title: What is the derivation of "out like a light" meaning "to lose consciousness quickly"?

text: The idiomatic relationship between _out like a light_ and falling asleep (or being rendered comatose) quickly is easily understood in the context of electric lights extinguished instantly by a switch. The logic would also seem to apply to the blowing out of a candle, the turning down of the wick of an oil lamp, or the closing of a gas jet. But when and where did the application of the phrase to mean this first take shape? In searching via ngram, 19th century usage shows up, but most of those references that refer to dimming or extinguishing seem to be focused on fleeting emotions and facial expressions rather than consciousness. Numerous mid 20th century references (at least as early as the 30s) use the phrase in the modern sense. Does anyone have information as to when and where _out like a like_ started to mean rapid unconsciousness?


title: Word ordering for sequels of works whose titles start with 'The'

text: Hopefully a simple one, but my Google-fu is letting me down. Typically, when alpabetising titles, I would move the 'The' to the end of the title but, in the case of a sequel, should that be moved to before or after a sequel numeral? For example:   * Amazing Spider-Man, The   * Amazing Spider-Man, The 2   * Amazing Spider-Man 2, The Which of the latter two is traditionally correct?


title: Why would he do this to me?

text: Do the following two statements convey the same meaning? > Why would he do this to me? > > Why did he do this to me? To me both of them seem to imply something in simple past.


title: Where did the term "Goofy" (referring to boarding stance) come from?

text: My mom tore me a new one when, while teaching my little sister some snowboarding tips, referred to her stance as "Goofy". I told her it was the common term used in snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, but she was convinced that this was just another one of my cunning attempts to undermine the confidence of her dear daughter. Wikipedia is clear on the fact that there is no negative connotation to the term, but offers little insight (and no references) on how the term came about, or whether there's ever been a more favourable technical term for 'right foot leading'. She threw the book at me, so I'd like to throw a couple back her way. What's the origin of "Goofy"?


title: What does Chris Christie is “350 pounds of toast” mean?

text: Maureen Dowd quoted Bill Maher’s description of Chris Christie as “350 pounds of toast,” in her article titled, “Christie puts the gloves on” in New York Times (February 22): > “I tend to agree with Bill Maher that **Christie is “350 pounds of toast,”** > and that he should have run for president in 2012 when he had “that new > candidate smell” because “the longer you stay in the more likely some bad > thing will stick to you.” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/dowd-christie-puts-the- gloves-on.html?hp&rref=opinion The article of Daily KOS (February 15) titled “Bill Maher says Governor Christie is "350 pounds of toast" shows a cartoon of Chris Christie being toasted on toaster. Cambridge English Dictionary simply defines ‘toast’ as; sliced bread made warm, crisp, and brown by being put near a high heat: However, Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘toast’’ as a noun to mean a person or thing that is very popular or held in high regard by a particular group of people, beside the common notion of “sliced bread browned on both sides by exposure to radiant heat, such as a grill or fire.” Does “toast’ have the meaning of a people being examined or grilled. What does “toast” here mean? “condemnation” or “praise”?


title: What does "call past" mean?

text: What does the expression " ** _call past_** " mean? See some usages below: > I called past the supermarket on the way home from the office. > > He just called past and asked to gather the team in the canteen. > > Gary called past to check if Jimmy was doing okay.


title: Should my child's name contain "Inn"?

text: I have a simple but important question about naming my first child. I named her, as Jae-in Kim. (pronunciation is , of course, same as Jane in English name) but it is so common that hundreds, maybe thousands of people have the name Jae-in here in Korea, so, I want spell her name Jae-inn Kim (double ‘n’ in inn) for the uniqueness. but as you know, the word “inn” has meaning a kind of accommodation. From a point of view in US/English cultures, is it ridiculous/funny that a name includes _Inn?_ Or is it okay? Since English isn’t my native language, it's hard for me to figure out its nuance.


title: Usage of abbreviations in semi formal written conversation

text: Some people always tell me to avoid using abbreviations that often used in forum talk, AKA "Internet Slang", in semi formal written conversation. Of course, I would never use the phrase TTYT, TTYL, LOL, YSVW, YW in my email. IMHO, it is still appropriate to use abbreviation as long as it is very well known and does not contain inappropriate meaning. AFAIR, phrases like BTW, ASAP, FYI, CMIIW and _etc._ are often appears in my email with customers. YMMV. What's your suggestion? How do you decide if particular abbreviation is appropriate or not to be used in semi formal written conversation (email) ? TIA.


title: Is there a word for a 60th of a second?

text: I was thinking that there should be a word for a 60th of a second, is there? Our hours and minutes are split into 60ths so it makes sense to me. Also, 60fps (frames per second) is a common framerate in game development.


title: Environmental Health and Safety vs Environmental, Health, and Safety guidelines

text: Can you tell me when to know which EHS (which can be either of the above two definitions) definition is correct? I read the first definition as the guidelines for the health and safety of the environment (2 things) and the second definition as guidelines for the environment, for health, and for safety (3 things). I work in an industry where the acronym is used very often and, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I think that there is a distinct difference in those two meanings.


title: "I'm more against it than for it."

text: Is this sentence fine? > He gave his opinion on this issue. I’m more against it than for it. Or what else can I say expressing the same meaning?


title: What is the exact meaning of “You've got yourself a deal”? Is it only an American slang?

text: I came across the phrase, ‘got yourself a deal’ being introduced as a vulgar American English by a character in Jeffery Archer’s, fiction “The Fourth Estate.” In the scene Keith Townsend, Australian press mogul is trying to acquire stock shares of a leading British daily newspaper from Margaret Sherwood who is one of three co-owners of the press and an ardent wish-to-be novelist, Mrs. Sherwood says to Townsend: > “After some considerable thought,” she said, “I have come to a decision.” > Keith held his breath. > > “If you have both contracts ready for me to sign by ten o’clock tomorrow > morning, then you have, **to use that vulgar American expression** , ‘ ** > _got yourself a deal_**.’” > > Keith beamed at her. - ib. P453. I consulted Cambridge, Merriam-Webster, Oxford online English dictionaries, none of which registers ‘got yourself a deal,’ as an idiom. Although I was able to find the following definitions of “You got yourself a deal” in two English language sites, I don’t know how much I can trust them:   1. Agreed! We will do business together! - gymglish   2. A reply to an obvious question. This is a reference to the short movie "Don't Sleep." Example: Eddie: Are you playing the drums? Makeo: You got yourself a deal! – Urban dictionary. Google Ngram shows that the phrase first emerged around /in 1955 and its usage has been on the sharp rise. Then questions:   1. What is the exact meaning of “You got yourself a deal"? Why 'yourself' is needed”? What's wrong with simply saying "You got a deal!'"?   2. Under what kind of occasions is this phrase usable?   3. Is this American slang, not used in Britain, Australia and Canada?    4. Is it a “ _vulgar expression_ ” as Mrs. Sherwood describes?


title: Why is this particular "was" in past tense?

text: > He added that he saw himself then also as quite attuned to things and seemed > more in touch with his surroundings than now, in an esoteric way, as one > might be who **was** trying a variety of "mind expanding" offerings, a > little meditation, a little "pot," a little peyote, some Eastern philosophy, > etc. Source Why is the bolded word in the past?


title: Is it correct to say 'children 12 and under'?

text: I'm asking about whether or not this phrase is grammatically correct: 'children 12 and under'. I am also asking for a general analysis of constructions of this type.


title: "Between a mother and daughter" vs. "between a mother and a daughter"

text: What is the difference in meaning between these two sentences? >   1. The relationship between a mother and daughter. >   2. The relationship between a mother and **a** daughter. > I know both are correct, but do they differ in meaning? If so, how? What does it mean when the article is placed before _daughter_?


title: Meaning of "niche" in "he knows the niches of this or that genre"

text: > He knows the niches of this or that genre. Which meaning is intended here?   1. He is a master at every genre and knows everything about them.    2. He has a shallow knowledge about every genre.


title: Is the phrase "it's just a matter of semantics" meaningless?

