title: Is there a word or term for an attempt to simplify but which complicates instead?

text: Specifically something which seems simpler than an alternative at first glance but is actually complex on a closer examination. There are some things that have been coming up at work that fit this description, but I feel like if I had a good word or term for the phenomenon people would better heed my warnings. Edit: My particular situation is in software development, but isn't exactly scope creep or over-engineering. I'm not at liberty to provide a detailed example, of which there have been several, but the one that motivated this post is the selection of a tool. The tool that a coworker has recommended has a very simple interface. The fallacy that I'm trying to describe is that the tool will make easy tasks easier at the expense of making harder tasks harder. Edit 2: A better example (for the software engineers, anyways) would be duck- typing like in Python. At first glance, it should make things easier, you don't need to declare a type for every parameter and variable. In large projects (IMHO) this adds complication because its harder to track which parameters expect which data types.


title: The Function of “breathing" in This Sentence

text: > For sometime, all that could be heard in the dim subway with its melancholy > ambiance, was the sound of Joe and I breathing. How to analyse the word "breathing" used in the sentence above? Are they trying to say "I and Joe who was breathing" or "the breathing of I and Joe"?


title: lexy - definition

text: I have just encountered this word on a news entitled " 'Unfriend' or 'Defriend?' Facebook Fans Debate", and here is the sentence: "No, unfriend is definitely more lexy," wrote another commenter. (link: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/AheadoftheCurve/unfriend-defriend-facebook- fans-debate/story?id=9106240) Actually I have looked for the definition of the word "lexy" online ( that's the only tool I have now) and Urban Dictionary was the only one I found mentioning this, but the definitions given in this dictionary doesn't seem fit the sentence well (except for the second one, which seems to fit the sentence above most and the writer of which wrote that it is a combination of "lush+sexy", whereby it means "highly fashionable"), so I would like to ask you. Thank you.


title: the difference between "no", "not" and "none"?

text: How do we differentiate the use of "no", "not" and "none" ?   _I do not have a chair_   _I do no have a chair_   _I have no a chair_   _I have none a chair_


title: What do you call a person who is always online on the Internet?

text: Is there any specific word for a person who is always online on the Internet? I am just curious to know because staying online is like a profession nowadays.


title: How to pluralize "Air de cour"?

text: An _air de cour_ is a type of Baroque song. If I’m talking about several of these, would I say “we played some _airs de cour_ ”? Frankly, and especially since this is a foreign phrase (French), the thing that seems most natural to me in speaking it aloud is actually to say “ _air de cours_ ”. I realize this is not correct in French speech, but in English, it wouldn’t sound right at all to say “ _airs de cour_ ”, particularly since the “ _de cour_ ” means nothing to most saxophones. Of course, I would never say “I bought some _jar of chocolates_ ”, but that’s because the “ _of chocolates_ ” means something in English, so it would sound wrong and be wrong. It seems to me that in pluralizing a foreign noun phrase, it may as well be treated as a single word when spoken aloud, with the _s_ added at the end. Is there a rule on this?


title: Why is it called a semi-truck? Doesn’t “semi” mean “part”?

text: I was wondering why semi-trucks are called that. Doesn’t _semi_ mean “part of”? A semi-truck is a whole truck if I ever saw one!


title: The Black Country in UK

text: I have encountered the name _The Black Country_ in old books. From Wikipedia: > The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands > conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east > of Wolverhampton. Is that name still applicable to this area nowadays? Is it a widely known definition among the UK population and English speaking society, in general?


title: Alternatives to "kick your a**"

text: I would like to have an alternative phrase that is equivalent to _kick your ass_ , but without using _ass_. What other words can I use instead? Some friends suggested _kick your bacon_ (but I am not sure if this means the same thing). I thought about using _butt_ but this is another word I would like not to use. Can I be classy and have the same impact at the same time? Or at least not be that vulgar? The context I am using the expression is > I am gonna **kick your ass** out of the bed.


title: Use of "and lo" in a sentence

text: What, if any, is the right way to use "and lo" in a sentence? My basic structure is "[discussion about thing], and lo, [example of thing]", kind of like: There's a cliche about circus clowns being creepy and dangerous, and lo, last night I saw a clown violating a teddy bear. Is this proper? Should there be a colon or semicolon after "lo"?


title: Is there a word/ short phrase for extension of self / positive reflection of self?

text: I'm looking for a word / short phrase for "extension of self" (or at least "positive reflection of self") one could give to something they've created. E.g. A company could be named `_______` implying that the company and or products/services share characteristics/traits of the owner. _Related words: representation, pride, personification, legacy._   What I'm looking for is almost like inheritance but more like "inheritance of my self", in a word. * * * The 'coolest' sounding answer will get preference.   If you don't fully understand my question, don't downvote or even answer; post a comment and I'll explain. * * * ### Edit: "Extension of self" pretty much defines it but it needs to imply "extension of me" not "extension of one's self"; i.e. the word/phrase needs to imply self- embodiment. E.g. A portfolio of projects could be named "Pieces of Me" or something. Hope this helps.


title: consecutive occurrences in one word

text: I need to know the common word used for the event which occurs consecutively. Can anyone suggest me some commonly used words which describes the same? Thank you


title: How can I describe a "one or more" condition (one that has many options; a "non-boolean")?

text: Generally speaking a boolean condition is understood to be an "either/or" relationship; for example, something is hot or cold. What's do you call a "one or more" condition, e.g. something that can have many colors? To add a bit of clarification, in conversation most people understand Boolean to be an "either/or" proposition, whether there are two or more conditions, as when you ask someone to pick a single color of paint (red, green, or blue). When discussing that with non-programmers, I find they perfectly understand that when I describe it as a boolean condition. However, I don't seem to know what to call a "one or more" condition, for example, "pick any colors that you like: red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple." I find my self saying "non-boolean" which isn't all that useful. \-- EDIT -- Rubergly's answer gave me an interesting thought: Boolean is similar to "dichotomous" and also similar to "binary" (1 or 0). Trinary means set of three... so is "polynary" a word, or is there something similar?


title: What are the origins of the idiom "dying to..."?

text: Where did the expression "dying to..." come from? e.g. > I'm dying to meet you.


title: What does the door do?

text: We would like to enlist your help in arbitrating this grammatical dilemma. Given the question: > What does the door do? Which of the following options is most correct as a response to the question? >   1. Close. >   2. Closes. > Please pick _only_ from the given options and _do not modify_ them in any way. (I have asked people in the past and they have responded with more-than-one- word answers. ) Please explain your answer. There are 20 dollars riding on the answer to this question.


title: a passage in Dracula

text: In _Dracula_ , there is this passage: > Tell your friend that when that time you suck from my wound so swiftly the > poison of the gangrene from that knife that our other friend, too nervous, > let slip, you did more for him when he wants my aids and you call for them > than all his great fortune could do. in which I am puzzled by " _you did more for him when he wants my aids and you call for them than all his great fortune could do._ " How comes present tense " _when he wants_ " goes with past tense " _you did more for him_ "? What does it mean as a whole? Would any native speaker be so kind to explain?


title: What's built-in bull detector

text: "Ernest Hemingway decided to write stories that spotlighted the harsh truth alive in this world, he said anybody trying to do that better have a built-in bull detector" What is " built-in bull detector "


title: Euphemism for poo

text: In German, we call the result of one particular dump as well as the doing it itself > sein Geschäft machen (to do a deal/business) This is common and fit for print. Is there something similar in English that I could use in the following sentence > After his morning ___ ,... Or what other ways are there to express that without being vulgar or too technical?


title: Difference between "town", "city" and "metropolis"?

text: Is there a certain size for each of these terms?


title: British usage of “cha”, “char” or “chai” to mean “tea”

text: By happenstance, I stumbled upon the words _cha_ , _char_ and _chai_ in the dictionary today, all defined as meaning _tea_ in informal British English. I lived and worked in London for some time, but never heard it used, so I am wondering: **is it specific to certain dialects? Or is it dated?** The _Oxford English Dictionary_ doesn't mention anything like that.


title: What's the difference between "null" and "void" in legal language?

text: In the legal term "null and void," what is the difference between _null_ and _void_? Why not just use one of the two terms? And can either term be used without the other?


title: What is the counterpart of an appendix?

text: The appendix is what is appended to something. How do we call something that is prepended to something else?


title: Should I say this forum is a free 'voting discussion' or 'voted discussion' site?

text: I'm building a forum where people can ask questions and get replies. Those questions and replies can get votes but no one can be targeted as best answer. What's the right way of saying that? This forum is a free 'voting discussion' or 'voted discussion' site?


title: "What kind of stuff is it?" vs "What kind of stuff it is?"

text: Please advise which version of the question is correct and what's the rule governing it?


title: What word is complimentary, but sounds like "chunky"?

text: For a discussion I'm having with a colleague, we're trying to think of complimentary words that sound ugly. Any that rhyme with chunky (or anything else for that matter).


title: Preposition to follow "copy and paste"

text: > The rows should be copied and pasted to the spreadsheet. Does that sound right? If not, how could we reword the sentence? I ask because "to" applies to "paste" but not to "copy". The logical preposition to follow "copy" would be "from", but I don't see how it would fit in this sentence.


title: Neither... nor... nor (more than one "nor")

text: Is it correct to use more than one "nor" clause in a "neither" expression? For instance: "Neither the question, nor the answers, nor the comments"? Even if it is, is it so rarely used that it would be better to reword the sentence, or it is fine to use it?


title: Common antonyms to "happy ending"?

text: I know you may specify to something like _tragic, open end_ to describe actually what the end is like. But do English critics/reviewer in movie magazines use a common term for movies with _bad/evil endings_ or simply refer to them as _no happy ending_ (as most movies have to have a happy ending) to classify such films? I mainly ask as I need some proper keywords to find those rare films.


title: Idiom about a chicken or not?

text: I faced this phrase when the author of the blog post titled The Future Of Lisp wanted to show that nothing is clear: "What, when, why and where did my chicken go?" What does this phrase mean? Is it an idiom or not?


