title: Difference between two phrases

text: Which is more appropriate to say: >   1. We go on learning >   2. We go about learning >


title: Who and when did the quotation, "Vulgarity is the efforts of a weak mind to forcibly express itself." originate from?

text: Seems to have high merit as a motivation to think and speak with civility.


title: Usage of "Revised Document"

text: I offer two Word templates and recommend to use one of them in order to get a well-designed document. Using the expression `revised document` is correct in this case? For example: `It is recommended to select the first template in order to get the most revised document; The first template offers a cover page and automatic numbering of chapters and pages.` Any other ideas?


title: "These will be, should be"

text: Is the following sentence correct? > "... the goods will arrive later. These **will be** , **should be** packed, > **will be** stored in our third shed" I don't know if it does make sense to you guys, but since it does to me, I'd like to know if it's a correct form (even if it's a little odd).


title: the meaning of 'relevant' used in linguistic explanations

text: Maybe someone who is well-versed in semantics could help me. The word _relevant_ turns up at places in the following paragraph. While I know the fundamental meaning of it -- pertinent, germane, there seems to be more to it when used in linguistic explanations. Could anyone please help me with its nuance, connotation, subtlety etc.? (I'm not a native speaker of English, by the way. If you would put your help in plain English as much as possible, it would be really appreciated) > > (14) # While in Santiago, Bill broke his foot and was rushed to _the big > hospital._ > > Here, the hearer is licensed to assume that the modifier is **relevant** (in > accordance with the maxim of Relation (Grice 1975)). However, the modifier > in (14) could only be **relevant** if it distinguishes this hospital from > others, in which case the hospital in question is no longer undifferentiable > and, in the absence of unique identifiability, the conditions for the > felicitous use of the definite have not been met. Hence, infelicity results. > To put it another way, since the modifier is presumed to be **relevant** , > it must be the case that it matters which hospital, or at least what type of > hospital, is under discussion -- i.e., that it is big. Thus, the condition > of not being **relevantly** differentiable is not met, and the hearer must > assume that the other condition for the felicitous use of the definite > applies -- i.e., that the hospital be uniquely identifiable. In the absence > of a uniquely identifiable hospital, the utterance in (14) is simply > infelicitous. > > _Uniqueness, Familiarity, and the Definite Article in English_ by Betty > Birner and Gregory Ward, Berkeley Linguistics Society, 1994, via eLanguage


title: What does `not in small way` mean

text: Can you tell me what does `not in small way` mean in following context : > To work at this company you really have to have just desire to do something, > and **not in small way**.


title: Can the verb “tend” be followed by a bare infinitive (“tend be” v.s. “tend to be”)?

text: I thought _tend_ (used to imply “regularly or frequently behaving in a particular way or having a certain characteristic – Oxford’s def; 1.1) always has to be used with the to-infinitive form of verbs. Today, however, I encountered this example: > Most meta-analyses show that, with some exceptions, well-established > psychotherapies **tend be** approximately equivalent in efﬁcacy (Wampold, > Mondin, Moody, Stich, Benson, & Ahn, 1997). And while I couldn’t find anything regarding _tend_ in regards to these two forms (with or without “be”), searching .edu domains precisely for "tend be" returns some 12,000 results. E.g.: > Fungal-like protists and the Chytridiomycota **tend be** aseptate, except to > delimit reproductive or specialized cells (such as sporangia and > gametangia). > > * * * > > The disadvantages of physical sunscreens is that they **tend be** thicker > and look a little white on the skin. > > * * * > > [The book] reveals that readers [...] **tend be** more open to diversity; > politically tolerant; less authoritarian; less likely to support the use of > deadly force or torture; more politically active; and are more likely to > have a negative view of the Bush administration. > > * * * > > It has long been appreciated that genes that perform core functions **tend > be** more conserved in amino acid sequence over long evolutionary time > periods. So, is it ok to write “tends be” instead of “tends to be”?


title: definite article usage with president

text: What would be the correct sentence and why: He is president of Finland? or He is the president of Finland?


title: past tense for future

text: Which one is ok? 'I found out she is not going this Friday' 'I found out she was not going that Friday' 'I've found out she's not going this Friday'(Friday is in the future). Thanks for help.


title: Word order again?

text: I have been thinking about word order and its meaning, thus when we have for instance: >   1. Planet of the apes or Apes planet >   2. Proposal for extra work or Extra work proposal > Which is the more usual way of writing the above sentences and when should we use one or another?


title: What is the origin of "in one fell swoop"?

text: I know the meaning, but wanted to know the origin of the phrase.


title: Is "They won't tell me where is the office" correct?

text: Which sentence is correct? >   1. They won't tell me where is the office. > >   2. They won't tell me where the office is. > >


title: Are "do you think" embedded questions exceptions?

text: In most embedded questions, the "Wh" portion of the question stays grouped together with the rest of the converted question (e.g. "What time is it?" becomes "Could you tell me **what time it is**?"), the rules seem different when "do you think" is used (e.g. "what time is it" becomes " **What time** do you think **it is**?").   Is this splitting of the embedded question with "do you think" a unique exception, or is there something I'm missing? This would be great to clarify!


title: Which adverb implies supreme confidence, falling just shy of arrogance?

text: > When he participated in debates and round table discussions, Christopher > Hitchens spoke with supreme confidence. I'd like to replace `with supreme confidence` with an adverb that implies supreme confidence, falling just shy of arrogance. Does anyone have any suggestions?


title: Should I use desirable or desired here?

text: > If a talk is desirable/desired, I can drop by your office any time. Should I use desirable or desired here? Or some word else?


title: Word for someone who is "pretentious", but without negative connotation?

text: Pretentious is defined as "attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed." What if someone does impress others because they actually do have a greater importance, talent, culture, etc.? What would be a good word to describe such a person?


title: Correct use of either in a conversation

text: In the following conversation:               Person A: I don't like Bob     Person B: No, he's annoying. Mind you I don't like Barry, either.      It is my understanding that the use of the word "either" is appropriate. As, according to Oxford English dictionary, either can be defined as:               2 [adverb, with negative] used to indicate a similarity or link with a tatement just made:      You don’t like him, do you? I don’t either it won’t do any harm, but won’t really help either     for that matter; moreover:      I was too tired to go. And I couldn’t have paid, either      In this case, either is being used in the "for that matter; moreover" context. I am having it argued to me that the use of the word either is not appropriate here as it is said by Person B in response to person A's original statement of not liking Bob, and saying "I don't like Barry either" in direct response to "I don't like Bob" doesn't make sense. I believe that as Person B has already agreed with Person A's initial assessment of Bob, the use of the word "either" when referring to Barry is totally valid. That is that the "either" being used by Person B is in fact relating to Person B's first sentence and not in direct response to what Person A originally said.


title: Talking out of the side of your mouth

text: > Talking out of the side of your mouth This means one is lying, right? Or something else?


title: Morpheme help: How many morphemes does the word "dost" (Shakespeare) have?

text: How many morphemes does the word "dost" (Shakespeare) have? How many morphemes does the word "thy" have? How many morphemes does the word "thou" have? Are "and", "if", "of", "a", "but", and "in" considered morphemes?


title: When someone says "that explanation was a lot of hand-waving" what does this mean?

text: I've been hearing term "hand-waving" thrown around a lot, especially when my peers describe their CS(computer science) classes. Does anyone know what that term means in this context? (also a little background on where the term came from would help too!)


title: Is "vast majority" something to avoid?

text: I've seen a few folks in various situations complain about the phrase "vast majority". The only online reference I can find for such dissent is (unfortunately?) the urban dictionary. I grant that the phrase is not particularly eloquent. But it is idiomatic and I use it myself quite frequently in technical documents to represent a figure over 90% but where I don't want to break the flow of text to present the actual value. So my question(s):   * Is the idiom "vast majority" something to avoid? Does it leave a bad impression?   * What are (better) alternatives?


title: What is “the culinary chops”?

text: The article of Time magazine (June 23, 2014) titled “Don’t blame fat” says “New science reveals fat isn’t what hurting our health, and wraps up with the following sentence. > How we eat –whether we cook it ourselves or grab fast-food takeout – matters > as much what we eat. So don’t feel bad about the cream in your coffee or the > york in your eggs or the occasional steak with béarnaise if you got the > **culinary chops** – but don’t think that the end of the war on fat means > all the Extra Value Meals you can eat. I don’t find the word, “culinary chops” in neither Cambridge nor Oxford online dictionaries. Google Ngram doesn’t show this word either. As far as the word, "chop / chops" conscerns, OALED at hand gives only four definitions of “chop” as a noun:   1. A thick slice of meat with a bone attached to it.   2. An act of cutting something with a quick downward movement using axe or knife.   3. An act of hitting sth with the side of your hand in a quick downward movement.   4. (informal / Pl.) The part of a person’s or animal’s face, and no more. What does “culinary chops” mean? Does it simply mean a butcher’s or carving knife, or chunk of meat, or skills / knack of cooking? If so, why doesn’t the author use more common word?


title: Balance paid prior to arrival to hotel

text: I am looking for adjective (if exists) for paying for hotel stay prior to arrival or if possible word that would describe paying upon checking-out ? If there is no such word, then is there any neat expression for this type?


title: Usage of 'Hi' and 'Dear' in Formal Communication

text: I always hesitate using 'Hi' in formal mails. Is it OK to use it like "Hi Sir,..."? Same with 'Dear Junior,...'. Any help would be appreciated.


title: Is there a word for the moment when the ground falls out from beneath your feet?

text: Looking for a word to describe that moment when you realize everything is falling apart. You are going along in your life and everything is ok and then suddenly, you realize it is really not. This would be for an event akin to you think you're happily married and then your spouse files for divorce; you think your boss is a great, upright person and then you realize they were embezzling money and the company is folding, etc. Not so much for a natural disaster, if that changes any potential answers,


title: Can someone please tell me which of the two sentences is correct?