text: I hear this phrase from time to time, and I really don't know what it means. Two people are debating, and one says "the difference between your position and mine is just a matter of semantics." This would seem to me to be quite an important difference. That is, if one person means one thing, and the other person means something else, then they really do have different positions. If they said "it is just a matter of terminology" or "just a matter of phrasing" I would get it. But if someone says "we differ only what we mean" ... it kinda makes me chuckle because it seems to be saying that their meaning is not important, as if the argument was primary and the positions they take a secondary consideration. So I started looking around for examples of this. I guess it seems that there is a popular notion that semantics is about very fine distinctions, such as: I think it's just a matter of semantics, not so much a difference per se Another interpretation seems to be that semantics is the difference between two ways of saying the same thing: I usually involve the students in the creation of classroom rules. To me, we are just agreeing upon how we can make our classroom a safe and fun place to be. I don’t know if it’s really so different from a DWS approach of having procedures, but “no rules.” Isn’t this just a matter of semantics? Maybe it is just a way of stopping an annoying conversation: In ordinary conversations, when people debate a point and the words they are using for discussion they often backhand this disagreement with the phrase “It’s a matter of semantics.” And then there is some usage that I simply don't understand: I recently spoke at a mens' event in which one of the participants asked me if having a good and noble heart was just a matter of semantics. -- In other words, does it really matter? And also: The Argument for and against the 6-3-3-4 system of education has raged on as stakeholders give conflicting position on whether it stays or not .... the 6-3-3-4 policy is just a matter of semantics, the government cannot take decisions without due consultations. Still, to me it is just a meaningless phrase. Am I missing an important meaning here?


title: about present tense and past tense

text: What is the difference in meaning between these two sentences? > I really **don't** know what she would like to have for a birthday present, > so I bought a purse. > > I really **didn't** know what she would like to have for a birthday present, > so I bought a purse.


title: Alternative to idiom “Barking up the wrong tree”?

text: I want to use the idiom: Barking up the wrong tree. But in the situation it seems a little rude. What are the idioms/phrases similar in meaning to this idiom?


title: Can “alma mater” refer to any school you’ve graduated from, not just college?

text: I was wondering whether _alma mater_ refers to all the schools you have been in, or just to college. For example, suppose someone has an undergranduate degree from one institution, a masters degree from another, and a PhD from yet a third; would all three of those count as his _alma mater_?


title: A simple question about syntax

text: I guess this would be a pretty simple question to answer. Is this sentence correct: > The player appears to have not connected. I am having my doubts about the _appears to have not_ part. P.S.: Not quite sure what tags to put in, feel free to edit.


title: Denying own statement

text: Is there a word of phrase for someone who denies their own statement? It’s like when somebody snitches and then denies having done so.


title: What's the better wording: "Please assign this to the person responsible for the job"

text: I'm trying to come up with a better wording for this sentence: > Please assign this to the person responsible for the job. I want to say "Please assign this to the appropriate person", but that doesn't sound _right_. What's the alternative to "person responsible for the job"? "The responsible person"? "the right person"? "the appropriate person"? None of these sound right to me.


title: He _____ his ego

text: When talking about not letting one's 'ego' prevent oneself from helping his enemies: > He **__** his ego and helped his enemies. Would "swallow", "hide", "put down", "lay down" work there?


title: elevation vs altitude

text: There is a question already dealing with the difference between elevation and altitude: Which to use: "altitude" or "elevation" in regards to height above sea level? The difference between the terms is clear, from the first answer I quote: > "Altitude is typically only used to describe the height of an aircraft in > flight. It is a barometric measurement expressed relative to the height of a > runway or mean sea level in a given location or region (taking into account > current local atmospheric conditions), or to an arbitrary standard datum (to > eliminate the effect of localised variations in air pressure). > > Elevation is usually used to describe the height of the ground, or a feature > fixed to the ground. It is a geometric measurement expressed relative to the > mean sea level datum established for the region by the national mapping > agency." So a church somewhere in the landscape has a certain elevation and when I fly with my balloon to New Mexico I would use the term altitude. Also atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude. The situation however, is less clear cut when I talk about the weather up in the mountains. Should I say "it is -12 °C at 2000 meters of elevation" or should I rather use the term altitude here? Temperature is measured by a weather station with a sensor positioned on a post above the ground level. I tend to think that I should refer to temperature as being related to elevation as here, the atmosphere is so close to the land surface. But what is correct?


title: Is the question "What is your body figure" grammatically correct?

text: Is a question "What is your body figure" grammatically correct? or "What is your body sizes?" I think this one is wrong. Which one is better?


title: "Numerical Mathematics"

text: My friend is studying a subject called 'Numerical Mathematics and Computer Algorithms'. Surely mathematics is all about 'Numbers', so is ''Numerical Mathematics' a redundant statement? Please excuse my ignorance.


title: Talking "on behalf of Iranians" or "instead of Iranians"?

text: How do native English speakers use of them? Do they have different meanings? Positive or negative? For example, I want to use it in a sentence to send my negative feelings and idea about a person who thinks all his characteristics and behaviors are showing "Iranian personality" and he has a special duty to introduce himself as a symbol of Iranian culture. But in my opinion no one can be a symbol of his/her nationality and he/she is only responsible for his/her own behaviors not a country or nation with many different idea owners and cultures.


title: What is the meaning of "upon" here?

text: In the New York Times: > "And it worked — boy, did it work. Visitors flooded Hulu **upon** its public > opening in March 2008." Dictionary.com: > _4_. immediately or very soon after > > _5_. on the occasion of It seems to these two definitions are both fitting in this context. What's the meaning of "upon" here?


title: Is the word "Einstein" a verb?

text: I know that a lot of people use the word "Einstein" to convey someone as a genius, but I was wondering if Einstein, as a verb, is an official term.


title: How to denote a larger distance

text: Suppose I have some measurement with interferometer number 1, let's call the result `A`, and another measurement with interferometer number 2, let's call that one `B`. Suppose that always `A>B` (in some known, fixed coordinate system and units; the numbers can be negative). What the best way to describe this in words?   1. Interferometer #1 measures a larger distance than #2.   2. Interferometer #1 measures a higher distance than #2.   3. Interferometer #1 measures a bigger distance than #2.   4. Interferometer #1 measures more than #2.   5. Interferometer #1 measures less negative than #2.   6. Interferometer #1 measures a more positive number than #2.   7. Interferometer #1 measures a less negative number than #2. I would like to use "a larger distance" but I find that unclear when comparing `A=-5` with `B=-6`.


title: How to say the margins of a page in a book

text: What is the best way to express the margins of (i) the bounded side of a page and (ii) the edge side? I see people referring to them as left margin and right margin, but they are inaccurate. On even-numbered pages, what these people call left margin comes to the right and what they call right margin comes to the left. For the other two sides, I think top margin and bottom margin are okay.


title: "Rebellion" vs. "revolution"

text: What is the difference between _rebellion_ and _revolution_? These two words seem almost the same, except that _rebellion_ is generally more distasteful. Dictionary.com lists definitions of _rebellion_: > re·bel·lion [ri- **bel** -y _uh_ n] > > **noun**   >  1\. open, organized, and armed resistance to one's government or ruler.   >  2\. resistance to or defiance of any authority, control, or tradition.   > and those of _revolution_: > rev·o·lu·tion [rev- _uh_ - **loo** -sh _uh_ n] > > **noun**   >  1\. an overthrow or repudiation and the thorough replacement of an > established government or political system by the people governed.


title: taller than any student or taller than any other student

text: Which of the following sentences is correct? > a)   >  1\. John is taller than any student in his class.   >  2\. John is taller than any other student in his class. > > b)   >  1\. No student is taller than John in his class.   >  2\. No other student is taller than John in his class.


title: A proverb to denote the importance of talking and acting in showing your abilities

text: There is a proverb in Persian which says: > تا مرد سخن نگفته باشد   >  عیب و هنرش نهفته باشه This proverb literally translated means: > One's skills and weaknesses won't be seen, unless one talks. Or in simple terms it wants to **stress how much your actions and your speech reveal both your abilities and negative points.** Is there an equivalent proverb in English?


title: What is the male equivalent of "mistress" in formal English?

text: The mistress definition, Oxford dictionary > a woman having an extramarital sexual relationship, esp. with a married man I am looking for the male equivalent of 'mistress' as defined above. Some sources on the net come up with 'master' and 'mastress'. But I could not find both words in dictionary as male equivalent of mistress. So, any male equivalents of mistress in formal English?


title: How to call the scientists who work in the natural sciences?

text: How to call the scientists who work in the natural, technical, biological and other sciences? Can I call them natural scientists, technical scientists and so on?


title: Differences in meaning between phrases with and without indefinite article

text: Could you please help me by clarifying the meaning of the two phrases below:   * a profound analysis of the problem    * profound analysis of the problem  Here's the context: I want to convey information that some mathematical tool is applied to analyse extra-mathematical phenomena. Which should I use while saying: `The tool is applied in (a) profound analysis of such-and-such phenomena`? Or maybe both versions are correct, but their meaning is different?


