/was ' when talking about people, for example: His father was a positive influence on him. And ' has/had ' when talking about things or concepts: The... | "To be an influence" or "to have an influence" | english |
There was the headline “Bears defense shines in 24-17 loss to Panthers" in today's New York Times Sport section. Cambridge English Dictionary defines “shine” as; to send out or reflect light. to point a light in a particular direction. to make something bright by rubbing it. Oxford English Dictionary defines it as; giv... | It means sense 3 of the OED, to perform very well : the Bears lost the match, even though their defence "performed very well". There are more aspects to a match than just your defence. Apparently the Panthers did better in other respects. | What does ‘shines’ mean in “Bears defense shines in 24-17 loss to Panthers”? | english |
There's a book entitled stackexchange-url ("Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead"). It's not clear what exactly phrasal verb Lean in in it's title means. Does its meaning differ from the meaning of the verb to lean in the context of the book's name? | The book is about women needing to move out of their comfort zone and work harder to break into senior management positions traditionally held by men. From the Free Dictionary: "lean in (to something)" to incline or press into something. You have to lean into the wind when you walk or you will be blown over. As you wal... | Meaning of the phrase "Lean in" | english |
Which one is correct: Coffee plants take their origins from Brazil Coffee plants have their origins in Brazil | The second option is correct. You can either say "coffee has its origins in Brazil," or "coffee originated in Brazil," or "Brazil originated coffee." The first of these three is likely the most preferred though. As a side note, coffee did not originate in Brazil, but Ethiopia. | "Take their origins from" vs. "have their origins in" | english |
I was walking pass by a high school and I saw a container of cookies sitting on the handrail to one of its portables. The cookies: (I use an iPad so couldn't scale it down unfortunately :() And I was wondering what do you call these containers, these transparent plastic containers? Is there a name for them? | Um, it looks like a "tray" to me. Perhaps the food packaging industry has a jargon name for it, but if so, I am aware of it. | What do you call these containers? | english |
I'm looking for a term that can be inclusive of both clients and customers. We offer both products and services and while most buyers purchase services and have an ongoing relationship, there are those that either buy only products or just purchase a service once and continue to buy products only after that. I want to ... | I think the word you are looking for is customer , as most clients (that is, users) of professional services are also customers of the person or firm that offers them. Many dictionaries offer at least these two meanings of the word "client": A customer One who uses professional help or advice I would say the words clie... | What word can I use to indicate the person could be a client or customer? | english |
Is "Happy Birthday!" a complete sentence? And if it is, what role are the words happy and birthday playing? Where is the verb? Can "happy" be a verb? I know in a sentence like "Go get the milk" there is an implied "You" at the beginning that makes it complete. Is there an implied verb? | There are those who consider statements which do not consist of complete sentences as always wrong. While sentence fragments and other sentence substitutes (see http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sentence+substitute ) should not be used where lack of clarity would result, and their overuse is bad style, strings such as '... | Is "Happy Birthday!" a complete sentence? | english |
What role is the word "apple" playing in the sentence "I ate the apple pie." Is apple an adjective? Or are apple and pie treated together as one noun. Is this true of all words used like this? Can "foot" be used as an adjective if I refer to someone as "that foot guy?" Thanks! | From the stackexchange-url ("new tag wiki") I just made: A noun adjunct, also called an attributive noun, is when one noun is used to give an attribute to another noun, like dog catcher, dog food, house sitter, heart surgery, running shoes, employee compensation, and Peter Principle. It is an alternative to a prepositi... | Can "Apple" be an adjective? | english |
Technically speaking can broken be correctly applied to a thing that is not and never was functional? I think there is a connotation that a thing once was functional, but is that required for proper usage? American Heritage Dictionary has simply: Not functioning; out of order But dictionary.cambridge.org has: damaged, ... | Yes, it can be used that way, since it is simply an adjective that describes an ongoing state, not a statement of what it was in the past, too. I think the confusion arises from the fact that "broken" is also the past (passive?) participle of "break". If it were used in that sense, then you could make the case that som... | Can "broken" mean never working to begin with? | english |