text: Here are the two sentences.   1. This was the fastest I heard someone responded.   2. This was the fastest I heard someone respond. Can someone help me understand: > A) Which one is correct, and what is wrong with the mechanics of the > incorrect one? > > B) If they are both correct, can someone tell me what is the subtle > difference between the two different words used? I chose #1, but my rival chose #2 and everyone agreed with him because they said it "sounds" good. But i'm interested in mechanics and accuracy not sounds. I am really confused with this one. Help from the grammar mechanics gurus is greatly appreciated. Thanks. **UPDATE** Thanks to both Cerberus, Leon Conrad. Cerebus gave the excellent mechanics break-down. The missing _That_ was making it sound awkward. > This was the fastest [that] I heard [that] **~~someone~~** anyone responded. > > This was the fastest [that] I heard **~~someone~~** anyone respond. And Conrad gave the subtle difference between the two meanings. Based on the context, (from Leon's explanation) I was correct, because I did not hear the response my self, I heard about the response from someone else. Because I cant choose 2 answers, I chose Leon's. That subtle difference was hard for me to spot.


title: Roles of commas

text: I couldn't understand the role of the commas in the following sentence. > While many of his people starve, they write, Mr. Kim “is such a connoisseur > that, according to his former chef, every grain of rice destined for his > dinner table is inspected for quality and shape.” What is the gramatical role of each comma in this sentence?


title: Counting contractions as one or two words

text: I read this in a product review, and it has been bugging me all day. > Three words: it's really cheap. "It's" is obviously a contraction of two words, but does it count as one or two words?


title: Metro Station or Subway Station in US?

text: I am not sure which term is more common when people talk and refer to metro station. Somebody told me you should use subway instead of metro and people use subway in everyday talking. Is this true? I am living in Washington,DC.


title: Putting a phrase like "in particular" before a negative statement

text: In a sentence starting with a word like _nowhere_ , inversion is necessary like in the sentence > Nowhere in this document is the use of other instruments even mentioned. But what happens if I add a phrase like "in particular"? > In particular, nowhere in this document is the use of other instruments even > mentioned. Is this correct?


title: Opposite of "retrofit"

text: To retrofit is to take a new item and make it work with something old. What is the word to take an old item and make it work with something new? For example, someone could retrofit a new character by modding an old game. Retrofitting an old character into a new game doesn't sound correct, since you're doing the exact opposite of retrofitting. What word am I looking for?


title: Loaf of French bread

text: What is the English word describing a long thin loaf of French bread, which crust is appetisingly golden and crunchy, and the bread inside is light and fluffy?


title: Can some words serve as both adjective or adverb?

text: In the following sentences:   * I can move quicker than she can.   * She moves quickly, but I can move quicker still.   * Between us, I move quickest.   * Between us, I move quicker.   * I am even quicker than she. I am apparently trying to modify the verb "move" with the adjectives "quicker" and "quickest". It seems to me that I have been speaking like this all my life, but just now I've been told that adjectives may not modify verbs, and that these sentences are grammatical garbage. Yet, when it comes to: I can move quicker than she can. vs I can move more quickly than she can. The first sentence sounds just as good as the second, to me, at least. Cannot the word "quicker" serve as both adjective and adverb?


title: How to cite a court case?

text: I am unsure on how to cite a court case. The one I am trying to cite is Riley v. California. The information I can plainly see is > Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District   >  Division One   >  State of California Looking at Appendix 4 on the courts.ca.gov site, it gives an example: > Albertson's, Inc. v. Young (2003) 107 Cal.App.4th 106, 113. I don't know what the volume number is (I've checked justia.com and it only seems to go up to 2002). I've also taken a look at law.cornell.edu and other examples but it is all very confusing. So far using easybib this is what I got, but it seems wrong. > Riley v. California. Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District of > California. 8 Feb. 2013. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2014. > <http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/nonpub/D059840.PDF>.


title: Is there a word that conveys this concept?

text: The concept being: Lethargy or apathy caused by a continuous cycle of dissatisfaction caused by disinterest from exposure. The best way I can think to elaborate is to describe it as a state where you no longer care to strive because it is inevitable that the thing which you strive for will eventually no longer be interesting. Similar to the Buddhist idea of sankhara-dukkha : "A basic unsatisfactoriness pervading all existence, all forms of life, because all forms of life are changing, impermanent and without any inner core or substance."


title: Comparing negatives: "she seems not to know" vs. "she doesn't seem to know"

text: What is the difference in style and meaning between the following two: >   * She seems not to know. >   * She doesn't seem to know. > Is there a name to this type of construction?


title: To be drafted in, to be drafted for or to be drafted into the army?

text: I'm not sure whether any of these options are valid. Which one is more common? (US or UK) > Daniel is drafted in the army. > > Daniel is drafted for the army. > > Daniel is drafted into the army.


title: What is the correct term for unboarding passengers from aircraft?

text: I am looking for a correct term meaning that the given plane is in a state of unloading/ "unboarding" arrived passengers, just before it will board departing passengers. I can't find this on airport sites, and according to spellcheckers "unboarding" is not a correct word.


title: How can I explain a word used in a previous sentence?

text: I am defining a "thing" with an adjective. Example: > X is a small y. Then I want to give a clean and simple explanation for the adjective `small` \--because it can mean several things and I want to make it clear. So I'd like to continue the sentence with something like: > .. small y. What "small" here means is ... **My question:**   * What is the correct way to continue with that second sentence in English? Can I say:   1. `What "small" here means is, that, X [verb (is, doesn't etc)] ..` or;   2. `What "small" here means is X [verb (is, doesn't etc)] ..` By correct, I mean, should I use `that`? Should I use a comma? Thank you.


title: what is the word for someone not trying their best or performing badly on purpose?

text: It sounds like a street slang, but both webster and urban dictionary gave the same definition. Can't remember what the word/phrase for it is - like when someone plays bad at first to hustle someone else.


title: "He's liable/likely to win" and "He's likely/liable to lose"

text: "Liable" is often loosely used in colloquial, nonstandard AE for likely:"My favorite horse is liable to win" -- but discriminating use generally applies "liable" only to what is undesirable: "An overheated radiator is liable to explode." And so -- with this latter sense in mind -- can a phrase like "At this rate this horse is liable to win" mean pretty much the same as saying "At this rate this horse has a serious chance to win and I gotta say I don't like the idea"? Analogously, can someone say "At this rate this horse is likely to lose the race" and mean by that: "At this rate this horse has a serious chance to lose the race and I gotta say I love the idea"?


title: Using 'generify' to mean 'to make generic'?

text: Can one use the term _generify_ to mean 'to make generic'? E.g. a software programmer being told: 'generify this segment of code'. If not, what may be a single word replacement of this phrase?


title: Can 'I would say' always replace 'I think'?

text: There is a question about 'I guess' and one answer is comparing 'I guess', and 'I would say'. >   * I would say characterizes what follows as a personal opinion or > judgment: From what I know of him I would say he is coming. > >   * I guess characterizes what follows as a conjecture or inference: Well, > if he were coming he'd be here by now, so I guess he's not coming. > > My question is I am bored of 'I think' every time I wanna tell my idea, so can I use 'I would say' instead of it? As an non-native English speaker, I feel 'I would say' is more aggressive than 'I think', is that true?


title: What does "interstitial effect" mean?

text: Googled, but still do not understand what "interstitial effect" means. Can someone please explain?


title: What tense should I use here? Present perfect/past simple

text: It's been two years since the accident and she (forgot or has forgotten?) her lesson.


title: What is the meaning of `non-normative`?

text: What is the meaning of `non-normative`? Does it mean `casual`? If I write a document, what requirements must it have before I can say "it's a normative document" / "it's a non-normative document"?


title: how has language changed from the Tudor era until now?

text: i want to know what the dramatic changes between now and then. And what language techniques have disappeared or are still in use today. And just anything that proves that language has changed (: cheerios


title: Where to put the "now" in?

text: I am not sure how to use the "now", where to put it in the sentence. I have: > "I studied [...] in the joint masters program [...] and I want to continue > my career [...]". I think for understanding it is good to emphazise that I graduated and NOW I want to continue my career in [....]. Thats why I think a now would be good. What is correct? > "I studied [...] in the joint masters program [...] and I now want to > continue my career [...]" or > "I studied [...] in the joint masters program [...] and now I want to > continue my career [...]"


title: Etymology and meaning of "navy file"?

text: I've been reading Heinlein's _Starship Troopers_ in which the crews of the starships are referred to by the Mobile Infantry as "Navy files". This appears to be an affectionately derisory term. I was wondering, is this name used by real members of the army or marines to refer to navy people, and if so, what it means? Consulting the dictionary here suggests it might mean _a line of persons or things arranged one behind another_ , or possibly > Military . a. a person in front of or behind another in a military > formation. b. one step on a promotion list. I'm also guessing that this is an American or pseudo-American term as I'd think on the right-hand side of the pond the navy would more likely be referred to as the _Andrew_.


title: Space After Semicolons?

text: Should there be spaces after a semicolon in a sentence? For example: "...minimum/standard requirements for a base diploma;there has been..." or "...minimum/standard requirements for a base diploma; there has been..."


title: What does "so many men, so many minds" mean?

text: I've come across the phrase "So many men, so many minds". Apparently, the full quote is from Leo Tolstoy, and is "If so many men, so many minds, certainly so many hearts, so many kinds of love." What does the quote mean? I'm interested in both the original meaning, and also how it's used nowadays, if the two differ.


title: Where does the term "heads or tails" come from?

text: I recently obtained a Silver Angel collectable coin, where the back side bears an image of an angel fighting a dragon: ![silver angel coin](http://i.stack.imgur.com/vuIvO.jpg) I sort of realized, as I was looking at it, that for probably the first time in my life, I was holding a coin where the image on the back _actually portrays a creature with a tail prominently displayed._ Everyone's heard of "heads or tails?", the traditional invocation for a coin toss. The head is obvious: most government-issued coins, from antiquity to modern times, have borne the bust of some famous ruler on one side. But most coins do not come with some tailed animal on the back, so where does the ubiquitous expression come from?