title: What does "by and by" mean?

text: There are words in the chorus of the "Preacher and the Slave" song by Joe Hill: > You will eat, **by and by** ,   >  In that glorious land above the sky;   >  Work and pray, live on hay,   >  You'll get pie in the sky when you die What does "by and by" mean?


title: Word/phrase for the activity of hiding mistakes

text: What word/phrase can I use to describe the activity of hiding a stupid mistake/incident, such as quickly cleaning up tea spilled by accident before anyone could notice?


title: Looking for two words

text: I'm searching for two words or expressions. The first word or expression means a situation in which there are too many items displayed on the screen, so that they cause a burden on the user and their rendering causes a burden on the CPU. The second word is a verb that I can use to describe the deletion or filtering of some of the items in order to prevent this situation. > In order to prevent `(word1)`, I need to `(word2)` the items before sending > them to the display module. I keep a list of `un(word2)ed` items and > generate a list of `(word2)ed` items from it. Perhaps something having to do with _spacing out_? (I can't use the verb "filter" because it has a different meaning in the domain, and it seems to me that it doesn't convey the meaning precisely enough.)


title: What is the best way to express interest in a job in a cover letter?

text: It is for a cover letter, where I want to express my interest in the position and also to indicate that my profile matches the requirement. > I find the proposed job interesting and matched by my profile and career > goal. First, does _"I find the proposed job interesting"_ sound too ego-centric? Second, shall I break the sentence into two or keep it compact in one? Third, any better way for saying that my profile meets their requirements? Any help on any of these questions will be appreciated.


title: Is there a single word or proper name for someone who struggles to wake up?

text: Is there a word or a different phrase that describes a person as a heavy sleeper or as somebody who struggles to wake up in the morning? I don't mean a technical phrase for a health condition, just the common "I don't want to get up yet" kind of sleeper. **EDIT** : I'm new to this stack exchange so I'm not sure if it's proper to do so, but I want to explain what I intend to use this for. Perhaps it'll help in finding the word/phrase. I'm looking to name an alarm clock application. The app is geared towards waking up heavy sleepers or people who struggle in the morning. They're not lazy and spending all day in bed. They're wanting to get up (hence why they set the alarm) maybe for work or an appointment but struggle with somnolence (awesome word) in the morning.


title: Clause in sentence

text: > John found it surprising that Wayne played the tuba. _That Wayne played the tuba_ is the clause, but what kind is it? I am completely stuck on this and can't figure it out.


title: Do I have to add "one" to refer to a last used noun?

text: While reading George R. R. Martin's _A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones_ I stumbled upon this sentence: > His voice cracked like a boy's. I think to remember from my English lessons in school that _one_ should be added at the end to refer to the last used known noun, like so: > His voice cracked like a boy's _one_. Which is deemed grammatically correct?


title: How can I structure this sentence correctly?

text: A friend of mine announced her pregnancy via email. I wanted to tell her how pleased I was to hear she was going to have a baby, as this was something she'd wanted for a long time. I was about to say "I've never been happier to hear someone's pregnant", but then realised that of course I had been even happier when my own wife found she was pregnant. I wanted to imply that that was the only time I had been happier to hear such an announcement. I wrestled with putting it succinctly for a few moments before writing " **you're the person I've been second happiest to hear is pregnant ever** ". I shuddered as I sent it, as I could see it was poor English. However, I was in a rush and knew she would understand what I meant. I hope you can see what I was aiming for: I didn't want to mention my wife explicitly, and I wanted to use "second-most" in some way. Even with hindsight, I struggle to put this into a single brief sentence. What should I have written?


title: What category includes "news", "articles", and "stories"

text: I have created a dropdown menu for my website. In this dropdown menu I have put a tab for audio, a tab for video, but I don't know what to call the category that include (News, articles, and stories altogether). I'm looking for a word that says something like this: "The reading stuff found here". In other words, even though the word video includes many different subjects, someone understand this is a category that has all videos. Is there something similar for the reading part ?


title: Response to "God Bless" when parting company

text: What should the correct response be (from someone not overtly religious) if someone says "God bless" when parting company? "Bye now" or "Bye" doesn't seem an adequate response.


title: What colour eyes

text: I've just stumbled on this sentence **What colour eyes does she have?** in my grammar book. What got me interested in this is the combination of the words **colour, eyes** with **what** and without any prepositions. I just assume a construction like this is possible with some particular words such as colour, form, shape, size and so on. These words have ranges or multiple possibilities. Let me try this out. > **What size sofa did you buy?** Since I think it's similar to **what kind of car do you have** construction, I don't have to use an article before **sofa** or do I? > **What shape pancakes does the shop sell?** Are these 2 correct / possible? They make sense? Any thoughts on this? Am I even right or it's just an insane theory? haha **UPDATE:** Ok I can conclude people have different takes on this. So I want to ask you guys a couple of more things that will help me to understand this point better 1) If I always use "of" in such cases, will it always be correct? 2) What do we do with an article if we have a singular noun? optional or needed? From what I gather if we have "of" we need or opt for an article. If we don't we have to drop it. Is it like this? These below are just examples but I'm asking about a general idea for this kind of sentences   **What size (a) sofa did you buy?**   **What shape of (a) pancake did she buy?**


title: "My" twice in a sentence

text: To settle a disagreement, is the following sentence grammatically correct? > It's slowing my paying my debts off.


title: Can someone help me understand this quote about love?

text: > Ah! a blessing beyond all fate; My sole mate 'tis my soul mate. I didn't get this quote. Let me know its meaning please.


title: "Like" versus "not unlike"

text: Just out of curiousity, how did this double negative come to be? When I use it, it's often because I want to emphasise the fact that x is _not_ y but is still similar in some way, whereas "like" doesn't necessarily stress the fact that two things aren't the same when stating their... likeness. > The ship's design was not unlike that of a Firefly class vessel, but it was > a lot faster, like the Millenium Falcon. > > Captain Reynolds was like Han Solo in a way. A great leader in times of > need. Yes, I'm a _Firefly_ fan.


title: Is itinery/itinary an acceptable pronunciation of "itinerary"?

text: There are enough Google results with the misspelling above to suggest I'm not the only person who pronounces _itinerary_ incorrectly. So is this common or even acceptable to pronounce it in this way? Excuse me if I'm way off the mark, but do the majority of people pronounce it differently from its spelling?


title: Single word for "Private Realm"

text: **I'm looking for a word that would carry the same connotation as "Private Realm." If you can think of a good word, you can skip the rest of this.** * * * Context: I'm working on some architectural projects where I'm contrasting publicly visible and accessible space (whether publicly owned or not) and private space not visible or accessible to the general public. I've decided to call the public space "Interface" -- people seem to understand this and they don't get sidetracked arguing about whether privately owned plazas etc. are "public". I'd like to pair Interface with a single word that indicates private space, places that are not necessarily _intimate_ but are simply not _public_. Basically I'm describing the difference between a front yard and the living room in a house. The front yard can be described as _interface_ \-- it's a public space (privately owned), and also a connection between the public realm and the private realm. The living room is private space. If someone walked through your front yard it wouldn't be a big deal -- if someone just walked into your living room it would be a big deal. See the difference? It would also be fine with me to coin a new word as long as it _sounds good_ next to "Interface" and as long as it doesn't trigger negative associations.


title: What's the practice for short-forming or nicknaming words called?

text: Is there any term for the habit of playing around with words, or even names, and nickname them? Like 'No' becoming 'nopes', 'whatever' becoming 'tevs', milky-wilky etc. This happens a lot with cricket teams, who keep nicknaming people - Wilkinson becomes Willy or Wilks, Hogg becomes Hoggy (though it's longer).


title: Conference registerer

text: Maybe this is a Stackoverflow question, but I am not sure. I am looking for a word(or perhaps a phrase) to describe a person who registers for a lot of conferences but never bothers to attend them. There are so many conferences in and around London, and I know a bunch of people who almost always register for _all_ of these conferences but don't bother to attend these. How do I describe them or their behaviour?


title: What is the word for doing something absentmindedly?

text: Suppose a person throws his pen up and catches it by his one hand when he is deep in thought to solve a math problem. They don't know why they do it, but they just do and they do it unintentionally and inattentively. This behavior is generally not easy for a person to give up, but if one lessens his absentmindedness, he can stop this habit. What is the word for this behavior?