title: Where does the phrase "dry run" come from?

text: I've heard the phrase "dry run" being used with the meaning of rehearsal, experiment or test exercise in various contexts. For example:   * They did a **dry run** of the demonstration before showing it to the CEO.   * Practice with a **dry run**. Organise a dress rehearsal within two weeks of the wedding to ensure...   * A **dry run** of the software release will be executed to ensure that the release plan is correct and clear to everybody.  However, **wet run** would not make sense in any of these contexts. So, why "dry"? Where does "dry run" come from?


title: Is “Not to generalize or anything” an idiomatic parenthesis?

text: September 18 Time magazine’s article titled “How Mitt Romney’s Luck Ran Out” introduced GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s observation covertly recorded at a Florida fundraiser to the effect that: > ... the 47% of Americans who pay no federal income taxes will never vote for > him because they "believe they are victims" entitled to endless government > support and will never "take personal responsibility and care for their > lives.” It is followed by this sentence: > _Not to generalize or anything_. _This,_ just days after Romney’s rash > statement late on the night of Sept. 11 suggesting that the Obama > Administration sympathized with the violent mobs in Cairo and Benghazi. What does “ _Not to generalize or anything_ ” mean? Doesn’t “Not to generalize” suffice? Is “or anything” necessary? Is this a common idiomatic phrase, or parenthesis? In passing, I don’t find a verb that explains what “ _This_ ” that follows “Not to generalize or anything” in the above excerpt. What is the predicate of “This”?


title: What does "the globe over" mean?

text: I read this sentence in a book review. I can understand the sentence but, I am confused by _the globe over_. > Human history? Global economy? Her evidence for women _the globe over_ > consists of thin, small facts cherry-picked to support outsize claims.   * What part of speech is "the global over" in the above sentence and what does it mean?   * How about _cherry-picked_?


title: What's the word in English for something that could have attachments to it?

text: I'm a programmer and making an attachment system. Where you could have a weapon, and different components that you could attach to it, to give it extra behavior. Example: an M16 and a: silencer, scope, laser, etc. Now, I could call the components "attachments" - But what about the weapon? I thought I could call it "Attachee" but it didn't turn out to be an English word. Also thought about "Attachable", but not sure about it... is it correct? If not, then what is the right word? Thanks.


title: which one should I use for this question 'faster or fast'

text: I should walk **_______** so I can catch up with my brother. Is the answer is fast or faster?


title: "It was my birthday yesterday" vs. "My birthday was yesterday"

text: Is there a difference between the following sentences? > It was my birthday yesterday. > > My birthday was yesterday. When should I use "it was something yesterday/a few days ago/..." and when should I use "something was yesterday/..."?


title: "physically attractive" vs. "attractive physically"

text: I have come across the following sentence in a dictionary: > Though not very **attractive physically** , she possessed a good sense of > humour. I think the adverb "physically" postmodifies the adjective "attractive" to form the adjective phrase "attractive physically". But as far as I know the usual order is **adverb(s) + adjective** (where adverbs premodify an adjective), so I wonder if this is a special case and if there is a rule for it. If I change the sentence to > Though not very physically attractive, she possessed a good sense of humour. does this sound as good as the original sentence?


title: Humans or people?

text: This is the sentence I've read: > Freedom is something humans in all times have fought for. I am under the impression that the use of _humans_ is not adequate here. Thus, my question is: when to use _humans_ and when _people_ in general and what is the semantic difference?


title: What does "low" mean in this context?

text: > That's some 3rd world begging skill right there. Obviously she isn't from > here, but that's low as f***. The comment was made based on this video.


title: Is there a word that means the results of a test can only be positive or inconclusive?

text: Is there a word for this? For instance, a medical test where a positive result would be conclusive but any other result would not be.


title: double whammy usage for two good things?

text: The phrase "double whammy" is used in a situation where two bad things happen but can it be used in a situation where two good things happen? I didn't know "double whammy" is used in a situation with two bad things! All I believed was whammy was something good. Can anyone suggest another phrase for a situation where two good things happen?


title: Verb for blowing up zombies

text: A zombie is approaching you, but all is well since you happen to have a live grenade in your hands. Is there at all a one-word term for the act of throwing that grenade at the zombie and successfully blowing it up? More generally, is there an explicit one-word term for actively blowing something up (not necessarily with a grenade), preferably one with some sort of corresponding noun? Consider firearms... a good example, if in bad taste: > I will _shoot_ you, zombie. > > I _shot_ the zombie. > > I fired two _shots_ at the zombie. In my case: > I will ???? you, zombie.   >  (candidates: "explode" - sounds awkward; "will blow you up" -works, but I > really need a one-word phrase for elegance) > > I ???? the zombie. > > I fired two _grenades_ at the zombie. I am designing a small game where I am already using one-word terms like "snipes", "kills", etc. It would be nice to have some one word expression for blowing things up that I can easily use with quantifiers. "Explosions" isn't a bad choice, but I feel like I can do better - it seems odd to say "I scored 4 more explosions than you did," and it also seems a bit ambiguous (could just as easily mean a place or object just as easily as personnel or zombies, whereas 'snipes' and 'kills' are not ambiguous). Yes, the game does involve zombies.


title: "Sorting on" vs. "Sorting by"

text: Recently asked a question of a colleague: > Are you _sorting_ this list _by_ acronym? He responded: > Yes, I’m _sorting on_ acronym (ascending). Emphasis mine in each case. Is one correct and not the other? Or does it depend on what is being sorted?


title: What does "trigger-happy on broken windows" mean?

text: What does this expression mean:   * to be "trigger-happy on broken windows"


title: What do "muckraker" and "rake muck" mean?

text: Are they the same? What do they mean? Here is the sentence: > I was one of the most experienced. All of us were judged by our ability to > **rake muck**. The head **muckraker** was Frederica Jansz...


title: Which of these meanings for the word "pet" came first?

text: The word "pet" has a few different definitions (my own paraphrase):   * n: An animal kept for companionship.   * v: To affectionately caress. My question is, which of these usages originated first? Do we refer to companion animals as "pets" because we pet them? Or is the act of "petting" so dubbed because it is what we do to pets?


title: When should you use "Title Case"?

text: Are there any guidelines for when you should capitalize titles/headings or not? Should you always do this in English? I am referring to **A Capitalized Heading** vs **A capitalized heading**


title: What's a good word for a person that's being followed?

text: Wondering what the correct word to use for a person who is being followed. All I can think of is a followee, which doesn't seem correct. It's being used in a twitter like system of followers and people being followed (followees).


title: Are there metaphoric English expressions meaning “keeping composure at a fatal moment, never panicky”?

text: We have a Japanese old saying, “俎板の上の鯉－manaita no ueno koi, a carp laid on a chopping block” for describing (1) a critical situation you cannot avoid, and (2) a person who is self-poised at such a critical moment. This metaphor comes from the legend that carp is still and composed unlike other fish, like eel when laid on a chopping board. I think it corresponds to the spirit of ‘葉隠-Hagakure’, the Bushido’s bible written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a senior samurai in Saga-Nabeshima fief in 1716, in which he says the ultimate goal of Bushido is to recognize when, where, how, and for what you should die. Though I’ve never seen a carp placed on a cutting board, we use this simile for various occasions for facing predicament and requiring rational judgment / action in such a way; “The company is considering a massive layoff, I’m a carp on a chopping block,” “The governor behaved like a carp on a chopping block when he was sued for sex scandals,” "My husband said "I'm a carp on a chopping block," when he was told he was at the terminal stage of cancer by his doctor." Are there metaphoric expressions similar to “a carp laid on a chopping block” which implies keeping composed at eleventh hour, preferably using a bird, beast, or fish, like a carp?


title: decoration or remodel or upgrade?

text: Suppose that I bought an old house, and changed walls and windows, repainted the house, used new wallpaper, bought new sofa, table, etc... For this kind of thing, which word is more appropriate, "decoration" or "remodel" or "upgrade"?


title: Why do English writers avoid explicit numerals?

text: > The junction has a stop sign on each of the four entrances.   >  The junction has a stop sign on each of the 4 entrances. The first is preferred, for some reason, by many English texts. Why? I haven't seen this phenomenon in other languages.


title: Writing numbers that are less than two digits in length

text: I was told that numbers under two digits should be written out alphabetically (e.g. one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine), and that anything two digits or over should be written out numerically (e.g. 10, 20, 100, 200, 1,400). Is this best practice, and if so, how come? I feel that it looks better but I'm not quite sure why this is objectively better than writing them all out numerically (e.g. 1, 2, 3, 10, 20, 100 etc.) Thanks


title: When I use numbers, when should I spell the word as opposed to just using the number?

text: I've just read this in a review: > Thankfully, the energy efficient Qualcomm chip helped the handset reach a > best-ever score of 17 hours and 30 minutes in our continuous video rundown > test. Compared to the outgoing model, which lasted ten hours 43 minutes in > the same test The first part uses _17 hours_ while the second part uses _ten hours_. Which is correct? What are the rules to determine when which should be used?


title: Spelling of small numbers?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Why do English writers avoid explicit numerals? In German, numbers below (and including) twelve are spelt out (eins, zwei, ...) while the numbers above twelve are usually written as numbers (13, 14, ...). It's an informal rule, but still. Is this similar in English?


title: When to spell out numbers

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Why do English writers avoid explicit numerals? Based on my previous question regarding spelling out monetary amounts, is there a rule of thumb when a number should be spelled out? These examples are easy: > I have **two** brothers. > > It's exactly **823** miles to New York. But do I have **15** minutes of fame, or **fifteen** minutes of fame? **Edit:** This related question asks how the practice of spelling out numbers originated; I'm looking for _specific guidelines_.


title: Word choice of "one" and "a"?

text: Should one use "one" or "a" in the following sentence? > Each path is sampled and evaluated in **a** （ **one** ） separate thread > executed on the GPU. Note that each path corresponds to one thread. So there are many threads with each executing one unique path. Thanks!