title: Which is correct (if any): "please let me know what do you think"? or "please let me know what you think"?

text: I find myself unsure which of the following is more correct: > please let me know what do you think Or > please let me know what you think My gut feeling tells me that it's the latter... Or are both incorrect and there is a better way to say the same thing?


title: How to use "should have been" to express conditions?

text: Lets say that someone is driving a car but doesn't possess a drivers license and I am telling him > You should have been obtained a drivers license before drive a car. is this usage of "should have been" correct or else please give me an example about how to use "should have been" for expressing conditions.


title: Do native speakers leave out articles in slides for space?

text: Sometimes _a_ and _the_ take too much space in a slide, and I delete all of them to save me extra lines. Is it a good practice?


title: Is David Mitchell's writing style in "Cloud Atlas" representative of the described time period?

text: I'm reading David Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas", and the narrative is written in very distinctive style, and the most striking characteristic of it is the use of ampersand (&) instead of "and", in every single instance. A representative quote: > Disgusted, I retorted that I was a husband & a father! & that I should > rather die than abase my dignity & decency with any of his poxed [word > removed for decency]. Similarly, "etc." is styled "&c." For context, the narrator is a notary from California, and the events take place in mid-XIX century (from various references in the text, a few years after 1838). Is such pervasive use of ampersand in writing common for the period?


title: Is "an archives" correct? If so, is it an exception or are there others like it?

text: A friend recently posted a photo he took of a sign at the LBJ presidential library that used the word "archives" as a singular noun. According to a Smithsonian Institution Archives blog post, this is perfectly acceptable. It says: > First of all, unbeknownst to most word processors, "an archives" is a > grammatically correct phrase. "Archives" is one of those words that can be > either singular or plural, though it is relatively common to drop the "s" > when referring to the singular. "Archives" can refer to a collection of > archival materials, the facility in which the materials are stored, or the > organization that collects and maintains them. Are they correct? And is this a lone exception or are there others like it?


title: "Project's status" or "project status"

text: Should I say _the project's status_ or _the project status_?


title: Etymology of "favourite" as a verb

text: The verb _favourite_ or _favorite_ (past tense _favourited_ or _favorited_ ) is fairly new and isn't in many dictionaries. Two of the few are Oxford Dictionaries Online, who define it as: > **favourite**   >  _verb_   >  [ _with object_ ]   >  record the address of (a website or other data) to enable quick access in > future: _you can see who else favourited the same pictures_ And Wiktionary: > **Verb**   >  **favorite** ( _third-person singular simple present **favorites** , > present participle **favoriting** , simple past and past participle > **favorited_** )   >  1\. Alternative form of favor.   >  1\. (Internet) To bookmark.   >  1\. (Internet) To add to one's list of favorites on a website that allows > users to compile such lists. Some people dislike the verb as ugly, others say it's "an abomination of a non-word" and "emblematic of cultural necrosis & linguistic stupidity", but it's commonly used by Flickr, YouTube and Twitter (with 75m, 800m and 200m users respectively) so it doesn't look like it's going to disappear any time soon. There's no entry (yet) at the Oxford English Dictionary, so when was this internet usage first used? Who popularised it and when? * * * My research: I suspect it could have been first popularised by Flickr (launched 2004), then later boosted by YouTube (2005) and more recently Twitter (2006). _Favorites_ were announced by the Flickr photography website in a August 2004 post, but they it only used the word as a noun. The first use I found as a verb on the Flickr blog is September 2005: > In other news, Flickr user fd has a new addition to his fantastic collection > of Flickr toys— his random photo browser [...] fetches a selection of random > photos that **have been favorited** by at least one person. I found a verb use by Eric, a Flickr staff member, in December 2004: > But there are still a couple of bugs at play here: This photo should not > appear in GustavoG's favorites, because he does not have permission to view > it any more (it being totally private, and Gustavo not being a member of the > fotolog group). I am guessing that **he favorited it** before it was made > private. We will fix this. (Interestingly, in the the bug report he replied to, GustavoG used the verb _favored_ rather than _favorited_ : "This was most definitely not a private page when **I favored it**.") * * * Edit: Stack Exchange also uses the verb _favorite_ , and has done since at least 2010. If you click the star on this question then I may getf the Favorite Question badge for a "Question **favorited** by 25 users." (Or even the Stellar Question badge for a "Question **favorited** by 100 users.")


title: How to use the idiom "in force"

text: I'm wondering how to correctly use the idiom "in force". Often "active" can be used instead, but are there any situations in which "in force" can be used and "active" cannot, or vice versa? More generally, what are the idiomatic limitations of this expression? To illustrate, I have the following example from a text I wrote (emphasis added): > Each event has associated with it a tension weight. The tension at a > particular point in the story is obtained by adding all individual tension > weights _in force_ at that particular point. [It is not specified] how to > determine which tensions are _in force_. In both cases, the sentence could be rewritten to use the word "active" instead, but is it incorrect to use "in force" here? I found the following here: _in force_   1. In full strength; in large numbers: Demonstrators were out in force.   2. In effect; operative: a rule that is no longer in force. The second meaning seems to suggest that the above use of "in force" is ok.


title: Is "the changes you intend to make will not do us any good" polite?

text: I would like a polite (formal) way to say: > The changes you intend to make will not do us any good. or should I say "intend on making"?


title: Origin of "good'o"

text: Where did the Autralian or British expression _good'o_ come from? What is the _'o_ part related to?


title: Usage of "despair" in the phrase "being despaired of"

text: I am reading a 1892 novel, in which I see the sentence: > For months my life was despaired of, and when at last I came to myself.... Is this an old use of the word "despair"? If the word "of" is dropped, does the meaning of the sentence change?


title: Is “checking my résumé” ok?

text: Is the following sentence correct (when I call a company’s HR department)? > Could you please call me back after checking my résumé?


title: How to use "have been" and be-verbs -- what's the difference between them?

text: Consider these two sentences: >   1. They have been disappointing. >   2. They are disappointing. > Could you tell me how can I identify when to use _have been_ and when to use _be_ -verbs in sentences like these? Is it that I need to use _have been_ when "they" disappoint me, during a period that extends up to the present? And that I need to use _be_ -verbs like _are_ when "they" disappoint me generally?


title: Arcane/obscure word that represents a person's timeline or daily record

text: I'm looking for an arcane or obscure word to describe a person's daily record. Words like: > account, agenda, appointment book, chronicle, diary, daily record, daybook, > engagement book, journal, log, minutes, notebook, record work, but are common. Do you have something more obscure?


title: Parallel structures problem with their prepositions and helping verbs

text: This might clear it up. > It is not _about reducing_ the consumption of sugars or carbohydrates but > _about moderating_ the consumption of them. Does this work correctly? Another example: > Any person who eats based on a good diet _will lose_ weight and _will have_ > a healthier life. Is this the correct way of creating the parallel structures, or should the helping verbs/prepositions of the verb be omitted?


title: What is the precise meaning of "fuck" in the context of the hip hop mantra, "Fuck bitches, get money"?

text: I've been hearing the line "Fuck bitches / Get money" in hip hop songs recently. I mostly noticed it lately in a couple of notable songs by Lil Wayne and other Young Money affiliated artists, but through some casual searching, the term seems to originate in pop culture from a Notorious B.I.G. song called "Get Money." Until recently I assumed that the term was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek _raison d'être_ for hip hop figures; that is, to have sex with lots of women and to make a lot of money, in rock-star fashion. But I sometimes see young people use the phrase as a hustler mantra, to disregard the pursuit of women/love for the pursuit of money/status/career.[1] The female counterpart would be "Fuck niggas / Get money." Could I get some clarification on this, and possibly an explanation for how this latter meaning could be popularized when it (in my opinion) clashes with the hyper-masculine rock star image in mainstream hip hop culture? I know this phrase's precise meaning is in some dispute in pop culture.[2] [1] http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/joseph-ducreux-archaic-rap     * see also: the Urban Dictionary entry for "fbgm" [2] http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3qvlyk/


title: What is the correct pronunciation of “regex”?

text: The term _regular expression_ is often shortened to _regex_. What is the correct pronunciation of the _g_ in _regex_? Is it like the _g_ 1 in _gallium_ , or is it like the _g_ 2 in _giraffe_? I’ve heard it said both ways. * * * 1\. IPA /g/   2\. IPA /dʒ/


title: Why does the pronunciation of the word "wife" [waif] change in the word "midwifery" [ˈmɪdˌwɪfərɪ]?

text: I recently found out that the word _wife_ is pronounced differently in the following examples: _wife_ [waif] / _midwife_ [midwaif] / but _midwifery_ [ˈmɪdˌwɪfərɪ] This appears to be another inconsistency of English phonetics. Does anyone know why this is?


title: "Nice to see you, to see you nice!"

text: Look at this famous phrase used by a British talkshow host when saying goodbye to his audience: > 'Nice to see you, to see you nice!' Nobody in the UK (including my grandmother who was a frequent viewer) seemed to think it sounded strange... I think it's grammatically acceptable - due to some missing but understood elements of the sentence. Can you have a go at estimating what they may be?


title: Correct way of saying I want a list of the names of each individual entity in a group?

text: I'm a programmer and in a program I'm currently creating, I want to get a list of all the accounts names that can access a database. I have no idea if I'm supposed to "get account names", to "get accounts name" or to "get accounts names". My best guess is that "get accounts names" is the correct answer as it seems more logical to say it that way, but I see the first case used the most, which makes me doubt about this. The way I see it, "get account names" would refer to multiple names given to a single account and "get accounts name" would be the name of the group of accounts, but I'd like some clarification on this.


title: Is 'irony' the correct word to describe a character's delusionary observations?

text: In the following passage, would it be correct to say that the bolded sentence uses `irony`? > She walks past one of the farm workers (is his name John?), a robust, small- > headed man wearing a potato-coloured vest, cleaning the ditch that runs > through the osier bed. He looks up at her, nods, looks down again into the > brown water. **As she passes him on the way to the river she thinks of how > successful he is, how fortunate, to be cleaning a ditch in an osier bed.** > She herself has failed. She is not a writer at all, really; she is merely a > gifted eccentric.