title: Pronunciation of "you're"

text: Dictionaries list the pronunciation of _you're_ as   * jɔː(r)   * jə(r)    * jʊə(r) Which one is more common in British or American English?


title: A more suitable word for events which occur in a book/movie/etc

text: I'm looking for a more suitable word than _event_ for something which occurs in (in my particular case) a book. If one was to summarise the _events_ (ugh) of a book - just so there's no doubt about what I'm trying (badly) to describe- it might look something like this: ["protaginist's father dies", "protagonist goes into hiding", "protagonist meets Zen Master", "protagonist battles antagonist", "protagonist holds party"] Now, is there a better word than _event_ for these kinds of plot occurrences? I cannot for the life of me think of one. Any help would be **greatly** appreciated! :-) **Edit** : I have looked up both _event_ and _plot_ in the thesaurus (.com), but none of the words I've found really suited my needs, other than perhaps _incident_. The only reason I want a different word than _event_ is that it feels very _general_ , and I was hoping there was a more applicable word in the context of books.


title: Degrees of Criticality / Lateness or whatever

text: I am writing a Web Application where I am going to list certain events and their overdue days. If an event is overdue by less than 10 days then its `safe`. If it is overdue by over 10 days but less than 30 days then I would add a flag called `warning` beside it. The problem is I am not sure if the words `safe` and `warning` are proper. Ok. The application is a timesheet application and I am listing the weeks where the User has not submitted the timsheets (timesheets are pending) and hence over due. Can anyone give me 4 or 5 words to describe various degrees of overdue? I am not sure how to word this question or do a Google search. What do you call these kind of set of words? **EDIT:** I think Ive got answer for my question. But what do you call these series of words?


title: Can we 'do evil'?

text: On another post discussion has moved to what one can and cannot 'do'. We 'do our duty', we do our homework' and we 'do the washing-up'. But we cannot 'do dancing', 'do driving', or 'do charity'- or can we? What is it that determines what we can or cannot 'do'?


title: Room Temperature: Article “A” or Not?

text: Below, “room temperature” takes the article “a” in one case but not the other. “Temperature” seems like a countable noun, so why no article in the first case? What is the grammar that is working here? >   1. Keep the office at room temperature. > >   2. Keep the office at a room temperature of 22C. > >


title: Is "of course" just a warning that something is NOT obvious?

text: I've come to feel that the phrase "of course" is just a warning that--perk up! --something is NOT "of course." Consider these examples:   * NY Times: "There is **of course** a difference between speculative bubbles caused by greed and psychological ones born of fear."    * NY Times: “Corporations are people, my friend,” Mr. Romney responded, as the hecklers shouted back, “No, they’re not!” “ **Of course** they are,” Mr. Romney said, chuckling slightly. I'm afraid that in neither of those cases is it obvious to me where truth resides. "Obviously" is another warning flag to me that something is NOT obvious. Does anybody feel the same way?


title: Who are ‘the proverbial monkeys’ in ‘the proverbial monkeys willing to throw a wrench into it’?

text: I thought the article written by Charles M. Blow under the title ‘Genuflecting to the Tea party’ appearing in August 12 New York Times intriguing. He criticizes a sequence of moves of Republican Congressmen over the budget ceiling deals as the G.O.P.’s ‘obscene genuflection’ to Tea Party tenets: give no ground; take no prisoners; accept no deal. Apart from appropriateness of the writer's view (in which I have no special interest), I was interested in the metaphor contained in the following sentence of the article: > “Luckily for the rest of us, a rash of recent polling suggests that more > Americans, at least for the moment, seem to be coming around to seeing the > Tea Party for what it is — not mechanics come to fix the machine, but _the > proverbial monkeys willing to throw a wrench into it_.” What does ‘the proverbial monkeys’ mean? Who are they? Tea Party or Republicans? If it is Tea Party (which is in singular form), it doesn’t agree with monkeys (in plural form) in number. It doesn’t matter because Tea Party is a collective noun? I don’t know. Can somebody paraphrase this section in more articulate way? ‘


title: Use of 'Much as'

text: Consider the use of "much as" in the following: >   1. Much as Jason needed money for a new car, he decided not to borrow it > from the bank. > >   2. Much as he needed money for a new car, Jason decided not to borrow it > from the bank. > > Are both acceptable? I was told by a teacher the first one is not right, please help.


title: Does ‘Power Point (something) away’ have currency in the English language, or is its use limited to this one columnist?

text: There was the following sentence in Maureen Dowd’s column titled “When cruelty is cute,” in August 14 New York Times: "Unlike some of the right-wing ayatollahs, Ryan doesn’t threaten with moral and cultural gusts of sulfur. He seems more like a friendly guidance counselor who wants to teach us how to live, get us in shape, _PowerPoint away the social safety net_ to make the less advantaged more self-reliant, as he makes the rich richer. Burning the village it takes to save it, so we can avoid the fiscal cliff, or as he and his fellow conservative Cassandras ominously call it, “the debt bomb.” I don’t get surprised to find novel words in mainstream English language newspapers. 'Etch A Sketch,' laser-focused,’ ‘pillow-plumping romance,’ ‘slogans vs. haircuts,’ ‘Democratic sharpie’ – examples are abound even in the past few weeks. It’s rather a fun for me to fish for those ‘quirky’ expressions, though I never wish to emulate them. With that said, I understand ‘PowerPoint away’ simply means 'erase (clear) away something'. Is this expression becoming current as ‘Xerox a copy,’ ‘google etymology,’ ‘tweet with sb.’ are, or just an ephemeral coinage of Maureen Dowd’s?


title: "What it did was" versus "what it did is" versus "what it does is"

text: I feel a bit uncertain about the use of tense in the above sentence structure. Which one is grammatically correct and sounds most natural between "what it did was," "what it did is," and "what it does is"?


title: where should the adverb 'yet' be put in the sentence?

text: I am always not sure where to put the adverb 'yet' in a sentence. In my example below, for me, both versions seem to be correct but if anyone could double check that would be great. > I was wondering if you have heard anything back from ... regarding my ... > yet? Or > I was wondering if you have yet heard anything back from ... regarding my > ... ? Best wishes!


title: Word for when people store scarce resources to increase demand and sell at higher price

text: Like storing gasoline to create an artificial demand and sell it a higher price later.


title: Which is the correct usage?

text: Which is the correct usage?                1. I don't know how did it go wrong.      2. I don't know how it went wrong.      Similarly it happen in the following cases also                1. He doesn't know where she is.      2. He doesn't know where is she.      Is there any alternate way to express the same?


title: Are "perchance" and "by chance" interchangeable?

text: Merriam Webster's defines "perchance" as: > "maybe but not definitely" Similarly, the fifth definition of chance on Merriam Webster has "by chance" defined as: > "in the haphazard course of events" The famous Shakespeare quote "to sleep, perchance to dream" would sound odd as "to sleep, by chance to dream." Conversely, I wouldn't think twice about asking someone either "do you by chance have a piece of gum," or "perchance do you have a piece of gum?" Would the second example be incorrect? I found this page from "The Grammarist" which would seem to indicate I'm using perchance wrong. Both words are conditional words dependent on chance. Are they interchangeable, or only interchangeable in certain circumstances?


title: Is there a real difference between "null" and "zero"?

text: Are _zero_ and _null_ perfect synonyms?


title: What is an adjective for multiple things originating from the same source?

text: I feel like there should be a word for this, and it seems like it's on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't think of it. **Is there an adjective for when a number of things all originate from the same source?** I'll give you an example. Suppose you knew a number of jokes. You learned all of these jokes from the same person. All of these jokes could be said to be (adjective). Uni-source-ic? Another example. You have a number of electronic devices. They all came from the Apple Store down the street. These devices are (adjective). One final example. Suppose you believed that all knowledge in the world came from God. You would say something like "I believe in the (adjective) nature of all of the world's knowledge". Can anyone help me out?


title: "The team is moving around really effectively." Is this a correct use of "effectively"?

text: Something about this sounds wrong to me. The speaker intends the statement to mean that the team is moving around a lot and it is causing them to succeed. "The team is moving around really effectively." Correct use of effectively?


title: Alternative colloquial expressions for "I thought"

text: When expressing how we misunderstand the others's expressions we often say "I thought ...". But, out of curiosity, I want to know are there any other expressions equivalent to the meaning of "I thought" and colloquial?