title: Can the term "G-Man" be used to describe a Government official who is not an FBI agent?

text: Earlier today I was doing Merl Reagle's crossword and one of the clues was "Fraud fighting Fed." The answer turned out to be "T-Man," being short for "Treasury Man." So, this got me thinking... Though the slang term **"G-Man"** is short for " **Government-Man,** " it seems _exclusively_ used to describe FBI agents. I think I understand _why_ this is the case (given the origin of the term and its subsequent dramatization in popular culture). However, many departments within the U.S. Government fight organized crime and conduct criminal investigations. _With that in mind, can, for example, a CIA operative be considered a G-Man? Or a Secret Service agent?_


title: "I was used to do" vs. "I was used doing"

text: Good day everyone, Looked around and didn't find the desired answer to my question. Would you please be kind to give me a hand with the following: "I was used to do..." or "I was used to swim here" vs "I was used doing..." or "I was used swimming in here" Are they all correct? Thank you


> Girl: "I've made my decision, Father". > > Her Father: "You've ruined so many prospects, Lucy". > > Girl: "Hmm.Nothing but boys, following in their father's footsteps. **I'd > know my life before I had even lived it** ". Is this sentence ( _I'd know my life before I had even lived it_ ) past or imaginary present? If it is past then why aren't we saying "I **knew** my life before I had even lived it"? What does "would" mean here? Here is a link http://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=savannah It's from a movie 'Savannah'


title: Should I be using "require" or "requires" in the sentence below?

text: An established South African survey business specialising in engineering and topographical surveys for infrastructure development & construction projects across Africa **_requires_** a Survey Manager to join their team based in Pretoria.


title: Unsure whether to use "enquire" or "inquire"

text: I have read the post Enquire and inquire. It was illuminating, but I am unsure which version to use. I am an American, but am writing to a woman in England. It is a formal business letter, and the context is: "I am writing to _enquire_..." Is this appropriate, as I believe it fits the criteria mentioned in the other post, or should I use _inquire_?


title: Is 'I had it sent him' an appropriate sentence?

text: > (1) I had it sent to him. > > (2) I had it sent him. I thought the first one is right, and the second is wrong. Yet Google Books has the second example’s graph. Is the second also an appropriate sentence? ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/P4Sh0.jpg)


title: "That hurts" or "that hurt"?

text: I checked on the Internet, it's all out there, sometimes it is "That hurt" and sometimes it's "That hurts", so which one is correct?


title: Use of "it" in titles

text: Is the following question title grammatical or not, despite some missing articles? > Way of obtaining Chomsky normalform, does it influence performance of CYK > parser? P.S.: is there an English grammar web site that shows the used "it" pronoun pattern or a similar pattern? Maybe something along _Participial Phrase_?


title: Differences between "inasmuch as" vs "as much as"

text: Can anyone provide me with some examples illustrating the differences between mentioned adjectives. Is it possible to use them interchangeably on various occasions?


title: Single Word for "Clip-Clopping" Sound

text: > The clip-clopping of the businessman's footsteps against the linoleum floor > echoed down the hallway. Is there a better word I can substitute for "clip-clopping" here?


title: Origin of square and cube as verbs

text: Whence did the verbs 'square' and 'cube', in the sense (if there exist others) of 'to the second power' and 'to the third power' respectively, originate? There is some degree of similarity between the verbs and the nouns, but not really a great deal, seems more of an evocative relation. While not strictly applicable to this site, more for a sense of the age of the terms, do any other Romantic or Germanic languages use the same constructions for their powers? And finally, given the pattern, is there any precedent at all for tesseract or one of the myriad other words for a 4-cube being used to indicate the fourth power? This may be too esoteric, but it is, strictly speaking, English usage, so it probably belongs here more than the math board.


title: Preciseness and precision

text: Fowler says to avoid _-ion_ words to describe a state or quality and to instead choose _-ness_ words for this purpose. _-ion_ should describe a process or action. Yet he writes: > So far as the words are used with overlapping meanings, preciseness is > differentiated by implying the importance of precision is exaggerated. > Preciseness rather than precision is the attribute of a precisian. So what does this mean? Merriam-Webster also seems to say that _preciseness_ carries "so strong implication of severity or strictness", and gives an example as "there was a certain amount of preciseness about the young man". What do you think is the best choice? By ear, I was just going to replace _preciseness_ with _precision_.


title: 'Letters as letters', 'words as words'

text: Aside from italics, is it okay (especially in British English) to denote the plurals of 'letters as letters', 'numbers and numbers' and 'words as words' as I've done below? Also, I'm aware of doing it like this—a's, 8's, etc. Are these okay with single markers on each side?   1. Harold's 'a's look like '8's.   2. too many 'whereas's and 'maybe's Thank you.


title: What does 'even' mean in this context?

text: Even is one of those words with lots of meanings. It can mean divisible by two or flat/level. But it can be used in a sentence such as this: > Are you even listening? > > What time does the shop even close? I realise how it makes a difference to the meaning of the sentence... but how? What does it actually mean something in this sentence? Does it _even_ mean anything?


title: What word will literally convey '52 times a year'?

text: If I do something twice a year, it's semi-annual. But what if I do something 52 times a year? I have to send a reminder to my team about our weekly meeting (update their minutes, time, projects, etc). Traditionally, we all add some personal flavor to it. I'm looking to spice it up by referring to the meeting as a [word- meaning-split-into-52]annual meeting. Additional commentary: It has been suggested that 'duoquinquagensimannual' may be the proper term. However a search on Google has provided yields only this post, leaving me to believe there may be a more appropriate term. Additionally, I sent the reminder this morning using the phrase 'Hebdomadal' as suggested. It does accurately convey what the meeting is, while still making it less boring than 'weekly'. (Pff, how boring is weekly?) However, despite its usefulness at solving my business concern, it fails to meet the specific criteria set forth by the request. So it will indeed be useful for anyone else potentially seeking the same phrase I seek, we're unfortunately left with an unanswered question.


title: Is there any difference between "talk to someone" and "talk with someone"?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "Speak to" vs. "Speak with" Well, the question is in the title. I always had the impression that "talk to someone" refers to situations when some information must be conveyed to someone else, while "talk with someone" refers to cases that involve a more complex two-sided interaction. E.g., I "talk to my colleague" to tell him that I'm going for a lunch break (no response is required apart from maybe an acknowledgment), while I go and "talk with my colleague" if I have to discuss something with him in detail. Is this correct, or is there any difference between the two phrases, or is there no difference at all?


title: 'May I speak to....' vs 'May I speak with...' vs 'May I talk to...'

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "Speak to" vs. "Speak with"   >  What is the difference between “speaking” and “talking”? What is the ideal opening line for a phone conversation? In my opinion, 'speak to' would ideally denote a one-sided conversation and 'talk to' sounds more aggressive than the other 2. Is there a particular telephone etiquette which clarifies this? What is the difference between 'talk' and 'speak'? Also, does the rank/designation/seniority of the other person affect the use of 'speak' or 'talk'?


title: "Speak to" vs. "Speak with"

text: What are the differences between these two phrasal verbs and what are the best situations to use each?


title: Is there a sentence containing every letter without repeating?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Shortest pangram Does anyone know of a coherent sentence that contains every letter in the alphabet without repeating any?


title: Perfect English Pangram

text: Is there a perfect pangram for English language, a sentence that uses all 26 English letters that appear only once? Polish, Dutch and Russian, all has perfect pangrams. > Polish: _Pójdźże, kiń tę chmurność w głąb flaszy!_ (perfect pangram: all 32 > letters of the Polish alphabet appear only once). > > Dutch: _Lynx c.q. vos prikt bh: dag zwemjuf!_ (perfect pangram: all 26 > letters, containing 26 letters). > > Russian: _Любя, съешь щипцы, — вздохнёт мэр, — кайф жгуч_ (perfect pangram: > all 33 letters of the Russian Cyrillic alphabet appear only once). I was wondering if there is such in English.


title: Alphabetical listing of film names with articles

text: I am making a list of movies, where should I put films that contain articles in their names? I know normally articles are ignored but in this context the naming is also part of a film's design, so should it be different? So how would you list the following from A-to-Z? Of Mice and Men   A Serious Man   The Bourne Identity   Amelie   Batman   Terminator


title: Is the word "savage" offensive?

text: Is it? If it depends on context, please provide some examples of offensive and not offensive usage ;) What I have in mind is to say something like "The Zulu were a savage people compared to e.g. the United Kingdom".


title: Is there a word to describe a highly desirable cursed treasure?

text: Is there a single word to describe an object or idea that is so desirable that everyone wants to attain it but once they have it they are immediately cursed? The idea is often used in literature—some examples:   * In _Lord of the Rings_ , the 'one ring' is a perfect example of this.   * In Guy de Maupassant's story _The Necklace_ , the necklace might be considered to be this.   * There are many stories of people making deals with the devil (see question: What does "Faustian bargain" mean?), or being granted three wishes by a Djinn or fairy, which inevitably turn out bad.   * In the Twilight Zone episode _Time Enough at Last_ , Bemis's desire to be left alone with his books would be an example of this word. 'Bane' covers the _cursed_ part, but no one desires it. Is there a single word to describe a most highly desired treasure that (knowingly or unknowingly) comes with a curse?


title: Usage of "please" at the beginning of a sentence

text: > Please report more details.   >  Please do not send your faxes from the office.   >  Please do not hesitate to contact us from our website. Does _please_ have the same meaning, in those sentences?   In the second sentence, could it be understood as _I demand/ask you don't send your faxes from the office_? What is the difference between _please do not sent your faxes from the office_ , and _do not sent your faxes from the office_?


title: "What can I be of help"

text: In a forum of a website, I read the following sentences (the writer is referring to a session in a conference): > Makes lots of sense. Not sure what can I be of help (and I already have two > sessions on the official schedule), but would be happy to be of help. Is it correct to say _what can I be of help_?   Is it commonly used? Is it used in restricted groups?