title: Is “the One” self-explanatory in the line, “If 2008 was about exalting the One, 2012 was about the disenchanted Democratic base.”

text: Subsequent to my question about Club’s telephone tips in Maureen Dowd’s article, "Mitt Romney is the president of white male America” in New York Times (Nov. 10), I was interested in the usage of “the Ones” in the following sentence: > > “Just like the Bushes before him, Romney tried to portray himself as more > American than his Democratic opponent. But America’s gallimaufry wasn’t > knuckling under to the gentry this time. > > If 2008 was about exalting **_the One_** , 2012 was about the disenchanted > Democratic base deciding: “We are **_the Ones_** we’ve been waiting for.” There is no explanation about “ _the One" and "the Ones_ ” in this paragraph, and before and after this sentence. Although I surmise “the Ones” means We, awaken populace – middle class, colored, ethnic, college students, working females, and you can name it, I don’t know what it exactly mean. Are “the One" and "the Ones” self-explanatory to native speakers, when “one” and "ones" are written with the capital O. What are the exact definitions of “the One / Ones”? Is the difference (upper case O vs lower case O) discernable in audio, i.e. when they are read out?


title: This site wont help beginners i think

text: This website seems hard to me.always getting down votes.Its highly degrading me.I am frustrated to use this website.I wont post comments or discussion or questions in this website.If i ask questions always down voting and also when answering .This site wont help beginners i think.and i want to mention another thing also tags which is extremely disguising thing and also reputation.so that i am tagging here


title: Origin of the phrase "That is how it is"

text: Where does this come from? > That is how it is.


title: Telecommunication(s)

text: Are _telecommunication_ and _telecommunications_ interchangeable, or are there some contexts where one is preferred? For example, the Wiki page on “Telecommunication” has a section entitled “Telecommunication networks,” but the main article on this topic is called “Telecommunications network.” Is it that the singular is used when the main concern is the act of transmitting information in the abstract, but the plural when the writer wants to stress the various media involved? There might be a similar issue with _communication(s)_ as well.


title: A word that describes a smooth and feel-good transition

text: Is there a good adjective that describes the experience of entering from one magical world to another as a very smooth, magical yet almost like real and feel-good way? I thought of a few like say "sleek" experience between the two worlds, "neat" experience between the two worlds, etc. But all of these words sound not enough to give that smooth and feel good effect.


title: What is the origin of "stitched up like a kipper"?

text: I've heard the phrase so many times, but only now am wondering where it comes from. I know it is used to mean that someone has been tricked, or has in some way fallen for a trap. e.g. > _Bob_ : So I ended up buying the volcano insurance from the salesman in the > end. > > _Geoff_ : Wow! He **stitched you up like a kipper**. But what on earth have " _kippers_ " got to do with anything?


title: Quoting poor English in a news article? I don't often see "[sic]"

text: I don't stumble upon "[sic]" as I read newspapers. I think it's safe to assume that plenty of those who are quoted in articles have botched their grammar more often than not. Here's what I'm asking: Are grammatical errors overlooked in the editing process when it comes to quotes? Are they fixed and the errors are swept under the table? I've seen some related questions asked here on this forum, but they didn't answer my questions adequately.


title: Eat lunch or have lunch

text: Yesterday, one of my friend updated his status _Eating lunch at a hotel_.   I thought that _Having lunch at a hotel_ is correct. So, I did a quick search on Google and got mixed responses.   Google fetched about 15,90,00,000 results for _eat lunch_. While, for _have lunch_ , it fetched around 42,50,00,000 results.   From these results, it is sure that both are used. But, Is it correct?   Can one eat lunch? Because, lunch is not food itself, one cannot eat it.


title: using "was" twice in this sentence

text: In this sentence should it be public "was" given or does the first "was" cover it? > _A notice was published in the newspaper, and the public given 30 days to > comment._


title: Dialect "rules" and the pronunciation of individual words

text: Consider an American actor who is tasked with mastering British Received Pronunciation for an upcoming role. If he has a talent for vocal mimicry, as many actors do, he should have no trouble picking up the "rules" of RP just from listening to people speak it: the non-rhotacism of the dialect, the aspiration of intervocalic _t_ , the characteristic intonation patterns and prosody of RP, and so on. For the most part, he should have no trouble speaking RP like a native. Yet he would never in a million years figure out on his own that _lieutenant_ should be pronounced "leftenant," for example, or that _controversy_ is often pronounced with the accent on the second syllable, unless he hears those specific words pronounced. To my knowledge, there are no general characteristics of RP that account for the mysterious appearance of an _f_ in _lieutenant_ (or, if you prefer, there are no general characteristics of General American that account for its absence). You just have to know how those specific words should be pronounced, because you'll never figure it out on your own. Do linguists recognize a distinction between the "rules" of a dialect on the one hand and its individual pronunciation "quirks" on the other? Is there a term for this phenomenon? Is it considered merely a variation on regional preferences for certain words over their synonyms (e.g., _rubbish_ vs. _garbage_ ), or is there something else at play here? _(Disclaimer: I take no position on whether the BE or AE pronunciation of any of these words should be considered the "quirky" one; I simply note that one couldn't easily intuit one pronunciation just from knowing the other.)_


title: Referring to adult-age sons and daughters as children

text: Is it normal to refer to adult-age sons and daughters of someone as children? A native speaker of Arabic learning English has said that in Arabic, the word for sons and daughters is "أولاد" (awlaad) (Wiktionary link), and that it applies no matter how old they are, and that the word for people who are not adults is "أطفال" (atfaal) (Arabic language Wiktionary link). The person wanted to know whether you can still use "children" to mean "sons and daughters", even after you can no longer describe someone as a child in the "not yet adults" sense.


title: "We strongly advise you to enjoy this book before turning to the Introduction"

text: This was part of _General Introduction_ (it's right before the Introduction) of some Wordsworth Classics series, > We strongly advise you to enjoy this book before turning to the > Introduction. What does that mean? I'm little confused.   1. Since the Introduction is before the actual text, how should I "enjoy" the book? Maybe I didn't get it.   2. Enjoyment is a rather personal feeling: how could I be _advised to enjoy_ the book?


title: What is the ", gerund" sentence called, and how can I improve it?

text: I'm proofreading a friend's paper, and she often creates sentences of the form:               Sentence, gerund-phrase      Examples: > Consumers may question the legitimacy of producer actions, **determining** > their practices undermine the community. > > Groups operate as focal points, **creating** a sense of community. > > Research typically focuses on what unites individuals within a community, > **documenting** consumer's shared experiences. Is there a name for such a sentence structure? For me, although I can understand the intent of the sentence, I think they're a bit confusing and could be better worded: > Consumers may question the legitimacy of producer actions **and determine > that** their practices undermine the community. > > Groups operate as focal points **and create** a sense of community. > > Research typically focuses on what unites individuals within a community > **and documents** consumer's shared experiences. Does anyone have any experience or opinions on the matter?


title: Grammar question regarding correct usage of participial phrase

text: I have trouble with an SAT grammar question:   1. The delegates coming this far, they did not want to return without accomplishing something. I got it down to 2 choices:   * (B) Coming this far, the delegates felt they   * (C) Having come this far, the delegates The correct answer is (C); however, I do not understand the differences between (B) and (C).


title: "feint" and "feign": Are they synomyms?

text: Both _to feign_ and _to feint_ seem to mean _to pretend_. Are they synonyms or the same word with only a different spelling? Or is there an actual concrete difference in their meaning?


title: Use of holier-than-thou phrase

text: Can I use the phrase (new to me) `holier-than-thou` like               don't give holier-than-thou attitude.      And what is more possibilities of using this phrase? What is the correct pronunciation of the phrase? **P.S:** English is not my first language.


title: How to describe gesture to shut up?

text: I want to use a word/phrase/idiom etc. to describe someone action by which they try to stop another person talk or sharing their plans. I want specifically to use it in following situation: > During conversation with my uncle, he was telling me their future plans to > sell house but my Aunt stopped him by secretly putting her finger on lips as > a gesture to shut up.


title: I'll take you home / I'll bring you home

text: Being both non-natives, I had some discussion today about the following situation: suppose you're at a party and you want to take/bring your drunk buddy home. **I believe that:**   * "I'll take you home" means come, I'll bring you away and then I'll go back or go to my place. This is _going away from_ the party.   * "I'll bring you home" means come with me and we both go home. We probably both live at that place or it is our end stop. This is _coming to_ home. **She believes that:**   * "I'll take you home" means either of the above, because you're both in the same room when you ask and you're _going away from_.   * "I'll bring you home" is an invalid construct in that situation, or actually is always invalid. I was opposing to that that I actually remember to have heard the phrase quite often. I know the general meaning and differences between bring and take. However, I somehow couldn't get my head around this. Any native speaker that can shed some light here? There's an extra beer at stake!


title: Meaning of "balls to the wall"

text: According to this article's first two sentences (which I find a bit confusingly formulated), there are two different meanings to the expression.   1. No way out and no options other than a single, not pleasant one.   2. Full speed ahead, all-in, whole-range approach. After reading/googling, I'm unclear on which of the meanings is the correct one. Furthermore, I realize that it's possible that both are valid, in which case I wonder if there are geographic relation to which is the most commonly used. Is there a trend of popularity (raising/dropping) for any of them?


title: Meaning of "up" and "off" in "I live up north off some_region"

text: I am only familiar with sentences like > I live in New York   >  I live on the north side of New York I guess > I live up north off some_region. means the place I live in is a little bit northern than _some_region_. Do the following sentences make sense, too and mean the same thing? > I live north off some_region.   >  I live up north of some_region.   >  I live north of some_region.


title: Do we have a term for this analysis combination?