In the Economist this week: People have, pace vegetarians, evolved to love meat, which contains many necessary nutrients, and especially protein, in higher concentrations than plants do I'm used to pace meaning "the speed at which one is moving." Is there another meaning to this word that makes sense in this context, o... | It's Latin for peace . In this context, the writer is indicating that s/he does not want to start an argument with vegetarians. | What does "pace" mean in this context? | english |
Gabe Rottman , a legislative counsel and policy adviser at the Washington legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union contributed an answer to the question, “Is it wrong for credit card companies to process donations to extremist organizations?” in the Room for Debate section of New York Times (August 8) -... | The writer is extending/modifying another expression which is much more common: to wrap oneself in the flag , meaning to deflect criticism by claiming that your actions were motivated by patriotism. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech - or, I should say, it's commonly unde... | Does “drape oneself in something” have the meaning of “be armored in”? | english |
If your child is lying down and you want them to get in the sitting position, how do you ask them to in an informal/everyday language? If you could provide more than one way, it would be appreciated. | Just a "Sit up" will do. See simple things in simple ways. | lying down and then sit up/down? | english |
I wonder if there are some other ways to express the fact that I have been learning something for a certain period of time but still haven't mastered the ABCs of it? The following is what I am not quite sure about: I am a green hand at fixing cars. I haven't even touched the door to fixing cars. Fixing cars is just lik... | I haven't even touched the door to fixing cars. I've never heard of the expression "to touch the door" although I can guess its meaning because of the context. You could say, "I haven't even started fixing doors." Otherwise, these terms will be more familiar with AmEng speakers— A rookie (AmEng) "I'm a rookie when it c... | some other ways to express the fact that I have been learning something for a certain period of time but still haven't mastered the ABCs of it? | english |
Sometimes when for some reason you have to give friends an address to receive mails, you write something like: Joe Black c/o John Doe xxx ZZZ street town... etc What does c/o mean in this address? | c/o here stands for care of . The letter is to be delivered and entrusted to the care of John Doe, who will be responsible for seeing that it gets to Joe Black. care of on Wiktionary Wiktionary also suggests c/- is common in Australia and New Zealand. | What does c/o stand for in a postal address? | english |
Could you please kindly provide some explanation as to why the second option (B) is the only correct answer to the following question? And why is it not the case that both A and B could be correct depending on whether a non-restrictive appositive (B) or a non-defining relative clause (A) is used? Recently, severe manag... | I assume your teacher feels that A is incorrect due to the comma in the sentence, e.g. he is thinks that ... Coca-Cola which is a large... is correct and therefore ... Coca-Cola, which is a large... incorrect? See more here stackexchange-url ("Is it appropriate to put a comma before "which"?") | "Non-restrictive appositive" vs. "non-defining relative clause" | english |
I am now working on a technical concept of measuring of some data and I often see terms measuring and metering . My understanding is that with a meter I measure. But what is metering ? And how does it differ to measuring ? When I am trying to google the difference, I am finding many articles using simply measuring and ... | Generally, measuring is a one-time operation, while metering usually means measuring or keeping track of some quantity either continuously or periodically. | "Metering" vs "measuring" | english |
This is not apostrophe (no, not that kind of apostrophe) or anagnorisis; this is when a character communicates a exposition on some aspect of the story's background or context (e.g. how FTL travel works; why the families are at war) ostensibly to another character (often a foreigner or recluse) but actually in place of... | What you're describing is expository dialogue . More colloquially, it's also called an info dump or "as you know, Bob" dialogue. The last term is generally used in a critical sense, referring to dialogue in a movie or tv show that is obviously unnatural and presented only for the audience's benefit. For example: Dr. Sm... | Word for one character explaining to another character some important points for benefit of the audience | english |
per se These are the meanings I have found for per se ; by itself, by himself, by herself, basically ... Does that mean the following sentences are correct? you should not have let him go per se (by himself) . per se (basically) the color of it is blue. you will have to submit that tomorrow per se (itself) | Here are some further definitions: Chambers per se adverb in itself; intrinsically • not valuable per se . ETYMOLOGY : 16c: Latin, meaning 'through itself'. intrinsic adj 1. belonging to something or someone as an inherent and essential part of their nature. > 2. [not relevant] intrinsically adverb . Oxford Dictionarie... | How is "per se" used? | english |