Is the hyphen used in British publications in lieu of the em dash? I've seen the hyphen used (in place of the dash) in 'The Guardian' and 'The BBC'. Is this okay to do? Would you ever use the hyphen as a replacement for the em dash? Or is this heavily frowned upon and out-and-out wrong? I think it looks good; the em dash is too dang long. Example: _Her qualities - determination, dedication and commitment - have not gone unrecognized._


title: "Attempts to acquaint" vs. "attempts at acquainting"

text: > The research study is an eye-opener and **attempts to acquaint/attempts at > acquainting** us with the problems of poor nations. For me, _attempts to acquaint_ sounds more apt. But I am not sure about the latter one. Also, in my answer sheet, the latter one is given as the right answer. But I have heard phrases like _attempt to murder._ Could anyone explain the correct usage?


title: What's a better replacement for the word "enemy"?

text: What's a better replacement for the word _enemy_? I'm not simply looking for a synonym, I'm looking for one that fits this context: > When you don't know how to use your firearm, you could essentially become > the **attacker**. My superior has been slightly vague, saying he'd like the word _attacker_ changed to something else, as it doesn't "sound right." (His suggestion was, 'You become the danger', but in my opinion that's not much better.) The synonyms I found for _attacker_ didn't fit very well, so I'm trying to find another way to express this thought.


title: What's the phrase for "learning throughout one's life"?

text: How should one refer to somebody who wants to gain knowledge all the time and keeps learning in life even when very old? What's the phrase for the same? My dictionary says "learn and live."


title: Is it common to end an email with a question?

text: Lately, I encounter marketing emails which are concluded with a question and followed by a name/position signature. Schematically, these are constructed as follows: > I notice you were once interested. Here is more information I would like to > bother you with. > > Are you familiar with these newer technologies? > > Joe Doe,   >  The Chief Marketing Specialist Is ending an email with a question like that permissible?


title: One - does common English usage equate that to "you" (2nd person) or "he/she" (3rd person)?

text: I am proof reading an academic paper on computer programming and am trying to ensure pronouns conform. This is an example sentence: > Accordingly, _one_ considers some entry fees in _his_ strategic bidding, > even in a single-shot static auction... Can one swap between "one" and "his"?


title: What does "open up a vein" mean?

text: I found the phrase 'open up a vein of fury' in the article of today's Washington Post as shown below. > The New Year's Day suicide bombing of a church that killed 21 people has > **opened up a vein** of fury among Egypt's Christians, built up over years > of what they call government failure to address persistent discrimination > and violence against their community. What does 'open up a vein of' mean exactly? Why should the writer use 'open up a vein of' in this particular case, instead of other expressions, for instance 'a spell of anger' or simply 'has infuriated'? Can somebody teach me?


title: U-English of the 1950s: what was used instead of "ON holiday"?

text: I am reading _U and non-U_ by Alan S.C. Ross, written in 1956. He wrote that the preposition _on_ was non-U in the following sentence: > She's _on_ holiday This made me wonder what the correct U preposition or other expression was. I tried some prepositions in Ngrams, like _at, with,_ and _in_ , but none made me any wiser; I saw mainly noun adjectives and other noise. Does anyone have an idea what other preposition or expression might have been used? * * * (Search words: `on holiday, U, non-U`)


title: Sentence comparison

text: > According to a survey of graduating medical students conducted by the > Association of American Medical Colleges, minority graduates are nearly four > times **more likely than are** other graduates **in planning to practice** > in socioeconomically deprived areas. > > * * * > > According to a survey of graduating medical students conducted by the > Association of American Medical Colleges, minority graduates are nearly four > times **as likely as** other graduates **to plan on practicing** in > socioeconomically deprived areas. Which sentence is better?   1. Does the "conducted" modifies "survey" or "Medical students"?   2. What is the difference between "in planning to practice" and "to plan on practicing"?   3. Shouldn't the second sentence be "minority graduates are nearly four times as likely as are other graduates to plan on practicing ..."


title: Simple past or present perfect when describing a series of recent actions

text: I, as an American, would opt for the simple past rather than the present perfect in the following sentence: Today she has gone to a class, and after that she has been shopping. Is this sentence permissible in British English? My understanding is that British English favors the present perfect when talking about a time period that is not yet over, as in this case, but I still can't help thinking that this sentence sounds terribly wrong. Thanks for any help you can give me.


Whilst plodding through Patrick Rothfuss' "The Name of the Wind", I came across: > Our dinner was nowhere near as grand as last night's. We **made due with** > the last of my now-stale flatbread, dried meat, and the last potatoes baked > on the edge of the fire. I've seen "make do" mangled into "make due" before on the Interwebz. But this is the first time that I've run across it in a professional work. A quick search on Google Books reveals that Rothfuss and his editor are not the only ones who are happy to let this one pass. Most language sites on the net including this one continue to gently correct the questioner by pointing out the correct form. Yet, there are some which appear to condone this practice with a dispassionate that-is-the-way-language- works stance on the matter. So, what's the deal? Is "make due" now considered acceptable? P.S. It might be relevant to note that Rothfuss is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin.


title: Which one is correct sentence usage

text: In the below sentences which one is correct and formal one ? > Will you accept the credit card for payment ? or > Can you accept the credit card for payment ?


title: "Makes them difficult to simulate" vs "makes it difficult to simulate them"

text: Which statement is correct? >   1. The complexity of these systems makes them difficult to simulate on > computers. >   2. The complexity of these systems makes it difficult to simulate them on > computers. >


title: When asking readers to consider a question, what punctuation is needed?

text: If a quote is preceded by "consider" or "think about", what punctuation is needed? I have some sentences like this:   * Consider "What will you do next year?"   * Think about "What are your plans for the holiday?" The sentences ask the readers to think about an answer to these questions themselves. What is the proper way to punctuate these? Is quotes suitable? Should commas be placed?


title: Why "being" is incorrect in the sentence below

text: * When Charles Lindbergh was attempting his solo transatlantic flight, being very reluctant to have any extra weight on his plane, he refused to carry even a pound of mail, despite being offered $1,000 to do so.   * Very reluctant to have any extra weight on his plane when he attempted his solo transatlantic flight, Charles Lindbergh refused to carry even a pound of mail, despite being offered $1,000 to do so. Which one is better? First sentence is my answer, the second one is the correct answer, why "being" cannot be used. I felt second sentence is too redundant: after reading the sentence until the first comma, then the subject, Charles Lindbergh, appears in the sentence. Is it correct. Anyone could explain those type of question to me? Thanks for your help, really appreciate it.


title: Verb agreement with "what"

text: This came up when reviewing a written English exercise, and I realized that I don't entirely trust my intuition on the answer. Which of the following is correct? Or are both valid? (Or is it strongly advisable to rewrite the sentence in some other way?) "I see what appears to be a man and his son." "I see what appear to be a man and his son."


title: Why does there exist a difference in spelling between British English and American English?

text: I understand that the use of different terms for the same item (e.g., "car park" vs. "parking lot") has already been discussed, but I'm interested to know why we spell the same words differently in the UK. Obvious examples include:   * _favourite_ and _favorite_   * _cancelled_ and _canceled_   * _dialogue_ and _dialog_   * _honouring_ and _honoring_   * _behaviour_ and _behavior_ My guess would be that this has something to do with British spellings preserving their Latin roots more strongly than the American equivalents, but I don't know. I'd also like to know why present and past tense variations are derived in different ways too, as in the derivatives of "cancel" above.


title: How to quote multiple lines of verse inline

text: When quoting multiple lines of verse inline, is it proper to put spaces around the slash? For example, with a slash but no spaces: > "Beside the lake, beneath the trees/Fluttering and dancing in the breeze." Or a slash with spaces: > "Beside the lake, beneath the trees / Fluttering and dancing in the breeze." I tried googling this and didn't come up with much. Wikipedia says to use spaces around the slash, but I'd like some additional insight. I think the spaces usually aren't necessary, and they look kind of silly every time I try using them. I can see the logic in adding spaces; in the example above, someone may think the slash is joining "trees" and "Fluttering" instead of joining the two lines, but I find that exceedingly unlikely.


title: How to cite Shakespearean Blank Verse or Free Verse in an MLA Paper

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How to quote multiple lines of verse inline If I am using a quote that is only one line, I would not need a / between lines. But, when do I use a / - for free verse or blank verse? I'm a bit confused. Thanks!


title: Does the order matter in being "okay with"

text: Are the following two sentences interchangeable? "Are you okay with that?" "Is that okay with you?"


title: "They knew what mercy is" vs. "they knew what mercy was"

text: > They knew what mercy is.   >  They knew what mercy was. _Mercy_ is something that always exists so can I say _is_ as in the above example?


title: What is the etymology of the word "dinlo"?

text: **dinlo** n. _stupid person; idiot_ Suggested etymology from urban dictionary > a Romany (gypsy language) word that has been adopted widely by the east > coast. Sorry if this language offends but I think it is necessary that I post the actual sentence in which I saw it, and in any case the word is probably itself quite offensive already. > Christ, could you sound like any more of a fuckin **dinlo** in one thread? I would love to know if this really is Romany.


title: Is there a word for "clever fool?"

text: What do you call a person who despite being very clever in one field, e.g. math or physics, behaves very unwisely or impractical in real life?   I know some people who are very well educated and can solve difficult scientific problems, but they seem to belong to some different society. They can easily be cheated by any fraud, they are often absentminded so they lose their belonging all the time etc.   Do you have a word for this kind of people?


title: Is it possible for 'crying' in this example to refer to 'them'?

text: 'He made them stand against the wall crying.' Is it possible for 'crying' in this example to refer to the pronoun 'them'?


title: Are these sentences grammatical?

text: Are both of these sentences grammatical? > It was starting raining.   >  He was contemplating creating a problem.


title: "Badly" versus "poorly"

text: I was saying to an American friend, "I pronounce still bad," which she said is a mistake, saying it should be _poorly_. Well, I get that part, but when I asked if I can say _badly_ , she said I shouldn't. I asked an Englishman and he said it's perfectly fine. So is it a difference between American English and British English, or am I just not getting it?