text: I'm in the middle of a programming article, and I don't know if this thing has a name or not. Lot's of times you can analyse something in isolation. But as soon as you put that thing among other things, you have to analyse the relationships too. For example, if you want to analyse a word individually, you might use morphology, phonetics, and phonology. But if you want to analyse that word in a sentence, you should stick to syntax, intonation, and stuff like that. What I'm searching for is a title for **"things can be analysed both in isolation, and in context, and these analyses are different from each other in approach, and in result."** Do we have a term for that?


title: "On one of such days" Vs "On one such day"?

text: Which of the two is correct? Or are they both. In which cases would one be preferred over the other? **Edit 1: Context** I made other adjustments. Adjustments which included leaving my car at home parked. `On one of such days`, I see it from . . .


title: "Cola" vs "Coke" when asking for a drink to order

text: Is it better to say "Cola" or "Coke" when ordering a Coca-Cola drink in a restaurant/bar?


title: What does "a man lives in the mind of his own confinement" mean?

text: Can anyone explain what this line means? > A man lives in the mind of his own confinement.


title: First use of “learnings”?

text: When was the word _learnings_ first used as a noun, as a synonym for _lessons_?


title: Transcribing long repeating phone numbers

text: I always have this problem of telling people my phone number which consists of a series of repeating numbers: > 184 555 5555 (DO NOT CALL, this is just as an example) I can tell people it is:   * one eight four, five five five, five five five five, or;   * one eight four, five, double five, double five, double five, or;   * one eight four, five, triple five, triple five, or;   * one eight four, five, sextuple five. Is there a prescribed way or a widely practised method of transcribing long repeating phone numbers?


title: Program summary "Usage" section

text: I often need to include summaries of source code or tools, for example on GitHub. It's useful to have a section that describes how to use the component. The "Use" vs "Usage" debate has been answered in another thread, and the consensus seems to be "Use use", however that seems awkward as a section title. For example: ## Gizmo The Gizmo recombobulates the froop flux capacitors. ## Use   1. Download Gizmo   2. Find your flux capacitors   3. gizmo [-fp FroopLevel] FluxCapacitors ## Contribute Send pull requests to this.guy@emails.com "Instructions" isn't clear because there are at least 2 different audiences to this text: developers interested in contributing, or users interested in using the tool. Instructions could refer to multiple use cases, so it's ambiguous. The same goes with "How To". What is the appropriate word for the second section title in the example? Thanks for your time.


title: Is it really rude to use the terms "the john" and "the loo" in lieu of "the restroom"?

text: I usually use the term "restroom" (or "toilet" if I want to make sure that everyone in the Czech Republic understands me at once), and, while I've always understood that the terms "john" and "loo" are quite informal, I wouldn't have thought these were rude words, as the article in the link below claims: http://reallifebh.com/potty-talk-22-expressions-with-toilet-in-english John: (should be used only with friends) –Example: Where’s the John? I have to take a number 2. Loo: (UK - can be familiar or rude, depending on where you are) –Example: I’ll be right back, I’m gonna go to the loo. Native speakers, would you please confirm or refute this?


title: Use of 'as' instead of 'because'

text: Is the use of 'as' in place of 'because' considered to be poor grammar/style? For example > I cannot come with you as I am too busy instead of > I cannot come with you because I am too busy


title: Difference between "I am really sorry" and "I really am sorry"

text: I know they are slightly different, but I can't tell how. I've read about the usage of the word "really" in a negative sentence. But it didn't tell me about how the position of the word "really" can affect the meaning in a positive sentence. I've heard sentences I'm confused about:   * I **am really** sorry   * I **really am** sorry And these are the ones I've made up myself (I don't know if this kind of sentence exists):   * She **can be really** persuasive   * She **really can be** persuasive How do I tell them apart (the grammatical structure)? Are they different in meaning too? How?


title: "Losing the semester"

text: Is the following expression common among native speakers: > If you don't enroll now, there is a chance of _losing the semester_. Any better alternative?


title: Difference between "I'm fine" and "I'm good"

text: When my coworker in the US asks me "How are you?" I usually answer "I'm fine", but the last time I told him "I'm good" and he replied "I'm glad to hear that". It looks like "I'm fine" means "I'm OK" but not quite good as "I'm good". What is the difference between them and if the score of happy is 10, what is the score of "I'm fine" and "I'm good"? (higher score means happier)


title: "professions' and "occupations" what's the differnce?

text: "professions' and "occupations" difference "Transborder activities and the general dynamics that they produce can be performed by socioeconomic categories, such as professions, occupations, or classes,"


title: "Must be" with a meaning like "must do"

text: I see that `somebody must do something` usually means that someone is obliged to do something. I also see that `you must be kidding me` means that it is highly likely that `you are kidding me`. But can `Alex must be working on the project` mean an obligation (e.g. Alex must work on the project but with a sense of continuity) ?


title: Pronunciation of OS X versions

text: I don't feel like this belongs on SU, so I put it here. I know that "OS X" is pronounced "oh-ess ten," but how should the common construction "OS X 10.9" be pronounced? The primary possibility I can think of is:   * The X becomes silent: "oh-ess ten-point-nine" However, this feels awkward when reading from paper and there are suddenly silent words in the middle of sentences. Because of this, I also see as a possibility:   * This construction is unpronounceable and should be read "oh-ess ten mountain lion" Of course, my personal favorite (the least accurate) is:   * The 10 becomes slient: "oh-ess eks-point-nine"


title: Does “I’m available” mean “I’m single”?

text: Does “I’m available” mean “I’m single” (not married or not had a girlfriend or a boyfriend yet) when someone asks about your relationship status?


title: The usage of slander, defame, vilify, and calumniate

text: English is not my native language. I am confused about the usage of these four words: slander, defame, vilify, and calumniate. They are all verbs with almost the same meaning and I don't which one should I use in any situation. Are there any big differences in usage? For instance, is one more frequently used than the others? Are there any that are obsolete or not commonly used? I am particularly interested in knowing if there are contextual differences in usage, like when someone says a bad thing to me in daily life, in business, or in any formal or informal situation. I would like to know how native English speakers use them.


title: Is there a list of all English words (singular and plural) anywhere on the net?

text: Does anyone know of a resource online that lists all known English words, including plural and singular forms of a word?


title: Grammaticality of linking two questions like "how often" and "why" together

text: I would like to ask the postage department the questions like "how often the packages got lost in the mail" and "why the packages got lost in the mail". While it is absolutely correct in Russian to "weld" such a questions together how can I do it in English? Is it correct to ask a question like this: > **How often and why** does this happen when the packages got lost in the > mail?


title: What dialect is this man speaking?

text: Ignoring the linguistically incorrect and wrong-headed things said in this video, the more puzzling problem: I have no idea what dialect or type of English the man in the video is speaking. I have never heard English that sounds like this. I can't even tell whether or not he is a native speaker; his website implies that he is American, but doesn't say outright. Any ideas?


title: Do people who metathesize "ask" do it to other words as well?

text: As most of us have heard (and some people get offended about), there are dialects of English in which the word _ask_ undergoes metathesis and is pronounced _aks_. Are there English dialects in which this process is productive and replies to other words? That is, do some people who say _aks_ for _ask_ also say _flaks_ for _flask_ , _deks_ for _desk_ , etc?


title: "Train approaching"

text: Is it correct? It's the message I see right before the metro/subway train shows up. Shouldn't it be "train is approaching" or "train approaches"?


title: Push somebody over the edge

text: From TheFreeDictionary, _pushing somebody over the edge_ is defined as: > If an unpleasant event pushes someone over the edge, it makes them start to > behave in a crazy way. Can _crazy_ here be to mean all of the following: non-sensible/stupid, very angry, and mentally ill/insane?


title: I am "friends" with John, then John is "x" to me

text: I'm looking for a word that defines the direction of friendship between two people. For example, when I say "I am friends with John" or "John is my friend". How would I describe the same thing, but from John's perspective. The reason I ask is that I am trying to write a database schema that uses words to define the direction of friendships. One possible option is to use two phrases "friend with" and "friends to". So that I could describe who John is friends with from both directions. If this doesn't make any sense, sorry ;)


title: What do you call a person who does not go out with his friends?

text: What do you call a person who does not go out with his friends because he thinks he is superior to them?


title: Why use "his" in association with the word "mankind"?

text: I have a doubt. The economist Keynes in a book wrote: > The power to become habituated to **his** surroundings is a marked > characteristic of mankind. I would have used "its" instead but since English is not my mother-tongue and Keynes was probably a good writer I am sure I am the one being mistaken. Can anyone please explain ?


title: Which is the verb of the 'that' clause?

text: here is the sentence: We condemn such behavior that can risk damaging a company’s brand and reputation risk or damage, which is the verb？ I remember that two verb ( one verb after another) must use the verb+Infinitive, so why not "risk to damage" ?


title: Plural of “advice”

text: The dictionary says that _advice_ can only be used in the singular. But in a specific part of computer science (aspect-oriented programming) this word is used to reference some object that implements some specific functionality. There can be many such objects in the program, and sometimes it's required to say something about a number of them. Is it OK to use _advices_ in this case, or is it absolutely wrong? What is the best solution?


title: Is ‘Not a peep’ an idiom, or just plain statement?

text: I found a phrase ‘ _not a peep_ ,’ in the Washington Post’s article (September 16) written by Eugene Robinson, which was captioned “Where are the compassionate conservatives?” In the article, Robinson describes the scene of Republican Presidential candidate, Ron Paul’s answering the moderator, Wolf Blitzer’s question at the Tea party debate held on September 12th: > “Wolf Blitzer asked Ron Paul a hypothetical question about a young man who > elects not to purchase health insurance. The man has a medical crisis, goes > into a coma and needs expensive care. “Who pays?” Blitzer asked. > > “That’s what freedom is all about, taking your own risks. This whole idea > that you have to prepare and take care of everybody. . . .” > > Blitzer interrupted: “But Congressman, are you saying that society should > just let him die?” > > There were enthusiastic shouts of “Yeah!” from the crowd. “You’d think one > of the other candidates might jump in with a word about Christian kindness. > _Not a peep_.” What does “Not a peep” mean here? Does it mean “No sound, no voice”, or “No answer”? Does it mean the Congressman was unable to talk back even a single word, or other candidates zipperd their mouth, or audience who shouted 'Yes' in accord suddenly fell into silence? I checked online dictionaries for the words. None of Cambridge, Merriam- Webster, or Urban dictionary has entry of “Not a peep.” I don't know why. Isn’t this an idiom, or just an abridgement of ‘There was no peep.”?