title: Regular/Routine, Fasting, Blood test/Blood work

text: I would like to expand my vocabulary with some medical terms in English. I have been thinking about how to say, for example, if I go to see a doctor for a blood test. _**Q1** ) Are these phrases correct?_ a) "Tomorrow I will have to see a doctor on an empty stomach to take blood for a REGULAR blood test." b) "Tomorrow I will have to see a doctor on an empty stomach to take blood for a ROUTINE blood test." c) "Tomorrow I will have to see a doctor to take blood for a REGULAR FASTING blood test." d) "Tomorrow I will have to see a doctor to take blood for a ROUTINE FASTING blood test." _**Q2** ) Can the phrase "fasting" be used instead of "on an empty stomach" as I write it?_ _**Q3** ) I came across the term "a routine blood-work". Is it another term for "a blood test"?_


title: Can "so" (as a conjunction) be followed by a sentence the subject of which is omitted?

text: Recently I have come across this strange sentence: > The paper was mainly about the everyday life of the ordinary people during > the Japanese occupation so did not favour any student of History. Can we omit the subject after the conjunction " so" when it is the same as that of the main clause? If we can, then what about other conjunctions like "as" (in the sense of "because"), "because", "since"? I know the omission of subjects is common for conjunctions like "if", "when" and "as". But rarely do I see this happen to conjunctions showing casual relationships like "so" and "because".


title: Does one 'have' or does one 'hold' a fascination?

text: I know that a fascination 'holds' the individual, but how does one phrase the act of being fascinated? i.e.; does one 'hold' or does one 'have' a fascination? Would it be more appropriate to say that he or she is 'held' by a fascination?


title: Meaning of "to be Accounts Receivable for someone"

text: I understand what accounts receivable are, and I understand what factoring is. But I don't understand what the phrase "to be accounts receivable for someone" means, e.g. "I'm accounts receivable for company X". Does it mean I owe company X money, or does it mean that I'm collecting the money other people owe to company X for them? Or something else?


title: Referring a particular website, should I use the noun adjunct or the genitive/possessive?

text: I'm wondering if there are any guidelines about using the noun adjunct or the possessive with a website and a company. Should I write: `go to the Twitter website` or `go to Twitter's website`? AFAIK both are grammatically correct, but please correct me if I'm wrong. Also, if it does come down to a stylistic choice, is there any reason to pick one camp over the other?


title: Why does "defenestrate" mean "throw someone out a window" and not "remove a window"?

text: When I fenestrate something I put a window into it. But when I defenestrate I throw someone out of a window. Why does defenestrate not mean "remove a window"? As examples - when someone has a detox they remove toxins. When someone de- clutters they remove clutter.


title: 'Let's get our socks on'/'Aren't we clever' Pronoun Usage

text: I sometimes hear people using _us, we_ etc. when talking to young children in order to refer to the child: e.g "Let's get our socks on"; "Aren't we a clever boy". For how long have people done this? Is this as common as I think it is? And does it occur in other languages? As a point of possible interest I might add that in _Antony & Cleopatra_ (about 1607), when Cleopatra is helping to lift up the dying Antony on to her monument, she uses _we/our_ in a way that might be interpreted as resembling this usage: > _Cleo.:_   >  [...] but come, come Anthony,   >  Helpe me my women, we must draw thee up:   >  Assist good Friends. > > _Ant.:_   >  Oh quicke, or I am gone. > > _Cleo.:_   >  Heere's sport indeede: How heauy weighes my Lord?   >  **Our strength is all gone into heauinesse** ,   >  That makes the waight. Of course this could just as easily refer to both of them, although it seems to have some relation to the 'hedging' described in Edwin Ashworth's comment.


title: Does conjugation reduction require a hyphen in the affected words?

text: In a sentence where we have two listed words that are hyphenated, we can omit the latter part of the first compound and still be grammatically correct: > I don't believe we will ever find helium-based or hydrogen-based life forms. > > I don't believe we will ever find helium- or hydrogen-based life forms. However, if we have two (related) words which both end in the same suffix, can we still apply this notation? I've seen this used before, but I'm not sure it's proper: > It doesn't matter whether the character is a protagonist or antagonist. > > It doesn't matter whether the character is a pro- or antagonist. More often than in writing, I hear this in spoken conversation, usually with an emphasis on the prefixes (i.e. "... a **_pro_** \- or **_an_** tagonist ..."), as though there is actually a hyphen in both words. I've read up a small bit on conjugation reduction here (thanks to search actually finding that term for me), but it doesn't seem to answer this particular question. Is the reduction of non-hyphenated words allowed within English grammatical rules?


title: I wrote my personal experience about my trip to Akshardham,I want to know is it grammerlly correct? or what improvement can I Make in this?

text: Last weekend,we planned to visit Akshardham Temple as we had some free time.My friends and I went by Metro to Akshardham from Race course. As we came out of the Metro station,after a kilometer or so,we found a great monument (Akshardham Temple).The Akshardham temple is quite serious about security,so the only things we carry was our purse and basic guide book which tells us what we are going to see.After Passing the security checks we entered into the Akshardham. The first thing that strikes us was the assembly of 10 gates, which represent the 10 principal directions of Indian culture: music,dance,literature etc.The gates have been created to invite goodness from all direction.as we cross the gates,we saw the holy footprints of Bhagwan Swaminaryan carved out of white marble,on which water is continuously showered from four large conch shells. The focal point of the entire complex is the grand Akshardham monument,built of pink stone,without steel,is entirely composed of sandstone and marble.Akshardham is the best monument I've ever seen.I love the golden murti in the main mandir and I love the way the carvings have been done. First Thing I like the most was an audio-animatronics presentation of an assembly in time of Lord swaminaryaan,in which life of bhagwan swaminarayan is portrayed through robotics,fibre optics,light and sound effects,dialogues and music.The best part in (audio-animatronics) was when Lord swaminarayan stands up,it was the best in the world,I loved it. The second most amazing thing to visit in this temple was the boat riding,through boat riding we entered into the world's oldest village and bazzar of vedic India,sail through Takshashila,the world's first university,followed by the ancient discoveries and inventions of the great rashis scientist of India. In the end after refreshment in food court.we visited Exhibition hall,T-shirts in the exhibition hall was the thing I like the most,so I bought one T-shirt as token of memory from this temple. It took us 6 hours to see all the things. I would like to mention that the proverb (pictures say thousand words) does not apply to this monument.you have got to see it in person to be able to describe your feeling.


title: Using past participle vs existent noun form for adjective

text: There are multiple ways a noun can be described by an adjective   * by a word that is already an adjective (e.g., big, dark, high, low)   * by a noun (mushroom house)   * by a participle (running dogs, painted house) However, I am often confused. Actually not confused, because I believe I see the picture clearer than the normal usage. Anyway, confused over the deployment of a past participle when the noun form is sufficient as the adjective:   * white-tail deer vs white-tailed deer.   * red-hair girl vs red-haired girl.   * bottle-nose dolphin vs bottle-nosed dolphin. Because, then, why wouldn't we say   * chickened rice but chicken rice   * pepper jacked cheese but pepper jack cheese   * pepperonied pizza but pepperoni pizza   * yellow-doored house but yellow-door house   * Intel-Pentiumed PC but Intel-Pentium PC ?? The more acceptable form is bottle-nose dolphin, not bottle-nosed dolphin. Yet the more acceptable form is white-tailed deer, not white-tail deer. How unacceptable is it to say   * red-hair girl   * white-tail deer   * bottle-nosed dolphin   * wet-backed migrant ?? Why or why not? Do provide examples of other noun vs past participle adjectives.


title: "... is about to ..." vs. "... is going to ..."

text: I found that _is about to_ is used in the following sentence of the news article titled “Tech belt sees hiring surge” in The Boston Globe. > "The company is about to go on a hiring spree, from four employees to as > many as 15, according to Andrew Joseph, its cofounder." Why has the journalist used _is about to_ rather than _is going to_ ("The company is going to go [...] )"? Is it grammatical _is about to_ when that is referred to an inanimate subject (in the sentence above 'the company').


title: Word for a person who acts like you

text: What is the proper word for someone who acts like you, or is doing the same thing you are doing? I was thinking about _role playing_ , but it sounded very out of place.


title: Expression for an 'end-to-end product development process'

text: I am looking for a single word or a phrase that can effectively describe: > the start to end, from-the-ground-up, development of something new. That is, the process of coming up with the idea, designing an actual product and building it.


title: Origin of the chess term "checkmate"

text: An attack on a king is called "check", why is an attack that guarantees the capture of a king called check _mate_? What is the origin?


title: Synonym for "half-ass"

text: As in: > I don't want to half-ass this project or I'll be fired. > > Don't half-ass this project or I'll fire you. > > I half-assed this project and was fired.