title: What is the term for practitioners of pseudoscience?

text: Certain disciplines, generally called pseudosciences, falsely claim that they make **actionable** truthful statements about observable objective reality. Examples are astrology, homeopathy, psychiatry. How would you call a _sincere_ practitioner (not a researcher/populariser) of such a discipline? Not "charlatan" - the perpetrator is as deluded as the victim. Not "pseudo-scientist" - just like a practicing surgeon would not be called a "scientist": this term seems to imply "original contribution" to the discipline as opposed to simply "plying the trade".


title: What are the jimmies that are being rustled?

text: > This rustles my jimmies seems like a commonly used idiom recently to denote being annoyed, angered, touched. Still, every idiom has some origin, and I wonder what is the original meaning of this one.


title: Origin of 'tada'

text: What is the origin of the word _tada_ — as used as an exclamation? Is it an onomatopoeic form of sound effects used in, say, television or does its origin lie elsewhere?


title: Is the construct “Strength cannot beat MORE strength without ...” correct?

text: Is the following quote correct English? > Strength cannot beat **more** strength without ju jitsu


title: "Advertising" vs. "Advertisement" in US political commercials

text: This is the first year I noticed the verbal boilerplate at the end of US political commercials states: > Group X is responsible for the content of this advertising. compared to what I recall (and prefer) from previous years, > Group X is responsible for the content of this advertisement. I understand **advertisements** to be the end result of **advertising** (supported here) - and my second example _feels/sounds_ more right to me than the first. However, I also found a number of definitions similar to the second definition on dictionary.com: _paid announcements; advertisements_ suggesting the two words are completely interchangeable. Is this a result of some crusade in the _advertising_ business to change terminology, a result of the plurality of the times the _advertisement_ is run, or am I just being overly picky and I need to get over my distinct preference for **advertisement**?


title: Is there a stronger word than "incite"?

text: I am looking for a word that conveys the strongest level of inciting someone, pushing someone to do something: > Their boss _VERB'd_ them to work as hard as possible. The strongest I can think of is _spur_ , is there something better?


title: What does "long enough to" mean?

text: > "Around 10pm, I finally stopped drinking _long enough to_ remember I had a > car in a garage somewhere." I can't understand the above sentence clearly, especially the meaning of _long enough to_ in this case. Could you give me another expression or and example which has the similar meaning?


title: What does “I really get the juices flowing when I’m driving” mean?

text: New York Times article “In golf, moments good and bad are well remembered” (June 14) ends up with the following episode: > "Jerry Kelly (PGA golfer) said that his steely memory of golf extended to > his personal life, especially when driving. > >> 'I remember all those people who have cut me off,' Kelly said. 'I try to stay ahead of everybody so that I don’t let them cut me off again, especially when I come back to the Northeast. I really **get the juices flowing** when I’m driving here.'” >> >> http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/sports/golf/in-golf-moments-good-and-bad- are-well-remembered.html?pagewanted=all What does “get the juices flow” when driving mean? Does it mean to get the thrills and spills? There’s no entry for “get the juices flow” in English dictionaries at hand, nor Google Ngram shows any incidence of the phrase. Is this an idiom, or just a casual turn of phrase? If it’s a not-unusual phrase, in what else instances can I use “get the juices flow”? **PS.** Someone placed “This question may have an answer here -Where did the "juices" in "creative juices" come from? on top of my question. It doesn’t. I read through the said question, and find no connection / answer to mine. **My question has evidently nothing to do with “creative juice"** asked in that particular question. My question is simply what Jerry Kelly meant in his remark, which now I wrapped my brain after posting this question, and getting a lot of inputs from you.


title: "Shade" vs. "shadow"

text: What are the differences between _shade_ and _shadow_? Do they have different meanings or can they be used interchangeably? > Let's sit under the **shade/shadow**. > > The cat was afraid of its own **shade/shadow**.


title: Make it clean vs Get it clean - difference?

text: I would like to know if there is a difference in the following: > Get it clean! Make it clean!   >  Get it wet! Make it wet! And which of the following are suitable: > Make the baby calm   >  Get the baby calm   >  Shut the baby up


title: Is it "peek", "peak" or "pique"?

text: I have always thought the phrase was "pique my interest" as in: "Her mysterious background piqued my interest". However, of late, on blogs and social networks, I have seen people using "peek my interest", as in "Disney is starting to peek my interest", and I have even seen "Samsung's latest display peaks my interest in the company". Which is the correct phrase?


title: Repetition of certain words in an or statement

text: I have the following sentence in my thesis: > It appears that if A is a certain language, either the converse of > Proposition 1 holds or the converse of Proposition 2 holds. I am wondering whether I can change it to the following without changing the meaning of the sentence and without violating any grammatical rules. > It appears that if A is a certain language, either the converse of > Proposition 1 or Proposition 2 holds. English is not my native language, so if you find any other grammatical or style errors, I would greatly appreciate tips!


title: 'Of ' in the line 'I really felt quite distressed of not receiving an invitation.'

text: This is a line I encountered in _Sleeping Beauty_ , cried by the malevolent fairy when she found out she was not invited to the celebration of the new- born princess. Question: What kind of grammatical role does 'of' play in the sentence? Can it be omitted without changing the meaning?


title: What kind of word is "place" in "take place"?

text: I'm currently analyzing verbs with Stanford CoreNLP and WordNet. I'm interested in particular in verb meanings. I came across sentences like "`The scene takes place on the grass.`" and I found the verb take place in WordNet. However, these sentences don't seem to be discussed anywhere. It is known that phrasal verbs are formed with particles, prepositions or adverbs. Now, which one is it here? By the way, Stanford CoreNLP suggests it's a direct object (I guess that's wrong?): ![a screenshot of Stanford CoreNLP tools for the example sentence](http://i.stack.imgur.com/qXSkO.png)


title: Pronunciation of "a"

text: I'm really confused about the pronunciation of the letter "a". Why is there a difference when it is used in a sentence and when "a" is single? When it is single, we read it like dwelling on it, like /eɪ/. On the contrary, in a sentence, it sounds interruptedly. What's the reason?


title: Difference between "seems like ...", "sounds like ..." and "feels like ..."

text: I want to know if there are differences between the three following sentences, since for me they all have the same meaning: > It **seems like** an adventure. > > It **sounds like** an adventure. > > It **feels like** an adventure.


title: Different meanings for phrase "off the regular price"

text: What is the correct way to say a product can be bought with a discount of 30%? Is it: “Buy this by 30% off the regular price.”? What I want to say is that a 30% discount is being given, so the product will cost 70% of the regular price. There seems to be a difference between _of_ and _off_. Will this wording be misunderstood to mean that the product can be bought by 30% of the regular price instead of 30% “off” the regular price? How do I say it correctly and without creating doubt?


title: Past Perfect - Right or Wrong?

text: I am in an English course, in Cambridge School, in Lisbon, Portugal, and I am learning Past Perfect. I am also in a Pastry course, and today we had our first English lesson. The teacher wrote some vocabulary in the board, and we had to make sentences with the vocabulary. I suggested this sentence: > Before I baked the cake, I had already mixed it. But, she told me that this sentence was wrong. I explained to her that I was taking an English course in Cambridge, my Cambridge teacher is Scottish, and she taught the Past Perfect this way. I am confused now, I don't know who is right. The Pastry teacher said that the right way is: > Before he bakes the cake, he had already mixed it. -Or- > Before he had baked the cake, he had already mixed it." Can somebody help me please?


title: Lexically recognized synonym for "humblebrag"?

text: As one might guess, a _humblebrag_ is one who uses a pretense of humility as a vehicle for boasting. This word can be found at Urban Dictionary but, it appears, nowhere more authoritative. Yet, of course, the concept is neither new nor esoteric; and one would expect there to be a word to cover it. Of course, we have the idea of _false humility_ and could speak of one who is _falsely humble_ or who is guilty of _false modesty_. But isn't there a noun to denote the person who behaves in this way, and an adjective to describe him?


title: Different types of whistling

text: Are there terms or succinct phrases that describe the different ways of _whistling_ listed below?   1. The standard put-your-lips-together-and-blow   2. Tongue against bottom teeth   3. Sticking two fingers (thumb and middle/index) of a single hand in the mouth   4. Sticking two fingers (index and middle) of both hands in the mouth Please feel free to point out any techniques that I've missed. I'm also interested to know if there's a term that distinguishes the skill of being able to whistle both while exhaling and while inhaling.


title: One-word alternative for "double-check"?

text: From the given paragraph: > I frequently forget to lock the main door. But, I know I double-checked if > the door was locked today. > > (more texts...) > > I realized I became very anxious about my **___ __ ___** about the locks on > the main door. Do we have one word to fill in the blank of the above?


title: What is the etymology of "look out"?

text: What does English idiom "look out" (or "watch out") come from? When you want to warn somebody. Usually, in case of a danger, it is better to hide rather than move your head out to see. (I know it is an idiom, but maybe there is some reason in it)


title: What's the difference between "teacher" and "professor"?

text: Is one more formal then the other?