title: Difference between "instantly" and "instantaneously"

text: Is there a case in which "instantaneously" can be used in which "instantly" cannot? If not, why does the former exist? If so, what are the circumstances dictating that usage?


title: First usage of "get a handle on it"

text: I'm editing a manuscript that uses the phrase "get a handle on it". The action is taking place in the late 19th century, and this usage seems somewhat anachronistic to me. However, I can't locate anything to back up this feeling. Does anyone know when this phrase was first used? (Even better would be knowing when its use was in vogue.)


title: Why did they spell it "URL’s"?

text: I was reading this documentation file of some software and note the plural spelling of this abbreviation is “URL’s”. Why isn’t it “URLs”?


title: "suggestions on" or "suggestions at"?

text: Example usage: > I've changed the post a lot by following suggestions on the original > question. Is it correct?


title: Why the letter "g" discrepancy between *giant* and *gigantic*?

text: A little look through an etymology dictionary shows that the root is Latin _gigas_ with adjective form _gigant_. So in its derivation to English, why did the second "g" get retained in _gigantic_ but was dropped from _giant_? I have an inkling that the word _giant_ may have travelled through French on its way to English, where it may have been pronounced "gee-yant" or "jee-yant" with a change to the second "g" that was then dropped when taken into English. However, the "g" is retained as a hard "g" in gigantic.


title: Is the usage of word, “Deck” as a package of paper limited to cards?

text: I felt nostalgic to find the word ‘copy deck’ in the latest EL& U question, “Is subcopy a word?”followed with the statement: > “A copywriter just sent me over a **copy deck** that had the word subcopy to > describe the text immediately after the page title.” I remember that when I was working in an ad agency, expatriate staffs, particularly my senior who happened to be British liked to use the word “deck” for the package of presentation documents and a set of handouts at the meeting. I followed his suit. Seeing the word, “Copy deck” again after long time, I checked online dictionaries to reconfirm whether I had rightly used the word, ‘deck’ around that time, and was embarrassed to find none of Cambridge, Oxford, Merriam- Webster, and OALED registers the definitions of “Deck” other than (1) a floor of ship, (2) a package of cards, and (3) a component or unit for playing records, or recording tapes, or compact discs. Beside ‘a floor of a ship,’ Cambridge English Dictionary defines ‘deck’ as: (mainly US) a set of cards used for playing card games. Oxford Dictionary defines: (1) chiefly North American, a pack of cards. (2) a component or unit for playing or recording records, tapes, or compact discs: a cassette deck Merriam -Webster Dictionary simply defines: a pack of playing cards. Is it far-stretched to use “deck” for a package of items (documents, exhibits, and writings) as we had used to and as used in the question other than cards? Were we using the word wrong way?


title: Do Americans "gee things up", or is it just a British usage?

text: As a Brit, I've always thought to _"gee things up" (often followed by "a bit")_ was a relatively well-known Americanism - probably because I assume most figurative usages relating to horses come from the great American cowboy tradition. In my usage, to _"gee_ **things** _up"_ always means to get things moving (normally figuratively, as of say _action to deal with some problem_ ). But I also hear/use _"gee him up"_ with the sense of _to tease or provoke_ , similar to rattle his cage or _wind him up_. But checking gee things up in Google Books I found only 15 results, and to my admittedly untrained eye, they seem to be mostly British. Is the expression (and the _tease/annoy_ meaning) familiar to Americans?


title: To what reading level does a specific word like 'verbose' belong?

text: How does one determine the reading level to which a specific word belongs? For example, I want to use the word 'verbose' in some software. So, if I want to determine if it is appropriate to use the word based upon the users of the system, is there a web site where I can enter the word and get feedback?


title: Adjective/noun usage, use of 'ones', comparing A with B

text: Please tell me which sounds better: > “In the other three cases a positive deviation of about 2 or 3 mm is > observed when comparing the measured with the calculated values.” or > “In the other three cases a positive deviation of about 2 or 3 mm is > observed when comparing the measured values with the calculated ones.”


title: What does "to be the lowest common denominator" mean?

text: I'm not English and I never encountered this saying: > In almost all cases, it is possible and within reason to write completely > portable code. > > In practice, this means that you shouldn’t assume much about the host > compiler (and Visual Studio **tends to be the lowest common denominator** ). What's the meaning of the "to be the lowest common denominator" in a sentence? That it is a concept that applies for all or something else? Also: I'm not sure this question answers my problem, I read it but couldn't figure out the above sentence appropriately


title: Is it right to say "Is John lie?"

text: So is it right to say "Is John lie?"? If yes, why not "Does John lie?" or "Is John lying?". Sorry if it sounds stupid, but I'm a bit confused.


title: How do you properly follow a subjunctive with a related statement?

text: I recently wrote the following: > …even if the story were originally true, there's no way that Obama was > president when it happened. And then I stared at it, trying to figure out if the second phrase implied that it _had_ happened. I thought about other ways to phrase it, _…when it would've happened_ , etc, but everything felt more cumbersome than the original. Does the second phrase belie the subjunctive and make it sound as if the story _is_ true? If so, how could I phrase it better?


title: Why should I say 'One Hundred' when 'Hundred' seems enough?

text: I just want to know whether both the usages are right or not. Also, do these usages depend on geography?


title: Why does "impregnable" mean *cannot be impregnated*?

text: Well not exactly, but according to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, _impregnable_ means: > ADJECTIVE:   >  1\. Impossible to capture or enter by force: _an impregnable fortress_.   >  2\. Difficult or impossible to attack, challenge, or refute with success: > _an impregnable argument_. Or, according to Wiktionary's short definition: > (Of a fortress, wall, etc.) Too strong to be penetrated. On the other hand, the meanings of _impregnate_ , in addition to "make pregnant", include > 3. To fill throughout; saturate: _a cotton wad that was impregnated with > ether_.   >  4\. To permeate or imbue: _impregnate a speech with optimism_. See Synonyms > at _charge_. > > 2. to make a substance such as a liquid spread all the way through > something: _a pad impregnated with natural oils_ > > 1. a : to cause to be filled, imbued, permeated, or saturated   >  b : to permeate thoroughly which, at a stretch, are closer to the "penetrate" meaning. Hence the question in the title. Why is this? I guess it's because, as with _inflammable_ and _flammable_, the two words come from different meanings of the _in-_ prefix; _impregnable_ from a "negation" meaning and _impregnate_ from an "into" meaning. (And indeed, the AHD gives etymology with _in- 1_ for _impregnable_, and _in- 2_ for _impregnate_.) Is this right? Some dictionaries also list a meaning for _impregnable_ that come from _impregnate_ and seem the opposite (in a loose sense) of the meaning above: the same AHD gives, as its second definition for _impregnable_ , > ADJECTIVE: Capable of being impregnated. and some Hutchinson's Dictionary of Difficult Words gives: > impregnable   >  a. able to withstand attack; capable of being fertilized; able to become or > be made pregnant. Are these "capable of being impregnated" meanings for _impregnable_ common? [Finally, if one _does_ want to express the 'easily penetrable' meaning, as in "This badly designed bulletproof jacket is easily penetrable", can one use "pregnable"? "non-impregnable"? Is there risk of confusion that "pregnable" may mean "can be made pregnant"?]


title: Is this usage of 'for which' correct?

text: I recently typed the following to a friend in an email: > Last night I went to the theatre to see a play with X. Before that, we went > for dinner at a nearby pub _for which_ my cousin came along. Now is that the correct usage of 'for which', or should I have used 'which my cousin came along to'?


title: "My hand is paining" or "my hand is hurting"

text: After a series of pull-ups, Mr P tells me   1. my hands are paining   2. my hands are hurting What is the rationale behind using _paining_ and _hurting_? What is the difference? Is one of them more appropriate or is one of them totally incorrect?


title: Present Perfect in reviews

text: When explaining an experiment from a paper which one of the following seems more suitable and natural. > In this paper they study the genetic structure of human body. They _have_ > examined over 100 patients... Or should it be simple past: > In this paper they study the genetic structure of human body. They examined > over 100 patients...


title: On the use of “technique” as a mass noun

text: The following passage appears in the preface to the first edition of P. Morse’s _Vibration and Sound_ (1936). > The vacuum tube and the other applications of electronics have provided > immensely powerful tools for the measurement, recording, and reproduction of > sound; tools which have revolutionized acoustic technique. The word **technique** is apparently being used as a mass noun, though my intuition is that in today’s American English such a usage is not common. Would someone care to discuss on the mass/noun status of this noun in different dialects of English during different time periods, or provide a general discussion of historical changes between mass/count status? I have made no effort to consult readily available reference works in order to answer my question before posting here.


title: Hyphenation of parameter(s)

text: How is `parameter`(`s`) hyphenated in UK English?                  pa-ram-e-ter (Merriam-Webster)     or pa-rame-ter  (Word XP)     or para-met-er  (TCItex)     or para-meter   (OAL Dictionary)     or pa-ra-me-ter (seems to bee the hyphenation of Parameter in German)     or pa-ra-m-e-t-er (combination of all possible locations for hyphenations)     or some other way?      Is there a difference for `parameters`? I know that there are rules about the minimum number of letters before the first hyphenation (two letters) and after the last hyphenation (three letters), but those don't appear to be strict rules but more like a recommendation. Or do they prohibit something like "paramet-er" and allow "paramet-ers" (regardless of the hyphenation being right or wrong otherwise)? As there are differences between US and UK English also regarding hyphenation, please point out if US hyphenation of `parameter`(`s`) is different. (I don't need it, but the information might be useful for somebody else.)