title: Modern English to Early Modern English

text: What will be a proper translation from modern english to Shakespearean english of this line: > The Demon I have faced, is the Demon I have become.


title: usage of "constitute" and "thankful"

text: > A senior researcher has single-handed[ly] constituted one of the most > comprehensive collections of field recordings. I have three questions, two pertaining to usage and one to grammar:  1\. Should _single-handed_ be an adverb describing _constituted_?  2\. Can the verb _constitute_ be a transitive as well as a causative verb as in the above example? I think that in the above example the word _constitute_ is misused to mean _form, establish_ or _create._ A researcher does not constitute part of the collection. When acknowledging thanks for financial support: > We are thankful to the Smith Foundation for supporting our new research > project.  3\. According to dictionary meanings, _thankful_ does have the meaning of gratitude and appreciations, but with the nuance of relief as in the example, "We are thankful that the storm did not cause more damage." Is my feeling correct?


title: Is suffixing a personal name with "-azza"/"-azzer" a standard Cockney nicknaming rule?

text: In two British films I recently recalled, I noticed a trend in nicknaming that I'd like confirmation of, by someone familiar with spoken Cockney English. In the first one, _Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels_ , I believe Barry the Baptist, an entertaining paid enforcer, is called _Bazza_ or _Bazzer_ either by his boss, or by those "two Northern monkeys", I can't remember which. In the second movie, _Layer Cake_ , I remember a guy, part of a Cockney English-speaking drug gang, being referred to as _Gazza_ basically throughout the entire movie. My first question is: Is this a standard rule for nicknaming amongst Cockney English speakers? My second question is: If it's a rule, from what personal name does _Gazza_ come from? My final question, the one I care about most about, is: If it's a rule, can I get some examples on how this rule would be applied to other names?


title: What does pair done means?

text: I asked someone to reduce the amount of content that he provided to be included in a website and he suggested he can pair done the information. What does pair done mean?


title: Is the expression "The States" used by Americans when referring to the US?

text: Does the expression "The States" have any currency in AE when referring to the US, or is it chiefly used by native English speakers from outside?


title: 'Shelled' vs. 'deshelled'

text: Are they interchangeable? Do they really mean the same thing in this context? As in the sentences: > I really enjoy these already shelled pistachios. > > I really enjoy these already deshelled pistachios. They are both saying the same thing. Why are these terms ambiguous?


title: What is the meaning of "drains" in here?

text: > "I expect someone lives there in secret, only coming in and out at night, > with a dark lantern. We shall probably discover a gang of desperate > criminals and get a reward. It's all rot to say a house would be empty all > those years unless there was some mystery." > > "Daddy thought it must be the **drains** ," said Polly. > > "Pooh! Grown-ups are always thinking of uninteresting explanations," said > Digory. Now that they were talking by daylight in the attic instead of by > candlelight in the Smugglers' Cave it seemed much less likely that the empty > house would be haunted. I looked in the dictionary and found that drain = pipe, but I don't know what it really means here.


title: Origin of "s--t eating grin"

text: What is the origin of the phrase _shit eating grin_? How did it come to mean showing smugness or self-satisfaction of an individual's actions?


title: How did "roughly" come to mean approximately?

text: "Roughly" is used as in "He just pushed me roughly." How did "roughly" then become used as in "They're roughly the same weight."?


title: What are the casual words that helps to express yourself in Internet chat

text: English is the second language for most of us. So when we chat in the internet, sometime our wordings looks more formal and not interesting. But I found when I chat with native English Guys, they uses some interesting(casual) wordings to express their real feeling. So what are the such wordings do you uses in your internet chat. here are some i recognize.   * I'm going to leave - got to go (g2g).   * Well, that is an unfortunate situation - Oh man, that stinks


title: Deconstructing 'for crying out loud'

text: How did the phrase/idiom `for crying out loud` come about? I don't understand what is "for" doing here. For X means that X is a requirement that has to be fulfilled. `Why don't you do it *for X*` means `You should do it in order to fulfill condition X`. In that sense, `crying out` doesn't make sense to me. Also is that a cry like `cry in pain` or `cry in anger`? I have read http://ezinearticles.com/?For-Crying-Out-Loud!-What-is-the-Origin- of-This-Strange-Expression?&id=4533931 but it doesn't answer the question.


title: 'Animus' — negative connotation?

text: The Oxford Dictionaries entry for _animus_ reads: >   1. [mass noun] Hostility or ill feeling: >   2. [mass noun] Motivation to do something: > Owing to definition 1 above, I suspect that a negative connotation inheres in definition 2. The definition doesn't elucidate or promulgate this, but this word would be too confusing if definition 2 could also refer to positive motivation. Am I right?


title: Is Did + second form correct in this sentence?

text: If I say, "How did she knew about it?" Would it be correct? If you use search engine for "did knew", you get hundred thousand results. Are they incorrect? I'm confused about this grammar structure.


title: Definite article usage and word ordering in 'all the equipment necessary to create a network'

text: I have a sentence where I am not sure about the word order, and if the definite article should be used or not. Which version is correct:   1. _It is a system which includes all equipment necessary to create a network._   2. _It is a system which includes all the equipment necessary to create a network._   3. _It is a system which includes all necessary equipment to create a network._   4. _It is a system which includes all the necessary equipment to create a network._


title: What is the origin of the expression "I'm broke"?

text: When people have no money with them they usually use the expression _"I'm broke"_ Does anyone know how this originated?


title: Can ‘them’ be used for ‘their’ in front of a noun?

text: I’m having a difficulty understanding “could they just have that for them unreachable pleasure” in the following sentence. If _them_ means _their_ , my questions will be solved. I’ll take it like this: if they could just have a piano for their unreachable pleasure. But I’m not familiar with such case. Am I misunderstanding something important? Or does the ‘them’ mean ‘their’? > Owning a piano is for some a symbol of status. That’s very sad, because > there are many gifted people who would like to give anything, could they > just have that for **them** unreachable pleasure, that is now just looking > decorative and impressive in somebody’s interior. ( _People and Pianos_ by > Marinus J. van Prattenburg: p9) [bold font is mine] Just for your information, the writer is a Canadian and lives on the west coast. (though I don’t know whether it’s relevant.)


title: Looking for a better term than 'benign envy' or 'mudita'

text: Often when I'm happy for someone's good fortune or success, I find myself using the words envious or envy. In casual speech with friends, voice tone and familiarity help deliver my positive intent, but I don't like the negative connotation of the word - especially the part where it intends others harm. Benign envy is a non-starter for me and mudita is far too obscure to use for my taste, despite being the closest word I know for the sentiment I wish to express. Am I missing some obvious single words or phrases in more common usage than mudita that express a positive feeling i have that is directly related to the positive feelings of another? Shared joy is the closest literal phrase, but it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue for me. Here is a simple diagram that maps the the state of two people’s happiness in relation to each other - envy, pity, mudita and schadenfreude. The other 3 words stand well alone and are defined by my happiness in relation to another's, but perhaps this is more that mudita needs to be adopted as schadenfreude has already been. Am I missing a decent alternative to mudita? ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/wPKg8.png)


title: What is the origin of "-ix" as a feminine variation?

text: Some words are made feminine by altering the suffix to be _-ix_. Examples:   * _dominator → dominatrix_   * _executor → executrix_   * _rector → rectrix_ What is the origin of this variation?   From my 5 years of Spanish, and what little I know of Italian/French,   it doesn't seem to me to be from the Romance languages.


title: A formal word for 'disemvowel'

text: According to Collins English Dictionary, _disemvowel_ is a transitive verb meaning 'to remove the vowels from (a word in a text message, email, etc.) in order to abbreviate it'. Since the aforementioned dictionary says that _disemvowel_ is informal: what is a _formal_ word that has the same meaning?


title: Significance of text after dashes

text: How do I comprehend the lines after dashes? For example: The ice shelf cores were long enough to penetrate through glacial ice—which is formed from the compaction of snow and contains air bubbles—and to continue into the clear, bubble-free ice formed from seawater that freezes onto the bottom of the glacial ice. After the first dash, it can be understood that the author is referring to glacial ice (as "which" stands for glacial ice). What about the sentence following the second dash?