Is there a word for practicing in secret to surprise or impress?


title: Can there be a "100% sale"?

text: I'm an iPhone developer and I've recently changed the price of my app from $0.99 to free. Wordnet defines sale as: > an agreement (or contract) in which property is transferred from the seller > (vendor) to the buyer (vendee) for a fixed price in money (paid or agreed to > be paid by the buyer); In this case there is no price in money, so I guess I shouldn't use the word sale. What should I use, then? "A giveaway" doesn't sound nice.


title: Plural of "roof"?

text: _Roofs_ is generally used, but is _rooves_ archaic or just wrong?


title: What is the proper use of the word "state of the art"?

text: I am a bit confused with using the phrase _state of the art_. Is the following usage correct? > My motivation relies on the fact, discussed above, that there is **little > global state of the art evaluation** of this product.


title: How do you get from the literal meaning of "all bets are off" to the idiom?

text: Most everyone knows what the common turn of phrase _all bets are off_ means: "anything can happen." But all idioms have to start from somewhere, and the question I'm wondering is how did this one start. Google informs me it comes from a gambling context, and I'm inclined to believe that, having seen the movie _Snatch_ , but what I'm not understanding is how the literal meaning of "all bets are off" -- that is, the house will not be taking any bets today -- would have evolved into "anything can happen." Can someone enlighten me to a plausible pathway?


title: Can and can't pronunciation

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How to distinguish can & can't from pronunciation? How do native American English speakers pronounce "can" and "can't" so that these two very similarly sounding words would be distinguishable? Or do native speakers also frequently recheck: "[You said] can or can not?"


title: How to distinguish "can" and "can't" pronunciation in American English?

text: I am a student in China learning American English. I have listened to some videos and found it hard to distinguish _can_ from _can’t_. I am looking for some advice that may help me.


title: Can I omit the verb in the second part of this sentence, after the colons?

text: Is this sentence grammatically correct? I mean, can I omit the verb in the second part after the colon? > Differently from other works, they consider all information usually > available in social media collections: both user-provided information such > as textual content (titles, descriptions and tags) and automatic generated > content (creation time and geo-coordinates).


title: The usage of "savor" in The Great Gatsby

text: In Chapter 1 of _The Great Gatsby_ , part of a sentence went like this: > ... a national figure in a way, one of those men who reach such an acute > limited excellence at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti- > climax. I went to COCA and searched for `[savor].[v*] of` and it gave nothing, meaning that in contemporary usage, "savor" as a verb is never followed by an "of." I know that today we usually say "savor something" instead of "savor of something," so does that mean it is a deprecated usage of the word "savor" in that sentence?


title: Different answers for questions with how + adjective

text: If someone asks "How far is Brazil from Argentina", a possible answer is "It's about X kilometers". However, if someone asks "How high is this mountain?" you can answer "It's about X meters **high** ". I think that "It's about X kilometers **far** " would sound weird, but I don't whether it's correct or not. Could you help me?


title: "Everybody is not" vs "Not everybody is"

text: > Everybody's got a water buffalo, yours is fast but mine is slow. > > * * * > > You can't say everybody's got a water buffalo! Everyone does not have a > water buffalo! This construction: > Everyone does not have a water buffalo! really irks me, because there are people who **do** have a water buffalo, and the sentence seems to imply the opposite. I would much prefer the sentence: > Not everybody has a water buffalo! Is the first construction somehow grammatically defensible, or is it just used because it better parallels as a negation of the sentence, "Everybody's got a water buffalo"?


title: What does "soda" mean in places where it doesn't mean soft drink?

text: The title is pretty self explanatory.   "Soda", "Pop", "Coke", etc. all refer to the same thing in different parts of the world. Where the word for soft drink is "soda", "pop" is a verb, and "Coke" is only a brand. But what does "soda" mean in places where the beverage is called "pop" (or something else)?   Does it have any meaning at all?


title: What is correct: "we prove statement X by / by using / with / through / ..."

text: First, I'm sorry for any duplicates (although I could not find a similar question). My question is: how do I correctly fill in the **???** in the following sentence? > We prove Statement X **???** the following equivalences. I'm not sure what to use: by, by using, with, through, ... The meaning is that we use the equivalences to prove the statement. Thank you! Dan


title: Pronunciation Help

text: My wife and I want to name our baby Ruud. Would we need to use two dots over the u so that people know how to pronounce it or is it fine the way it is?


title: Adjectives to describe the word "questions"

text: I'm writing an ad for yoghurt. It's about telling the truth about the consumer's new favourite flavour. I would like to say, > You'll need to answer some **___ ____** questions. They're personal questions that will be asked so I was in the region of _saucy_ or _juicy_ but that's just not sounding right. As you can hear I'm trying to tie the adjective back to the subject of yoghurt.


title: One word for "easily understood"

text: What is a one word substitute for something which is "easily understood"? I can think of _clear_ but I guess there are other better words. _Edit 1._ Will the answer be different for _easily understandable_? (As opposed to _easily understood_ ) _Edit 2._ Here's an example to more narrowly indicate the sort of usage desired: > The manual should be precise and _easily understandable_.


title: Which style of Latin plurals should I use?

text: Many Latin words in English have both Latin-style plurals and English-style plurals:   >   * referendum – referendums, referenda. >   * minimum – minimums, minima. >   * gymnasium – gymnasiums, gymnasia. >   * aquarium – aquariums, aquaria. >   * amoeba – amoebas, amoebae. >   * antenna – antennas, antennae. >   * formula – formulas, formulae. >   * index – indexes, indices. >   * appendix – appendixes, appendices. > In technical language, generally, Latin-style is the only proper form of Latin plurals.   In all other contexts where both Latin-style and English-style are proper, which style of Latin plurals should I use?


title: Why is it "choruses" and not "chori"?

text: > **Possible Duplicates:**   >  Which style of Latin plurals should I use?   >  Irregular plurality situations in English This is really weird IMO; the plural of _cactus_ is _cacti_ , so why is not the plural of _chorus_ , _chori_?


title: Why do some words with Latin etymology use -ae suffix while others use the -s?

text: Why do some words in English with Latin etymology use the suffix -ae while others use the more common -s?


title: Irregular plurality situations in English

text: Why do some nouns in English not take the plurality suffix in the plural form? Could you give me a list of plural nouns which don't take "-(e)s" suffix? For example, I know about "fish" and "sheep".


title: "Stadiums" vs. "stadia"

text: I'm not that old, but when I was a child/teen, _stadia_ was the common term. As in: >   * Wembley, the Nou Camp, and the Santiago Bernabeu are football stadia. >   * The MCG and Lord's are cricket stadia. > But now _stadiums_ is the more common term. Is this shift essentially redundant? I've read some sources say that it better reflects English language pluralisation, but then I think "so what?" _Stadia_ better reflects the Latin root, and English isn't a wholly logical/systematic language (very few languages are). If we call more than one dog _dogs_ , more than one ox _oxen_ , and use _cattle_ both as singular and plural, then why does it matter?


title: What is the plural of the word formula

text: I study mathematics and as I'm sure you can imagine, often read the word _formula_. I also quite often come across _formulas_ used as the plural. This always annoys me as I was under the impression that the correct plural of _formula_ was _formulae_? Is there any consensus or information as to why there is two (seemingly) accepted forms of this? I thought that _formulae_ probably has a Latin derivation and _formulas_ may be Americanized?


title: Special plural forms without -s

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Irregular plurality situations in English **'sheep, deer, fish** ' are some of a row of animals where singular and plural have the same form, i.e. the plural (normally) has no -s. But of course there are cases when the normal plural with -s can be used. Is there any information why there is such a peculiarity?


title: What is the correct plural of "stadium"?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Which style of Latin plurals should I use? If my memory of Latin lessons serves me correctly, it should really be > stadia However, I think most people would probably write > stadiums Which is right?


title: Connotation of "to expatiate"

text: Only the online Cambridge dictionary marks the verb “to expatiate” as ‘formal disapproving’. Nowhere else could I find the reference to a ‘disapproving’ connotation, although all the online dictionaries agree upon its formality. Do you deem it to be used to criticize the act of “speak[ing] or writ[ing] about something in great detail or for a long time” or can it be simply used as a synonym of “talking at length”?


title: What does "You end up having somebody that’s a problem" mean?

text: I've read one article about the murder of one guy and stumbled across one sentence, which I can't understand fully. > It's within the Chinese culture. You end up having somebody that’s a > problem, that doesn’t give you what you want, they’re eliminated. I think, I got the basic idea but it still looks odd to me. What does the first part ("You end up having somebody that’s a problem") mean? Why it is said in that way? Can you please give some examples of similar construction?


title: What is the word for one who refuses to capitulate the status quo?

text: What are some alternative words/phrases for one who refuses to capitulate the status quo? Similarly question for the capitulators of the status quo. Alternatives I came up with are progrssionalist (positive for improving on the status quo) and, mundane perpetrators for the capitulators.


title: How do you refer to someone who has access to an abundance of resources?

text: From what I can gather, "resourceful" seems to refer more to someone who can use the available resources in efficient ways. I'm thinking more about someone who has lots of resources at hand (money, connections, information, etc.), ~~but doesn't necessarily make good use of them.~~ regardless of how well they use them. * * *   * **edit** : to clarify, I am not looking for a word describing someone who (purposely or not) makes wasteful use of the resources they have at hand. In fact, the use of the resources is irrelevant; I'm looking to describe only the existence (and abundance) of such resources. * * *   * **edit 2** : I was looking for something generic, to place in a sentence similar to: "when choosing the person to perform a task, one should take into account their skills, availability, and X", where X would ideally be "resourcefulness", but instead meaning something like "how good is their access to the relevant resources" (assuming resources could be various things, but mostly material and social).   There doesn't seem to be a single term to define this, so despite many good answers, I'm afraid I'm going to have to go with "influential" (or, in the example sentence above, "influence").


title: Why is the "round figure" of a person associated with being "comforting"?

text: **Example:** > Miss Beam was all that I had expected middle-aged, authoritative, kindly, > and understanding. Her hair was beginning to turn grey, and _her round > figure_ was likely to be comforting for a homesick child to look upon. Here, I think "her round figure" means the "fullness of her figure". But how exactly would it be comforting? (Especially when in movies, the bad guardians are mostly represented by big, fat people.)


title: Is on/before 15 July better than by 15 July if I want to be precise and unambiguous? Which is the more common form?

text: When the last day of registration is, let's say, 15 July, we currently say "please confirm your registration _before_ 16 July" but students often send their confirmation on 16 July, rather than 15. I guess it's the date itself that's misleading.


title: How to say that something that was inappropriate for some particular purpose now works?

text: Say, that phones were not suitable as a payment medium, but now they are the best payment method. I think "cellphones finally fit for payment" implies they are now good enough, and not THE best solution. A candidate would be "cellphones made work for payment".