title: Sound you make with your mouth

text: The word that I can't remember was in a movie where one of the main characters made flower arrangements, and this guy who liked her saw them somewhere on a table in a hallway and tilted the picture that was hung on the wall behind the flowers, then he went to a book store and looked the word up in a dictionary and its definition was something like "the popping sounds your lips make when you pop your lips". It was a really weird sounding word.


title: Question regarding capital letter in scientific report

text: I'm writing a scientific report (due this evening), and I'm having some problems regarding capital letters. As usual, figures, tables, sections, etc., are given capital letters. Example: Results given in Fig. 2. See Tabs. 4-5. In one of the tables I have defined 14 integrals, where each integral is paired up with a number. These integrals are referred to by: Integrals 3-4 in Tab. 2. My question is this. Should I capitalize the I in integral, when referring to them in the middle of a sentence? Should I say: When testing with integral 4. Or: When testing with Integral 4. If the latter case, should I use an abbreviation for Integral, like I do for Figure (Fig.), Table (Tab.) and Section (Sec.)?


title: Should I refer to a person by his/ her name?

text: When writing emails, I come across a problem of whether I should refer to that person by name, or just a simple 'Hi'. Like if I don't know say Thomas Anderson and I want to mail him for the first time, do I start with a 'Hi!' or 'Hi Mr. Anderson'? I really don't know how formal this sounds, English is not my first language. (I am asking this question when emailing people professionally)


title: Why does one scream blue murder?

text: To scream blue murder is to shout loudly and make a huge fuss, sometimes with the implication that the fuss is excessive. But does anyone know why murder should be _blue?_


title: What is the origin of the phrase "blue moon"? Any alternate phrase for it?

text: Was just wondering how this phrase came into being? Was it inspired from some natural or astronomical observation? or is it the result of poetic imagination?


title: Preposition for referring to a tool

text: Is it ok to use _via_ to refer to a tool (The camera in this context) or should I use _with_ or some other conjunction > Photo by John Doe **via** Canon EOS 60D


title: "I had to go see about a girl"

text: In one of my favourite movies _Good Will Hunting_ , the main character played by Matt Damon says > I had to go **see about** a girl. Is this sentence correct, and if so does it mean the same as the following? > I had to go **see** a girl.


title: "What score are we playing until?" or how to ask it?

text: Every day Jack and Ted have about 5–15 minutes to go outside and play table tennis in the afternoon. As their free time varies each time (sometimes it's 5 minutes, sometimes 10, sometimes 15), they always agree before the game about how long their game is going to be. Though it's the time that is really limiting them, they still prefer to take their scoring in the game as their limiting factor (it's not a big problem for them if they finish one or two minutes before or after their free time is over). So, each time before the game Jack usually asks Ted,   1. "What score are we playing until?"   2. "Until what score are we playing?"   3. "What score are we playing till?"    4. "Till what score are we playing?"   5. "What score will we play until?"   6. "Until what score will we play?"   7. "What score will we play till?"    8. "Till what score will we play?"   9. or... What question would you ask in this situation?


title: "Scene", "episode", or "sequence" when talking about a movie?

text: How do you refer to one part of a movie, in which you would see only one character or a group of characters usually interacting with each other in one particular setting (= situation = place). This part may be only 30 seconds long, but in some movies it may last as long as 10 minutes or even longer. The words that I've heard from different native English speakers when referring to it are these:   1. scene   2. episode   3. sequence Perhaps, some of these words don't really refer to what I mean. What I want to know is the differences in meaning between these 3 words. And also, if you know another word to refer to what I have described above, please, tell me.


title: Meaning of "it takes a measure of doing"

text: In the novel _Dune_ by Frank Herbert, it says: > "Some day, lad," the old woman said, "you, too, may have to stand outside a > door like that. **It takes a measure of doing.** " What does it mean?


title: What is the implication of "eye of the storm"?

text: I was confused by the following sentence found in this post: > French bank shares, which have been in the eye of the storm, recovered > sharply (BNP Paribas was up 13% on the day while Société Générale rose by > 5%). My impression is, and Wikipedia says that: "The eye is a region of mostly calm weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones." If French bank shares were in the calm region, wouldn't that imply that they were largely unscathed (in comparison to their neighbors perhaps) and that they wouldn't really have anything to "recover" from? Is there some distinction that I am missing between eyes of storms, cyclones, hurricanes, etc? Am I missing something else, or does the sentence not really make sense?


title: Words for distinguishing between published/official papers and unpublished papers

text: Imagine that one wanted to present a list of (a) published academic papers and theses, and (b) unpublished papers and/or essays (I'm not sure if there is a real difference between these two concepts). Which headings would make most sense to separate the two? Papers and essays? Official papers and unofficial papers?


title: Antonym of "extol"

text: What would be the perfect antonym for _extol_?


title: What is a word for a man who has a lot of sexual relationships?

text: What do you call a man who loves and tries to have many sexual relationships with girls and usually doesn't fall in love with any of them? To clear what I'm looking for, Suppose a guy at work/university who tries to have sexual relationship with many girls and changes his choice continually one after another!


title: Opposite of "mute" or "silence" as verb

text: If I said > I **silenced** him during our online conversation or > I **muted** the television what would I use to indicate the reverse event occurred? I've seen _unmute_ used in various contexts, but it's not a real word.


title: How should you read proper nouns aloud in English?

text: When people don't know how to pronounce a word in English, they can look it up in the dictionary. However, lots of proper nouns usually can't be found, for example, English names. Here are my questions:   * When people want to read some English texts out loud, what do they usually do when they get a proper noun that they don't know how to pronounce? Are there any general rules of thumb for such a situation?    * Are the students in English-speaking countries required to read English texts out loud in elementary school? And how are they told to deal with the problem I mentioned above?


title: What is the difference between adjust and adapt?

text: I know the basic similarities between _adjust_ and _adapt_ , but I would like to know more about the differences between them. For example, which of the following sentences would be true? > It took time to adjust myself to fatherhood. or > It took time to adapt myself to fatherhood.


title: "Make of that what you will" – meaning of "will"

text: **Make of that what you will** or **Do what you will** What is the meaning of 'will' in these expressions? Here's some examples: > I have had my share of desires and goals, but my life has come to me or I > have gone to it mainly by way of mistakes and surprises. Often I have > received better than I deserved. Often my fairest hopes have rested on bad > mistakes. I am an ignorant pilgrim, crossing a dark valley. And yet for a > long time, looking back, I have been unable to shake off the feeling that I > have been led - **make of that what you will**.   >  (Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow)   >    > _**Do What You Will_** (Collected works of Aldous Huxley)    >   > Wiccan morality is largely expressed in the Wiccan Rede: _An [if] it harm > none, **do what you will_**. ... is usually interpreted as a declaration of > the freedom to act, along with the necessity of taking responsibility for > what follows from one's actions.    Here are two definitions of 'will': > v.tr.   >  1\. To decide on; choose.   >  2\. To yearn for; desire: "She makes you will your own destruction" (George > Bernard Shaw).   >  3\. To decree, dictate, or order.   >  4\. To resolve with a forceful will; determine.   >  5\. To induce or try to induce by sheer force of will: We willed the sun to > come out.   >  6\. To grant in a legal will; bequeath.   >  v.intr.   >  1\. To exercise the will.   >  2\. To make a choice; choose.   >    and: > aux.v.   >  1\. Used to indicate simple futurity: They will appear later.   >  2\. Used to indicate likelihood or certainty: You will regret this.   >  3\. Used to indicate willingness: Will you help me with this package?   >  4\. Used to indicate requirement or command: You will report to me > afterward.   >  5\. Used to indicate intention: I will too if I feel like it.   >  6\. Used to indicate customary or habitual action: People will talk.   >  7\. Used to indicate capacity or ability: This metal will not crack under > heavy pressure.   >  8\. Used to indicate probability or expectation: That will be the messenger > ringing.   >  tr. & intr.v.   >  To wish; desire: Do what you will. Sit here if you will.   > Which of these 'will's is meant? Is it short for **Make or that what you will [make of it]**? Or is it **Make of that what you determine/resolve/induce my the force of your will?** Can it be used in other tenses? eg > They made of that what they would   >  They made of that what they willed


title: The origin of "the long and the short of it"

text: I am not after the meaning, I am wondering how this phrase originated.


title: Which of "chafing at the bit" or "chomping at the bit" is more accepted/proper?

text: I've used "chafing at the bit" for quite some time, but have also heard "chomping at the bit" as a way to indicate impatience, etc. Which of these two is the more "proper" or accepted variant?