title: "Yor first bookshelf" for a non-native speaker

text: I have a question of somewhat different kind, not grammar related but rather about learning English in general. I am learning English mostly from reading books. But my choice of books is quite random. So, I decided to ask this great community for the list of books one have to read to get themself familiar with either English grammar and vocabulary as well as cultural context. (I do understand that not only books but also cartoons, tv series, movies also forms the latter one but unfortunately I don't like such ways of entertainment, so the books only remains) Is it feasible task? Please understand, this is not "best selling list" what I am asking for (personally I hate "bestsellers" in any language). This is rather "most common books list", books that are so common that usually noone even have an idea of mentioning them. Including even books for children. Books that forms the cultural context, source of widely used idioms, proverbs, common phrases etc. So, the question is: What is the list of most common English books you recommend for a non-native speaker (preferably available in the digital form)? On a second thought I rethinked my refusal of other media. So, if you thinks that some movie or cartoon is essential - throw it in!


what's the meaning of "While this debate is ever unfolding"? **While this debate is ever unfolding** , there is yet another boundary, the economic boundary, which divides and develops border identity


title: Cleanse vs Clean

text: Do you know what is the difference between Cleanse and Clean? I don't have a clear idea of when to use one or the other as verbs or nouns, or if there is some key difference I'm not aware of.


title: Should I use the plural or singular for "skill" as in "cooking skill"

text: I want to compliment someone for her good cooking skills, but I'm not sure whether it is more grammatical to use the plural or singular form of "skill". For example, should I use: > "Your cooking skills is great!" OR > "Your cooking skills are great!" OR > "Your cooking skill is great!" Not sure which to use. Can someone explain the correct usage?


title: Context of "when?"

text: One example comes from this song in "the Music Man." > Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana   >  Gary, Indiana, let me say it once again   >  Gary, Indiana, Gary, Indiana   >  Gary, Indiana, that's the town that knew me WHEN. Another example comes from a friend who met Taylor Swift at age 13, before she became famous, and therefore knew her "when." The meaning of "when" is something like, before one became established or famous. But what is the context/appropriate expression of it? Is it something like "when I was young..."? (On the other hand, if someone is young AND famous, then it's no longer "when.")


title: Using the adjective "expressive" to mean an object allows for expression?

text: My intention is to say that systems of a particular type allow users to express ideas on them. I wanted to give the concept a more concise/general name, as a title for such systems. I called them _Expressive Systems_ initially, but I realise that this may not be correct (it may, I don't know) because this seems to mean more that the system is able to express certain things on its own. This isn't even close to what I intended. Does the adjective "expressive" in this context mean what I intend to mean? If not, what form of the word (or other replacement word) should I use to express my intention?


title: Meaning of "no man is an island, entire by itself"

text: From an excerpt by Francis Bacon (1561-1626), and does it count as a proverb?


title: different way to write clause

text: I am a english learner. Currently, I saw some different writing styles. I am very confused. Thus. please help me solve it. Here are examples.   1. I saw a car running on the road.   2. I saw a car that running on the road.   3. I saw a car that is running on the road. (1-3 I want to know which one is the correct expression and the differences between them)   4. The computer running in the lab is very expensive.   5. The computer that is running in the lab is very expensive.   6. The computer that running in the lab is very expensive. (4-6 I want to know which one is the correct expression and the differences between them)   7. Computers that are connected by a network may be separated by any distance. can I write it like this "Computer connected by a network may be separated by any distance" . Is this expression correct?  Thanks


title: sentence formation and use of right grammar

text: Is the following sentence grammatically correct? _Her bank account was opened under me as a guardian._ Actually I need to say that when her account was opened I had to be her guardian since she was considered minor. Is there a better way to say the above?


title: Use of the word "Overjoyous"

text: Is the following correct: The overjoyous Scottish supporter could hardly believe his eyes!


title: Is there a formal term for "snail mail"?

text: Once "email"* entered the lexicon, we needed a term to differentiate it from what we can call regular, hand-delivered mail. One term in broad usage is "snail mail." But in a project I'm working on, we need a term that is more formal and businesslike. As currently written, the copy reads: "Terrestrial mail." I'm looking for a good term to replace "Terrestrial." Any ideas? (*AP Stylebook has eliminated the hyphen.)


title: A word to refer to both physical objects and conceptual ideas

text: If I am referring to a number of concrete objects I can use multiple terms such as bodies, objects, things, etc. If I am referring to a number of abstract concepts I can also use many terms such as ideas, concepts, principles... Is there a noun that represents a step higher in the taxonomic hierarchy to represent both abstract and concrete _things_?


title: What does "animal" mean in the following context?

text: Does _animal_ here mean _4a person with a particular interest or aptitude_ in the Merriam-Webster? > Mr. Black recalled that Mr. DiCaprio dug up obscure film footage of a young > Hoover giving speeches and read through transcripts of his Congressional > testimony. “I had gone with a more redacted version of those, leaving out > some of the more flowery, Hoovery language,” Mr. Black said. “Hoover liked > to weave a lot of allusions of slimy, slippery **animals** into his speeches > at that time. Leo loved it. He said, ‘Come on, we’ve got to use this stuff.’ > ”


title: Why can’t you say “I fell the stairs”?

text: The verb _to fall_ strongly implies the direction _down_ , but in some circumstances it is obligatory (in StdAmEng) to include the word “down.” The example I have in mind right now is > I fall _down_ the stairs   >  * I fall the stairs Formally speaking, what’s going on here? Note that this is not the same as > I fall [down] _[to/on/...]_ the ground   >  * I fall [down] the ground Here _down_ is optional (it sounds a bit redundant to my ear, but neither option is wrong), and _[preposition] the ground_ is a normal prepositional phrase. In other words, I don’t think _down_ is acting as a preposition in “I fall down the stairs.”


title: Could the idiom 'belt and suspenders' be used to refer to a woman?

text: For example referring to an extremely cautious woman as a belt-and-suspenders kind of woman. Is it correct English (Am. English)?


title: Synonym for "final" or antonym for "draft"

text: I'm hitting a problem where we're using forms of the word _final_ with three different meanings:   1. Final evaluation, as opposed to midterm evaluation   2. Final version, as opposed to draft version   3. Finalizing (where an administrator reviews a final version of a final evaluation and approves it for viewing by the evaluatee) Where this becomes really confusing is when I want to tell the evaluator that he needs to save his evaluation as a final version, not a draft version, before it will be submitted for finalization. (If it matters, this is a change from how it worked previously: they used to have to keep the evaluations as drafts, and the administrator would do both the saving-as-final-version and finalizing. Yes, it was even more confusing.) Usage 1 is a term of art, so I kind of have to stick with it. For usage 3, I can come up with sorta-acceptable substitutes like _review_ or _approval_. But I'm totally stuck on usage 2. I can't find _any_ antonyms for this meaning of _draft_ , and none of the synonyms for _final_ seem unambiguous enough to use on a submit button. (The buttons currently say "Save Final" and "Save Draft".) Help? _Context: this is part of an online evaluation system, i.e. html forms in a web browser. The process, roughly:_   1. _At the end of the semester (or trimester or quarter), the teacher is notified that final evaluations are due._ **_This use of "final" is an established term of art which I can't change._**   2. _The teacher fills out the evaluation form. If he can't finish in one sitting, he can save a draft and come back to it later._   3. _After the teacher is satisfied with his evaluation, he saves a non-draft version._ **_This is where I'm looking for a word that isn't "final"._**   4. _At some point after most of the finals have been submitted, an administrator reviews them, possibly changes some final grades (mostly situations where a student didn't complete something that is outside of the teacher's purview), then finalizes them._ **_This part could also use some better vocabulary._**   5. _After step 4 has been completed, and not at any point before, the evaluated student can look at her final evaluation to see how she did._


title: Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth

text: > Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth. What is a gift-horse? Why shouldn't you look in its mouth?   What does this idiom actually mean and how is it used?


title: Using determiners with articles

text: I was studying articles when I came across the following statement: > There are other special modifiers called determiners or markers that may > appear in front of a noun phrase. Do not use an article if you also intend > to use any of the following markers directly before the noun: this, that, > these, those, my, his, her, your, our, their, its, any, either, each, every, > many, few, several, some, all. > (http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/english-as-a-second- > language/articles) However, I'm not sure about "all" because I came across phrases that included articles between "all" and the nouns. For example - "all the countries", "all the way", etc... I would appreciate if anyone can clarify what the blockquote means and explain if there are exceptions. Thanks


title: Meaning of "cold finality"

text: > In an American case in 1937, Justice Clarkson said this before delivering > his dissent: > >> In those after years when this case, elevated to high authority by the **cold finality** of the printed page, is quoted with the customary ‘It has been said’ perchance another court will say, ‘Mayhaps the potter’s hand trembled at the wheel.’ Possibly when that moment comes these words may give the court a chance to say, ‘Yea, and a workman standing hard by saw the vase as it was cracked.’ Is _cold_ here related to Definition 2? I'm guessing that Justice Clarkson's bemoaning that his dissent has been relegated to the printed page only, and can't change anything at that instant? Source: P96, How the Law Works, Gary Slapper


title: What is the verb for developing a chip on one's shoulder?