A quote from "Bad tendency" (Wikipedia) : The principle, formulated in Patterson v. Colorado , (1907) was seemingly overturned with the "clear and present danger" principle used in the landmark case Schenck v. United States (1919), as stated by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.. Is the usage of two consecutive dots at... | This question actually has two parts: (1) Should an abbreviation such as Jr for Junior include a period at all? (2) If the abbreviation does take a period and if it appears at the end of a sentence, should the sentence be punctuated to include both the Jr period and the end-of-sentence period? The answers to both quest... | Is it correct to use two consecutive dots indicating an abbreviation and a full stop? | english |
I am writing a thesis and I have the following sentence: The section [...] shows the reader, that [...] I am not sure about the "shows the reader"? Should I use it or just "shows"? | Here are a few different options. You could say: This section explains (to the reader) This section demonstrates (to the reader) This section leads the reader to believe... With the "to the reader" being optional in both cases, but only if it makes sense in context (obviously). | Shows the reader? | english |
I am wondering about which sentence is correct? It is therefore measuring the volatility of an investors asset. or It is therefore measuring the volatility of an investor's asset. | I agree with Imjohns3; the correct answer is number two. The use of an apostrophe to indicate possession or ownership of, or belonging to, is relatively straightforward. Here are a few rules and examples: 1.) With a singular noun (even if it ends in S), simply add an apostrophe after the singular noun, and add an S. Fo... | Investors assets or Investor's assets? | english |
The "monogamous lifestyle" is a strange word, because lifestyles are not known to be married. I wonder whether a word like "*monogamial" or similar acts in a more appropiate way. | Are you looking for "monogamist"? The monogamist lifestyle [...] a. The practice or condition of being married to only one person at a time. b. The practice of marrying only once in a lifetime. | adjective for "related to monogamy" | english |
I am having an argument with my cousin after I called a tractor a "device." He argues that tractors are machines, but never "devices." Thoughts, folks? | The notion that one cannot call a tractor a “device” is mistaken, albeit not misguided. That is, tractors are usually called tractors instead of devices. (Note, a common sense of device is “Any piece of equipment made for a particular purpose, especially a mechanical or electrical one”.) Historically, some agricultural... | Can a tractor or a skid-steer be called a "device"? | english |
I’ve been studying the apostrophe and found this in Merriam-Webster’s Guide to Punctuation and Style : The possessives of proper names are generally formed in the same way as those of common nouns. The possessive of singular proper names is formed by adding -’s . Paris’s cafes The possessive of plural proper names, and... | The style ruling you cite is not entirely consistent with regard to Massachusetts' , New Orleans' , and Paris's . That's not to say that it's wrong, but it does seem to be arbitrary—and it is by no means universally accepted by other publishing style guides. For instance, here is a different guideline from Words Into T... | Why is it “Paris’s cafés” but “Massachusetts’ capital”? | english |
you don't say My doubt is whether you use this for exclamations or for agreements , all the references pointed out for saying it when one is surprised but I am sure I have heard some one say this in an agreeing way I failed in my maths exam You don't say! The weather is nice today You don't say | It is down to intonation. "They play horribly" "you don't say". - disillusioned and agreeing Wiktionary: They're going to have a baby? You don't say! - surprised "Hey, guess what? There's a country called Brazil!" "You don't say." - sarcastic | When do you use "you don't say"? | english |
There's a question in a forum I frequent, and I'm trying to decide whether "the average" or "an average" is appropriate in its title. Let's say the question is: "Why is the average Canadian more polite than the average American?" [see note]. Another member of the forum feels that this is incorrect grammar and wants it ... | ... the average X... conveys the sense of some abstraction representing a category, and allows you to treat that abstraction as if it were a person. Think of those pictures where many faces are "averaged" to produce some kind of composite, but generalized to non-physical (or not only physical) attributes. That is, the ... | "the average person" vs "an average person" | english |