title: More specific antonym to "lodger" than "landlord"

text: You can distinguish between someone who's paying for a room and paying for an apartment or house with lodger versus tenant. Is it possible to distinguish between someone who offers a room for rent and offers an apartment or house for rent? Are there any hyponyms for "landlord" that make this distinction? I checked onelook.com's reverse dictionary, and the thesauri recommended on meta, and didn't find anything.


title: What is the etymology of "golden boy"?

text: I used to watch an anime titled _Golden Boy_. A few years after I saw it, I heard the lyrics of a Shins song say "you're finally golden boy". In both cases it seems to refer to a young man coming of working age or maybe the first signs of success (probably in terms of a carrier or something). I was wondering how widespread that usage is, where it comes from, and if I'm right about the meaning. Anyone know of this?


title: What's the difference between a cathedral and a basilica?

text: The references I've seen so far have alternated primacy between one and the other.


title: How to ask the gender of someone if you have to?

text: In a global company, I often need to address someone in another country without knowing his/her gender in emails with a third person or with a group of people. It's awkward and inefficient to spell his/her name every time in reference of this person, especially if it's a long name. The only solution seems to find out the person's gender after all. If I have to do so, using emails only,   1. Should I ask someone who knows him/her or should I ask the person directly? Personally I feel awful to approach the person with this kind of questions.   2. How should the question be worded to be appropriate? Examples? Please indicate the culture background of the answer if you don't mind.


title: One word for someone who thinks they can do anything, and believes everything they do is right but others are wrong

text: If someone thinks they are always doing the right thing, and believes others are wrong, what would I call them? Say, for example, I did something that person considers wrong. But then on another occasion, the same person does the same thing I did and believes they are right. So they feel like they're an exception, but at the same time, others are wrong and can't act like that.


title: "At the beginning" or "in the beginning"?

text: Are both expressions   * "At the beginning"   * "In the beginning"  valid and equivalent? The first "seems wrong" to me, but it has more Google results.


title: What’s the difference between “kerfuffle”, “commotion”, and “fuss”?

text: What’s the difference between _kerfuffle_ , _commotion_ , and _fuss_? For example: >   * What’s all this **kerfuffle** about? >   * What’s all this **commotion** about? >   * What’s all this **fuss** about? >


title: "crenelated" writing?

text: What would it mean for writing to be "crenelated"? From this review: > Lisa Zeidner of The New York Times Book Review elaborated: > > As usual, Gibson's prose is ... corpuscular, crenelated. I thought crenelated just meant having ridges / being like the top of a castle wall.


title: Books and other things with the same name

text: Is it proper to say "the book and movie _Of Mice and Men_ " even though the two identical terms " _Of Mice and Men_ " do not refer to the same entity? An alternative would be "the book _Of Mice and Men_ and the movie _Of Mice and Men_ ", which strikes me as very awkward. If the first phrasing is valid, does that imply that "the book and man Abraham Lincoln" would be OK too? Secondarily, if so, could "Abraham Lincoln" be italicized? This seems much less likely for practical reasons although the man and the book are arguably as distinct from one another as the movie and the book are, above.


title: Why has "sware" become "swore", "bare" "bore", etc?

text: As far as I know, there are four verbs ( _swear_ , _bear_ , _tear_ , and _wear_ ) whose simple past forms used to be (archaically) _sware_ , _bare_ , _tare_ , and _ware_ ; but are now exclusively _swore_ , _bore_ , _tore_ , and _wore_. There seems to be a pattern here — the simple past of _-ear_ used to be _-are_ , and is now _-ore_ — but I've never heard an explanation of why that change occurred. I tried graphing _sware_ and _swore_ together (since _bare_ , _tare_ , and _ware_ are all ambiguous) on Ngrams. According to this chart, the two forms were once coexistent, and _swore_ has always been dominant; however, Ngrams has proven to be a less-than-satisfactory authority on issues such as this. ![](http://books.google.com/ngrams/chart?content=sware%2Cswore&year_start=1500&year_end=1800&corpus=0&smoothing=3) Why did _-are_ switch to _-ore_?


title: How to punctuate an answer to a question when the answer is also a question?

text: The title to this question is sort of long-winded but the example here should clarify it. Which of these is correct?   1. Who should be baby-sitting your children, your neighborhood teenagers or professionally trained people?   2. Who should be baby-sitting your children? Your neighborhood teenagers or professionally trained people?   3. Who should be baby-sitting your children? Your neighborhood teenagers? Or, professionally trained people? I think option 1 is definitely wrong. Option 2 or 3 could both work but I am not sure.


title: Do Americans also typically use the word "aesthetic" spelled that way?

text: As far as I know, the word "aesthetic" can be considered the "British" or "European" way of spelling the word, like "caesium" or "haemophilia". The spelling "esthetic" (which replaces the _ae_ with _e_ as so many American spellings of those words do) does exist, but I've barely ever seen it written that way anywhere. Do Americans also typically use "aesthetic"? If so, how come?


title: Full-time or full time, part-time or part time?

text: Having a debate here over how to form the description of employment. A) Bob works **full time** on the project. B) Bob works **full-time** on the project. The same applies for part time/part-time. Which is (more) correct?


title: Where to insert comma(s)?

text: Compare these: >   1. She tried, and, as expected, failed. >   2. She tried, and as expected, failed. >   3. She tried and, as expected, failed. >   4. She tried and as expected, failed. >   5. She tried and (as expected) failed. > The first seems most correct, while the last seems most elegant. Is it all a matter of taste/style? I'm also curious of these: >  6\. She tried, and failed.   >   7\. She tried and failed. Is there ever a need for the first form?


title: to "sleep" vs to "go to sleep"

text: I'm from the northeast US. When describing the phenomenon of going to bed at night, or falling asleep, I always formulate the verb like that, as in "I went to bed at 10" or "I didn't fall asleep until midnight." However I frequently hear the formulation "Last night, I slept at 10" or "I usually sleep at midnight". I'm interested in whether there's any interesting known dialect or historical distinction between the formulations. I now live on the west coast US and know many people who use these latter forms, and it still sounds wrong to my ear, like it's missing the helper verb (fall, go). (The one case where I might crossover is in the sentence "I couldn't sleep until midnight", which sounds right to me, although "I didn't sleep until midnight" sounds wrong.) * * * It _feels_ to me (though I don't have the professional vocabulary for this) that for me, "sleep" is an indefinite-duration, continuous action ("I'm sleeping"). So when I want to mark the time that it starts, I need to help it with "go to sleep". When I hear people say "I slept at 10", it sounds to me like they were asleep for only a moment, at 10 o clock, but not after, if that makes sense.


title: Proper use of "has been" versus "have been" after plural reference

text: What is the actual "rule," and which one is correct? > Ports 10-20 have been or has been opened. I strongly believe that "have been" is correct. I do not however remember the "rule," so I cannot explain why it is correct. Can anyone give me some foundation to build my case, please?


title: Hyphens within decades

text: Should there be a hyphen in the sentence, early '80s or should it be written without the hyphen between early and '80s?


title: Does hunx have an origin?

text: I was reading Anthony Trollope's The Way We Live Now. A character calls an old man, "an old hunx" during an argument. I was wondering if Trollope was writing in an accent or if hunx was an old slang word. I tried Googling it, but only found websites relating to "Hunx and His Punx." The reference can be viewed here on Project Gutenberg.


title: What is the origin of “I calls ’em like I sees ’em”?

text: This expression seems to be pretty widespread, for example being in Wiktionary and Futurama. Does anyone know what the origin is? Also, what kind of dialect might _I calls_ or _I sees_ be?


title: Are there English equivalents to the Japanese saying, “There’s a god who puts you down as well as a god who picks you up”?

text: There is an old Japanese saying, “捨てる神あれば、拾う神あり-Suterukami areba hirou kami ari,” meaning “There’s a god who puts you down as well as a god who picks up you.” In other words, “In this world, some people help you, and some people harm you” or “Fortune and misfortune come alternately.” For example, when you are fired from an IT company, and then hired by its rival company with a higher salary three months later, your peers will say to you “You're a lucky man. There’s a god who throws you away as well as a god who picks you up.” I’m curious to know if there are similar sayings in English to “Suterukami areba hirou kami ari.”


title: Is there a non-romantic phrase for missing someone?

text: The phrase "I miss you" can be equivocal: suggestive of (a) romantic longing and/or (b) regret of loss. Certainly, context can shape its meaning, including geography, historical period, and the speakers and their relationships. Given the circumstances in which it would be desirable to eliminate ambiguity, such as a platonic friendship, is there an alternative phrase for expressing (b) without (a)?


title: meaning of edge in this sentence

text: belligerent speeches by leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States throughout the Cold War were keeping the world on edge.


title: Meaning of "run its course"in this sentence

text: The American War of Independence was first viewed by the British as a minor rebellion that would soon run its course.I don't know how to paraphrase 'run its course' in this sentence.


title: The bottom graph shows the acceleration profiles, while the top the corresponding speed changes

text: Are the verb and noun omissions in the following sentence correct? (The words enclosed in parentheses are the omitted ones.) > The bottom graph shows the acceleration profiles, while the top (graph) > (shows) the corresponding speed changes.


title: "Flowers that never fade"

text: I am looking for the mythological flower names such as "amaranth" _\- An imaginary flower that never fades._ Are there any more flowers used in poetry in this context? **NOTE:** Please, exclude "asphodel" - _"In Greek poetry and mythology, the flowers of Hades and the dead, sacred to Persephone._ It's present too much.


title: Punctuation after "Yes"

text: A common construction is "Yes, that's right." Is that acceptable, or should a semicolon (or period) replace the comma? If acceptable, how can it be justified grammatically?


title: To die or to kill?

text: In the Boney M song 'Ma Baker', one line is: > But she knew how to die I always wondered if this is correct English, or that it should be: > But she knew how to kill Since dying seems to relate to oneself?


title: Crusade of vs. Crusades for - which is correct?

text: > **Crusade of** or **crusade for** > > **Crusades of** or **crusades for** Which expression is correct? Also, do any express the party the crusade against? For example, is "crusade _for_ peace against dictators" the correct term to express that people against dictators so that the people may have peace?