title: Meaning of "hinder parts" in the 17th century

text: While reading the works of William Laud in the edition by William Scott, I came across a description (No 2 on page 345) where it seems the Scots are upset about a ritual in which a priest turns his back to those present. Laud uses the term "hinder parts," and I'm wondering if it just means his back side (so that they're upset about the priest looking in the other direction), or if it could actually be an expression for "bottom", and the uproar is due to them feeling that the priest is turning his derrière towards them. Does anybody know a source where I could find out such things? It would be helpful if it is possible to cite the source in an academic paper. * * * Thanks to everybody who answered! Here's the entire paragraph where the term occurs: > It seems to be no great matter, that without warrant of the Book of England, > the presbyter going from the north end of the table, shall stand during the > time of consecration at such a part of the table where he may with more ease > and decency use both his hands; yet being tried, it importeth much: as that > he must stand with his **hinder parts** to the people; representing (saith > Durand) that which the Lord said to Moses, 'Thou shalt see my **hinder > parts**.'" William Laud, _The History of Troubles and Tryal Of the Most Reverend Father in God, William Laud, Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury_ , in: William Scott, The Works of the Most Reverend Father in God, William Laud, D.D., Sometime Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Vol III, Oxford: Parker, 1853, p. 345 * * * _Note: The title of the chapter has been added by the editor, but the author is still Laud; anyone who is interested can find much of his work digitized on archive.org. This one, for example, can be foundhere._


title: Geek vs Geek Out - beyond computers

text: I am struggling with new usages of the word "geek" or "geek out". In social media outlets, it's no longer confined to computers or technology, but can be related to other subjects _including_ athletics. * * * Even a quick trip to Urban Dictionary gives conflicting stories: > **geek** > >   1. The people you pick on in high school and wind up working for as an > adult >   2. Not to be confused with Nerd. A geek does not have to be smart, a Geek > is someone who is generaly not athletic, and enjoys Video Games; Comic > Books; being on the internet, and etc. > and yet > **geek out** > > The act of becoming emotionally and physically aroused by the sight or the > thought of a technicality of a certain topic of major interest. > > It resembles an "orgasm of the mind". > > Geeking out is not a universal feeling. As a result, if one person in a > group geeks out, everyone else is wondering in curiosity what is wrong with > that person. Can anyone explain what is going on here? We seem to have two points if view:   * the geek who has very specialized interests which we cannot relate to   * geeking out, when we have a specific interests and nobody can relate to us Any other theories? Even geek has achieved positive status, beating out nerd according to New York Times data. Finally when did this stop being about computers? * * * Is there a word for a non-geek? Which term correctly identifies those who enjoy programming/technology: "geek" or "nerd"? English word for taking a derogatory term and owning it with pride


title: Sequence of tenses missing - not in Reported Speech

text: SITUATION: A year ago, my friend had some financial problems of which his relatives were aware. Why do we say: _They **believed** he **was** in debt._ but: _He **was** believed to **be** in debt_ instead of: _He **was** believed to **have been** in debt_? Or do we?


title: What is the subject in this sentence?

text: I would like to know whether to use the singular or plural verb in the following sentence: > In cases where there is/are headroom, .... It seems to me that the subject ought to be "In cases where", hence the plural form should be taken. BUT, it could be argued that we are actually referring to the individual cases instead, and therefore, the singular form should be employed. Thanks for the help in advance.


title: How do I punctuate the phrase "final final exam"?

text: What is the correct punctuation for a final "final exam" that has been taken? Should the sentence read: 'That my was my final, final exam!' or 'That was my final final exam!'


title: How to express "nice to hear from you" on telephone call in business situation?

text: I am expecting a call from a staff management company who will call me. I want to reply that I am happy that they call me. How do I say this in professional (british) english? > Nice to hear from you > > Glad to hear from you > > Great to hear from you > > Please to hear from you So the context is:               "Hi, this is xxx form xxx company, you applied for the job ad xxx, do you have time?"          "Good morning, yes. I am glad to hear from you."      Is this correct to say?


title: Robbed off vs Robbed of

text: Can you please tell me which one of the following two sentences is right, and why? He is robbed **off** a huge amount of money? OR He is robbed **of** a huge amount of money? Also, is the comma here necessary? -> Can you please tell me which one of the following two sentences is **right, and why?** Thanks in advance. This is my first question, and the site has been hugely helpful to me so far. You are doing a great job.


title: The insured vs. the assured

text: Consider the following statement (written in the context of marine cargo insurance): > The _insurers_ plead negligence on the part of the _assured_. The writer is British. Is the use of _assured_ appropriate here? Or should it be _insured_? The relevant definition of _insure_ reads: > arrange for compensation in the event of damage to or loss of (property), or > injury to or the death of (someone), in exchange for regular payments to a > company or to the state: The corresponding entry for _assure_ reads: > _chiefly British_ cover (a life) by assurance:   >  we guarantee to assure your life Does this mean that you can insure _anything_ and assure only _a life_? What is the difference between _life insurance_ and _life assurance_?


title: About type in application form

text: In the application form it says print or type. If we want to type do we need to type in capital letter or just by usual way(small and capital as necessary). Thank you.


title: "an hour and a half" or "one and a half hours"

text: Are both `"an hour and a half"` and `"one and a half hours"` correct? If so, is either more appropriate in different contexts? Example context: > "The Superbowl starts in less than one and a half hours." > > "The Superbowl starts in less than an hour and a half."


title: Is this quote derogatory toward women? What does it mean?

text: What does it mean that " all soldiers stand at attention" when referring to a woman entering a room? Someone told a woman this.


title: Why do American and British English use different quotation marks?

text: American English uses double-quotes, while British English uses single-quotes: > "This is a quote." > > 'This is a quote.' Why do we use different quotation marks? When did this difference originate? Were quotation marks not standardized until relatively recently?


title: Why is “bloody” considered obscene in the UK but not in the US?

text: Why is the word _bloody_ considered obscene in the UK but not so in the US?


title: Are these consecutive prepositions?

text: > If Gryffindor won, they would move (1) **up into** second place in the house > championship. (Harry Potter book1) > > They follow him (2) **out into** the farmyard, and (3) **on into** the old > flint barn. (The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life) Are those examples of (1), (2) and (3) the same consecutive prepositions as the case in J.R.’s reply?


title: Exact meaning of "You are brand new"?

text: I run across a phrase of "You are brand new to GitHub" on the web. What makes me confused is the word "brand"; is it a noun, an adjective or an adverb?


title: What is the most appropriate pronoun for humanity?

text: Humanity lived thousands of years in the environment without any source of electric power, but in the environment with radiation **they** will be dead in a few days.


title: How to use "posthumous"?

text: I know that "posthumous" means "after one's death." But how would you use it to say: > This is shown by his posthumous weakening of the monarchy. What I mean to say is that after his death, _other people_ weakened the monarchy. Would you still use "his", or would you just say "the posthumous weakening"?


title: Are "shower gel" and "body soap" regional synonyms?

text: In Australia where I'm from solid soap has practically been replaced by shower gel except for the older generations. I expected that this type of stuff and its name came from Euro-English but now I'm in Japan where English isn't anyone's first language and the liquid soap in the shower is labeled "body soap" which I assumed was a translation by someone unaware of our "shower gel" idiom. To my surprise everybody else here thought "body soap" was the normal name for this stuff and didn't know the term "shower gel". So my question is are the two regional synonyms? Is "shower gel" only used in Australia? Or are they slightly different products neither of which is as popular in all English-speaking markets?


title: Difference in pronunciation between 'warship' and 'worship'?

text: I basically came these words across together in a text, and I was wondering whether or not they are pronounced the same way. 'War' is actually pronounced as 'wor', so I'm not entirely sure. Personally, when I pronounce them I do not hear a difference, but I'm not a native English speaker. Therefore, could anyone perhaps shed some light on the pronunciation, whether or not it is different?


title: Which of these is the correct usage "working [with / on / in]"?

text: I am trying to update my profile. Which one of these is the correct sentence that I should use in my profile?   1. I am a developer working **on** Microsoft technologies.   2. I am a developer working **in** Microsoft technologies.   3. I am a developer working **with** Microsoft technologies. (Currently, I have this after I tried the above two.)


title: How to say: after have waited or after waiting e.g. 4 hours ?

text: I' like to know which one of these (or maybe there is another correct way to say it)is correct:   * after have waited ( e.g. 1 hour )   * after waiting ( e.g. 1 hour )


title: Is the phrase 'according to me' correct?

text: Is the saying "According to me" correct? I believe it's incorrect, and that "In my opinion" is better. Can anyone clarify?


title: What does "coming apart at the seams" mean?

text: > Meanwhile, Europe’s single currency is coming apart at the seams. In the example above and in general.


title: Is this an example of irony?

text: > It's ironical that Linux, the most secure OS, is commonly used to hack other > machines. Is that sentence correct, with respect to the irony part?


title: A word for a joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh

text: There is a word for this in Indonesian language: **jayus**. (Maybe, it is used in Filipino and Malaysian language also.) It is a joke that is so bad, it's funny. It is often mentioned as untranslatable. I wonder if there is any English equivalent though. (and yes, English does not have to have a word for everything but there is always a chance or we can find a close match at least.) * * * **Lame joke** is mentioned in some of the sources but it does not quite fit. Here is an explanation: > Some argue that “lame joke” would do just fine, but not all lame jokes can > make one laugh. A joke becomes a jayus when those who heard it laughed, not > at the joke but at the person’s failed attempt to deliver a punch line.   >  Source: ~


title: Which of "is acquired by" or "is acquired to" is preferred?

text: In the following sentence: > They have access to private information that can only be acquired by those > who invest millions of dollars in network communication... should I say the following instead? > They have access to private information that can only be acquired **to** > those who invest millions of dollars in network communication...


title: Is this 'as' a conjunction?

text: I guess ‘as’ is a conjunction. If then, is as-clause an adjective clause that modifies ‘Muggle money’? > There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't > understand 'Muggle money,' **as he called it** , gave the bills to Harry so > he could buy their tickets.


title: What is the meaning of the phrase "common humanity"?

text: What is _common humanity_ as Dickens uses it? > “You will excuse me,” said the gentleman contemptuously, “if I am too much > in advance of common humanity to trouble myself at all about it. I have > passed the night — as indeed I pass the whole of my time now — in spiritual > intercourse.”


title: What is the name for words which, when the order of letters is reversed, spell other words?

text: For example:   * Lamina / Animal   * Dog / God    * Ogre / Ergo   * Desserts / Stressed   * Tuba / Abut These are all anagrams, but they are a special type of anagram, where the order of letters is exactly reversed. They aren't palindromes, as they spell a _different_ word when read backwards. I feel like there should be some sort of latin-sounding name for them, but the best I can come up with is the rather imprecise-sounding "backwards words", "mirror anagrams" or "reverse spelling pairs"...


title: Words for not keeping up with supposed pace

text: I was wondering if there are some words that describe the characteristic of some person that does not keep up with some supposed pace. For example, in orchestra performance by a team, one performer playing his instrument always lags behind by a certain amount of time. Another example, unlike other students, a student seldom ask questions in classes. But he asks a lot of questions after classes. The reason is that he needs more time to think in classes than other students, so not able to keep up with the paces of the classes and not to say to ask questions (although I don't think it is a bad thing).


title: Best single word for work chain

text: Can you suggest a single word that convey the meaning ' **hierarchy of developers engaged in work** '?