Can anyone point to an eloquent word or term that means " will consume time and almost certainly yield nothing "? Could be used in response to: I'm going to have one of the developers contact Apple and ask them to add a new feature to Apple Maps. The effort has a tiny chance of being successful, but if you knew how the... | "Exercise in futility" is an idiomatic term that describes that scenario. Definition: a useless action that cannot succeed Response to: "I'm going to have one of the developers contact Apple and ask them to add a new feature to Apple Maps." "That would be an exercise in futility!" | Term for "will consume time and almost certainly yield nothing" | english |
How might you rephrase this sentence using different words than these? Soil is in hydraulic near-equilibrium | I assume you're referencing the state of an object's natural buoyancy in water. In this case, it may make more sense to say "near hydraulic equilibrium" as hydraulic equilibrium is a phrase that loses its meaning when the individual words are split apart. It's more natural to say that an object is near its point of nat... | Paraphrase request | english |
To “shoot oneself in the foot” is to do something harmful to oneself by accident. How should this phrase be worded to apply to several people? This is provided to stop people from shooting themselves in the foot . This is provided to stop people from shooting themselves in the feet . The people don’t all share a single... | Your inclination that shooting themselves in the feet seems strange is borne out by this ngram . It exists, but very rarely compared with the alternative. It seems that shooting oneself in the foot is such an idiom that it does not lend itself to pluralization, especially since when talking about one person it is virtu... | “Shooting themselves in the foot/feet”: Which is preferred? | english |
Is there a word besides named that describes something that has been given a proper name? For example, a guitar is just a guitar, but if I call it, say, Shirley, is there another word that would now describe the guitar? I'm looking for something specifically that can be used to identify things that have names (like peo... | How about moniker for the noun? And I'd be inclined to invent monikerize for the verb. (I also like appelation , but I don't have the right to up-vote it yet.) | A word that describes something that has been given a name | english |
I am confused between these two: "Who am I" and "Who I am" I read this phrase: "Do you know who am I?" - The person was threatening someone. But what is the main difference in using these? "Do you know who am I?" or "Do you know who I am?" Please explain in which case we use what? | Sitting at the end of the stairs, sobbing, having lost my love, career and self-respect, I say to myself, "Who AM I? What is the purpose of my life?" See, here it is a question. That's why helping verb (am) is coming before the subject (I). I ask myself who I am. Here, it is not a question, a mere narration of what I a... | Use of "Who am I" and "Who I am?" | english |
Generally, as a rule, I always hyphenate words to make them into a single adjective, so I've been putting "blood-red", "forest-green", "royal-blue" and the like, but the moment I typed "royal-blue", my instincts kicked in. It didn't look right to me. Perhaps it's because this is an official colour or the fact that the ... | You would not use hyphens when the phrase is used as a noun: Blood red had always been his favorite color. The flag had white lion on a field of forest green. The dress was a fine royal blue. Generally, I'd recommend that you use hyphens when the phrase is used as an adjective (i.e. a compound modifier ): He drank the ... | When describing something's colour, would you hyphenate the words? Eg, "blood-red" versus "royal blue" | english |
I wrote: The ability to guarantee that a batch of writes occurs together. One reviewer wanted to change that to occur . I'm not sure if this is my idiom (Australian of U.K. origin) vs American or if I'm wrong. I regarded batch of writes as a singular collective noun. This English Club reference and others suggest using... | You are correct. It should be occurs because you are talking about a batch. Now, a batch of what? That is something else. | "occur" vs "occurs" with a singular collective noun | english |
The following passage is from the first chapter of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (1847): He’ll love and hate, equally under cover, and esteem it a species of impertinence to be loved or hated again—No, I’m running on too fast—I bestow my own attributes over-liberally on him. Mr. Heathcliff may have entirely dis... | In this case it's the last option you listed. Without a little more context of the passage it's hard to know what exactly it's in reference to. It used to be commonly used in reference to somebody's character. | Meaning of "constitution" in strange context | english |