title: Is it right/appropriate to say "double bag it?"

text: What one would say to get another (plastic) bag for carrying heavy groceries? Is it right to tell the cashier "would you please double bag it?" I am asking this question because when I tried to search the web for such phrase, I ended up with many results suggesting perverted, sexual connotations about condoms! Thus, I am a little worried about saying it in public or at stores.


title: How should foreign words (with foreign characters) be written in English text?

text: This question is not about italicisation or how to construct plurals. I wonder what are general guidelines for writing foreign words based on a Latin alphabet in English text. I know that, for languages written in completely different script systems, there exist more or less standard per-language “romanization” procedures (such as writing Japanse in rōmaji). My question is about words from languages with Latin script, where some glyphs are not found commonly in English. Examples of such characters include:   * accents of all kinds (é, ô, ñ, etc.)   * ligatures (æ, œ, ĳ, Å, ç, ķ, etc.)   * characters not found at all: thorn (Þ), eth (ð), german ß,  How should these words be written in English text? Should they be copied entirely, normalized in some way (e.g., ß → ss, é → e), or transliterated so that they can be read as they should be spelt? My personal preference is to borrow them as they are, but I would like to know what style guides recommand and what is common usage in press. **Added:** data from some research is inconsistent:   * New Oxford American Dictionary has _piñata_ , but _Anschluss_ (vs. _ß_ ) and _oeuvre_ (vs. _œ_ ).   * The Guardian uses the two variants of both _Anschluß_ and _œuvre_   * I don’t know other languages well enough that I know what to look for :) **2 nd addition:** I’m starting a bounty on this, because I style haven’t found any reference to actual **style guides** , or research from data in **open-access corpuses** /corpora (which I don’t know how to do myself).


title: Foreign names: Transcription or literal spelling?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How should foreign words (with foreign characters) be written in English > text? Sometimes, you want to use the names of foreign people in English texts. This presents no problem if the person's name is composed of the 26 letters in the English alphabet. If the name contains another character, e.g., _é_ or _ß_ , a decision has to be made:   * Do I stick to the original spelling, or   * do I find some sort of transcription into the 26 English alphabet characters. It is of course useful to make sure that the target audience can still understand the text, which probably means that you would have to go with transcription for everything that's originally Cyrillic or Chinese. In a scientific article, however, _Schrödinger_ with the umlaut is widely used (instead of the transcription _Schroedinger_ ). _Gauß_ however is typically spelled as _Gauss_ in English literature, although I would attribute this phenomenon rather to the lack of the key _ß_ on the English typewriter. What are the rules, guidelines, recommendations for transcription of names as opposed to literal spelling?


title: the job is not up to one's qualifications and standard, in fact it is below his standard

text: what "word" can I use to tell someone that the job is not up to his qualifications and standard. The job in fact is below his standard.


title: How do I better ask question which may not contain subject?

text: Which of the following sounds better: > How do I cook an omelet? – or > How to cook an omelet? If I am asking which steps someone, in general, should take to cook an omelet.


title: Can you use past and present tense in the same sentence?

text: Could you please confirm if the following sentence is correct or not? > ...he comes over quite often, he and I **got** on quite well when we see > each other so not much issue there. Or should it be: > ...he comes over quite often, he and I **get** on quite well when we see > each other so not much issue there. Which one is correct, or are both, depending on context?


title: Can an "or" question be answered "yes" or "no"?

text: I recently moved to the West Coast for a new job. I periodically ask if someone is going to take choice A or choice B. Commonly they answer "yes" or "no." I always asked them to re-state by writing "choice " or "choice ". A few said I knew exactly what they meant, I just like to be difficult. I tried to sincerely ask a few coworkers what "yes" and "no" meant in this context and they just frowned and sighed. Where I'm from no one answers "yes". Is this grammatically correct and if so what does it mean? Bob: Jim, are you taking next week off or the following week? Jim: Yes Which week is Jim taking off? I know this. Bob: Jim are you taking either next week or the following week off? Jim: Yes Means Jim is may be taking next week off or he may be taking the following week off. He's not indicating which week, he's just indicating that it will be one of those 2 weeks, not neither of those 2 weeks.


title: Finance metaphors for relationships

text: I've recently read that there are quite a few metaphors describing relationships between humans that are taken from the financial sector. However, examples were very scarce. On my list I have "invest" or "to value", "priceless". Relationships can be "bankrupt". I have a hard time coming up with other examples. Any suggestions?


title: Using apostrophes

text: Hey guys! I hope you can help. For homework, I was asked to write an essay using some words the teacher gave in class and the last word I need to use is _country_. Can someone please tell—does _country_ need to have an apostrophe-s at the end of the word? And is the following sentence I wrote correct? > The country's best pizza, is served at buca. I appreciate your help.


title: Is 'Blood libel' an established expression?

text: I came across the word, 'Blood libel,' apparently associated with Ms. Sarah Palin's agressive statement which was zeroed in at Democratic lowmakers in today's Washington Post.   Neither Concise Oxford Dictionary nor Oxford American Dictionary carries this word. The latter defines 'libel' as:   1. Published falese statement that damages a person's reputation.    2. A statement or anything that brings discredit on a person or thing. Both of which doesn't seem to me fitting to 'Blood libel' used in the context of the above statements. I think I can guess what the word means here, but is 'Blood libel' a broadly received expression in U.S. and U.K? Who coined this word on the earth?   I'm asking this because it's in many cases shown in parentheses. Quotes: > Questions about whether Palin knew what she was getting into by using " > **blood libel** " miss the mark. Right now, she is as much provocateur as > politician. And: > Within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not > manufacture a **blood libel** that serves only to incite the very hatred and > violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.


title: "Stick it in the boot." "Er, don't you mean the trunk?"

text: Does anyone know the etymological history or the reason behind the different names that British and American speakers use to refer to the automobile's largest storage receptacle, or more plainly, the _boot_ or the _trunk_? Perhaps a prominent company's advertising or a prior related usage on either side of the Atlantic influenced this divergence?


title: Name for a work attitude

text: I am looking for a name for a work attitude that can be described as the person treating their job as something of their own. To take some examples, they treat every single project or piece of work almost as if it was their own children, like something they will be identified with say long after their death; they try to save money as much as possible on business trips even if the expenses would be paid by the company in full regardless of the amount; they don't terrorize the bathroom or other public spaces. Let me add that the concept is very close to "wholehearted, passionate, earnest" etc.; but these words miss the "feel like my own" component.


title: Are “could I have been able to cope with” and "could I have coped with” the same?

text: I am a bit confused with the formation of this sentence. My lines are: > What if I were a girl? **Would I have been able to cope** with the ordeal > that women and girls live through every day? But I am still confused about whether writing _would I have been able to_ is the correct form. Would it still be correct if I change that to > What if I were a girl? **Could I have coped** with the ordeal that women and > girls live through every day?


What does the phrase "before too long" mean? Excerpt from where I read this phrase: > The response to the SDK has been quite good and I expect to start hearing > about some great apps and success stories before too long.


What is the term for words that can be used as the opposite of themselves? I know there are a few of them out there, it is possible to 'Dust a cake with Icing' and if the cake were on a shelf for a long time (must be a bad bakery) then it would be acceptable to 'Dust the cake' to remove any dust particles... In this case, 'Dust with Icing' implies the addition of something to the cake where 'Dust the cake' implies the action of removing dust from the cake Other examples: Bolt - To hold in place or to Run away with haste... Trim - To remove a small portion or to add small bits that make it pretty...


title: What does the expression 'justified for him his own idea' mean?

text: I am reading a novel, and I did not understand one of the sentences in it. Following are two lines from the novel. The narrator is talking about a guy called Paul and her father. > They were once caught in a three-week rainstorm, my father said if you could > spend three weeks in a wet tent with a man without killing him or having him > kill you then he was a good man. Paul justified for him his own idea of the > simple life; but for Paul, the anachronism was imposed, he'd never chosen > it. I did not understand the last sentence - `Paul justified for him his own idea of the simple life; but for Paul, the anachronism was imposed, he'd never chosen it.` Could someone explain it to me? From the context, I think that it means - 'My father liked Paul's simple life, but for Paul it wasn't an option'.


title: What does "to beat someone to something by some time period" mean?

text: > **Beat me to it by about 30 seconds**   >  _(Source: The first comment underthis answer.)_ I can't find "beat to" in my phrasal verb look up table, nor this usage makes any sense to me. But it looks like I'm the only one who didn't understand it, because nobody asked him "What did you mean by that comment?" there. Can you please explain this sentence to me?


title: What is the origin of using the word "our" preceding a first name when speaking directly to the person so named

text: In the BBC's _Keeping Up Appearences_ , and _Lark Rise to Candleford_ , "our Rose" and "our Laura" are used in both the third person and second person. The usage seems understandable as a third person reference offering distinction from other persons with the same name: "Our Rose is out with her gentleman friend tonight." In the second person it makes less sense (to me): "What have you been doing all afternoon, our Laura?" or "Bring us a fag, our Rose." This second person usage occurs frequently in direct address and seems odd to my American ears.


title: "but otherwise" in a sentence

text: "But otherwise" means"except for what has just been mentioned". In the sentence below, what does it mean? > Galicia, on the Atlantic coast of northern Spain, is the homeland of > Generalissimo Francisco Franco, but is otherwise famous for being a place > people try to leave.   1. Galicia is famous for being the homeland of Generalissimo Francisco Franco and a place people try to leave.   2. Galicia is not famous for being the homeland of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, but famous for being a place people try to leave.   3. Galicia is famous for being the homeland of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, but is more famous for being a place people try to leave.   4. Galicia is famous for being a place people try to leave, but is more famous for being the homeland of Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Is there another meaning _but otherwise_ could have?


title: What is a term that means "to force into a particular form"?

text: I'm looking for a term that describes "forcing into a particular form", "forcing into looking like something else", or even "forcefully fitting into a category" Ex: "We (word) the function/statement/etc. into this particular form _so that_ we can make statements about it using what we already know"