I was at the Employment and Social Services office and they gave me a leaflet that contains a list of useful numbers to call. One of the number is for Central Intake and below it describes it is a number for homeless individuals and families who are in need of emergency shelter. I suppose central here means it's a offi... | Merriam-Webster Unabridged says: intake , n . 3a : the act, process, or an instance of taking in specifically : initial procedures (as interviews) conducted by a social worker, juvenile-court officer, or clinician in considering a client for treatment or service Central Intake is apparently the main location for proces... | What does "intake" of central intake mean? | english |
I'm writing an article and I'd appreciate a more sophisticated phrase for the term "getting more than you bargained for". All help is greatly appreciated. | "Getting more than you bargained for" itself is idiomatic but you could use "largesse" or "bounty" suitably, if what you received has positive value. Also, you can check if you can use the phrase "unintended consequences" to suit your purpose. | Phrase or expression meaning "getting more than you bargained for" | english |
Since 'great' is an adjective, "I'm doing great" seems to be incorrect. It should be: "I'm doing (adverb)." You could say "I'm doing well." Could you also say "I'm doing greatly."? | Most adjectives that describes the perceived ‘quality’ of an action carried out by someone, or their state of being, correspond to identical adverbs. Examples include such adjectives as ‘fine’, ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘great’, ‘fantastic’, ‘horrible’, ‘okay’, etc. I am doing great / †I am doing greatly He plays okay / †He plays... | Alternative to the incorrect "I'm doing great"? | english |
For example, "Apple schmapple" to mean "I scoff at your Apple product". | As Andrew Leach commented, you are talking about shm-reduplication . As you'll see on the linked wiki, usage tends to be a bit more specific than general mockery. For instance, I would take "Apple schmapple" to be calling into question the "rightness" of even calling the product an Apple product. In essence, you might ... | What is: a made-up word used to rhyme with something you want to mock, called? | english |
It's often said that non-native speakers have a poor understanding of the English tenses. I'm not one to disagree, but on the whole I've always thought tenses weren't that hard, until I got to the conditionals and the subjunctive. Since trying to learn a bit more about them, I've gotten really lost. At this point, I'm ... | I agree with the comment from @PeterShor that constructions 1-3 all effectively mean the same. Construction 4 is just awkward, but I wouldn't interpret it differently from the others. On the other hand, they all seem somewhat long-winded, and could simply be written as: If ever a vote were held on X As regards your fou... | What is the difference between these conditionals? | english |
From addicted2succces.com the following sentence reads awkwardly in my :opinion He quickly noticed that all of the other friends he had hated hard work and had no desire to improve themselves. When I first read it, I thought it meant the person had hated his friends, but then I realized the intended meaning is that all... | I would replace the "he had" with "his" : He quickly noticed that all his other friends hated hard work and had no desire to improve themselves. The "his" eliminates the relative clause that makes this sentence difficult to parse. | How to fix sentences where it is unclear whom a verb is referring to? | english |
There are situations where a short-term remedy actually perpetuates the underlying long term problem. For example, drinking more coffee is a kind of false cure for a caffeine withdrawal headache. Similarly, scratching at a rash can make it feel better in the moment, but often perpetuates the rash. Is there an adjective... | Counterproductive - Having the opposite of the desired effect. | Word for false, self-perpetuating "cure"? | english |
In the website HKNA , 5 transitive verbs are used: promote, conduct, disseminate, undertake, facilitate. Is such usage "To + transitive verb" grammatically incorrect? | You're right! The menu item headings are not grammatical. But, if you hover over those 'menu' items, you'll see that each verb is used as the first two words of a specific aim that is displayed in the adjacent frame - and there it does have an object. In English, titles , headings , menu items , lists , etc. often are ... | Is the usage "To + transitive verb" following nothing else grammatically incorrect? | english |
Talking about a great fantasy hero, it was said that he "was the hero of ages". What does that mean? | According to the American Heritage Dictionary (and others), the word age can mean a. The period of history during which a person lives: a product of his age. b. A generation: ages yet unborn. The phrase the ages is often used to express a very long time. The phrase hero of ages seems to suggest that the individual is a... | What does "hero of ages" mean? | english |
What does "time and again" mean in the following example? Time and again, I have seen a very good opportunity follow right on ... | Time and again means over and over, repeatedly. He has been scolded in front of the class time and again. Obama seems to have fooled the nation time and again. | what does "time and again" mean? | english |
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