text: I want to say that an individual has a chip on their shoulder, but a month ago, they did not.   * Did they " **raise** a chip on their shoulder", as might be inferred from the first cited history of the custom in Wikipedia?    * Did they " **place** a chip on their shoulder" as might be inferred from the North American fighting custom (Ibid.)?    * Did they **grow** a chip on their shoulder?  What verb can I use to explain the change? Can you cite any examples of this in literature or professionally-edited media (not personal blogs, but articles, books, TV, etc)?


title: "In this paper, we describe the/an environment..." — should I use "the" or "an"?

text: I am trying to decide which should be more correct grammatically in the abstract of my paper. > In this paper, we describe an environment. . . . or > In this paper, we describe the environment. . . . Since I am writing about custom made tool/environment, should I use the or an? By environment I mean custom tool/application to perform common measuring activity (for engineering topics). So, I guess I can not decide if I should use _the_ because it is a custom tool, or _an_ because it made to perform common measuring tasks.


title: Other meanings for "punctual" besides "on time"

text: In this question on Server Fault, the asker says "And it works fine, but that's a ponctual solution..." and corrects himself in a comment, using "punctual". I've only ever used "punctual" to mean "on time." Can it also mean "ad hoc"? From `dict punctual`: > From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: > > Punctual \Punc"tu*al\, a. [F. ponctuel (cf. Sp. puntual, It. puntuale), from > L. punctum point. See {Point}.] 1\. Consisting in a point; limited to a > point; unextended. [R.] "This punctual spot." --Milton. [1913 Webster] >   >   >              The theory of the punctual existence of the soul. -- >                                                     Krauth. >        [1913 Webster] >


title: Does "is" or "are" introduce a list of items?

text: Should a list of items be introduced with _is_ or with _are_? Does the verb agree with a singular list or with multiple items in the list? > Next in the row **is/are** Khorasan-e-Razavi, Esfahan, Khuzestan, Fars and > East Azarbayejan provinces with 5.3, 4.6, 3.9, 3.6 and 2.8 million persons > respectively.


title: Is this use of 'such as' correct?

text: > Later in 1991, the Court of Appeal dismissed all the claims on the ground > that, apart from rescuers, only parents and spouses could claim and that ‘a > perception through the broadcast of selective images accompanied by a > commentary is not **such as** to satisfy the proximity test’. Ten claimants > then appealed unsuccessfully to the House of Lords. I'm guessing that only Definition 2 of **such as** applies here, so replace with it: > Later in 1991, the Court of Appeal dismissed all the claims on the ground > that, apart from rescuers, only parents and spouses could claim and that ‘a > perception through the broadcast of selective images accompanied by a > commentary is not **Of a kind that** to satisfy the proximity test’. Now, this (eg "...that to satisfy") sounds grammatically wrong? Did I perceive **such as** correctly? Source: P94, How the Law Works, Gary Slapper


title: Is “O.K.” less serious affirmation than “All right”?

text: I was interested in the usage of “O.K” and “All right” in the following conversation of a man ordering food delivery to a wrong number and a man who unfortunately received the wrong number call in the fiction titled “The Lost Order” appearing in New Yorker Jan. 7th issue: > “Not the lemon chicken. “I don’t want the lemon. What I want –“ > > “O.K. I knew.” > > “Last time, you delivered the wrong thing –" > > “Lemon chicken -" “Garlic chicken –" > > “O.K. –" > > “Don’t just say ‘O.K.” and then bring me the wrong order. O.K., O.K., O.K. > Don’t just say ‘O.K.’ > > He starts dictating his address. I have no pencil in hand.   >  **“O.K.,” I say “I mean: all right.”** > > I’ve lost track of whether it was the lemon chicken or the garlic he wanted. I was under impression that “O.K” is an exact alternative of “All right.” I checked OALD for confirmation, and it defines “O.K” as (1) Yes, all right. (2) used to attract sb’s attention or introduce a comment. (3) used to check that somebody agrees with or understand you. However, the above conversation looks as though “O.K.” is less ‘serious’ or affirmative than “All right,” because the receiver of the wrong call rephrases “O.K.” with “All right’’ for clarification. Are there a meaningful difference of nuance or degree of affirmation between “O.K.” and “All right”?


title: Disbelief at gullibility

text: What is the name for a feeling (name of facial expression much welcome too) you'd experience, when facing someone apparently believing an obvious lie or scam? > "So, imagine this, the guy who came to install Internet, he said for twenty > bucks he can add Google to my package, so that I can search the web for > free. And for another ten bucks he installed Wikipedia!" > > I checked his screen. Indeed, there were two shortcuts on the desktop, one > opening the browser on Google.com, and the other on Wikipedia.org. > > "Did you really pay thirty bucks for two shortcuts on your desktop?" If I want to replace speech in the last sentence with just a description of what appears on that person's face, how would you phrase that?


title: Is there a term that covers advantages and disadvantages?

text: Is there a term that refers to both advantages and disadvantages? I'm trying to find a succinct name for a section of a report that summarises advantages and disadvantages of a particular product.


title: How do I use the word "obtain" together with mathematical formulas?

text: Until now, I thought that one can use the word "obtain" together with "that", as in > By ... we obtain that a²+b²=c². (Many mathematicians who like me are not native speakers are doing this!) Now I found two documents saying that "that" doesn't belong here: This Polish site, and the guide of the London Mathematical Society to writing mathematics, which says that "obtain" should usually not be followed by "that". Now my question: if instead of the above I write > By ... we obtain a²+b²=c². how do I _read_ that sentence? "We obtain a square plus b square equals c square"? Then it appears that I use "obtain" with the verb "equals", which sounds a bit strange to me. What would be the correct version?


title: What is the appropriate question tag for sentences such as "Neither of you is..."?

text: **Neither of you is going to the show tonight, ___ ___?** Should it be **isn't he/she?** I think the fact that **neither of you** takes the third-person singular verb **is** means that a third-person question tag ought to be used. But it sounds so awfully strange. So does the second-person alternative **aren't you?** You can trivially replace all question tags with **right?** in informal speech, but aside from that, what is the appropriate question tag to use in such sentences? EDIT: Oh right, I should have realized that. How careless of me. But can you explain why you would use "are you" instead of "isn't he/she", even though "neither of you" is a third-person reference?


title: Why English does not have diacritics to distinguish between words with different meanings and pronunciations

text: It just occured to me that there are words in English that have two different meanings, two different pronunciations and are written exactly the same. For example "present" can be interpreted as the tense when pronounced /ˈprezənt/ or as a synonym of "demonstrate" when /priˈzent/ Other examples from the top of my head: "read", "live". I don't think I have seen that in any other language. In most languages you can't tell the spelling of a word by hearing it, but you call articulate it correcly when you're reading it. It seems that in English you can't do either of those. Did English ever have accent marks to distinguish between those? How did it end up like that?


title: What does “flunked vacation and flunked relaxing" mean?

text: Today’s Washington Post (May 10) portrays what the SEAL who shot bin Laden looks like under the headline,. “Who shot bin Laden? Former SEALs fill in the blank.” In this article, former Navy SEALs Richard Marcinko and Stew Smith guess the shooter must be “a positive thinker” who “gets in trouble when he’s not challenged,” Richard Marcinko suspects, a man who “flunked vacation and flunked relaxing.” I was interested in the expression, the guy “gets in trouble when he’s not challenged,” because I’m not that kind, but caught up with the word, flunk in “flunked vacation and flunked relaxing.” My understanding of the meaning of “flunk” was only “fail in exam or work.” So I checked the meaning of “flunk” in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, which simply defines “flunk” as an intransitive verb meaning “to fail an exam or test or course, and to make sb fail an exam or course by giving a low mark or grade as transitive verb. The definition doesn’t sit well with vacation and relaxing. Does “flunk” here mean dislike or ignore? Is this popular way of using “flunk” in day- to-day English?


title: How would you say "written for a Latin population"?

text: I want to say that the author wrote for the Latin people (common folk of 1200 in Italy) as his main audience. That is, for the wide audience of general populace and not just for the scholars. My current sentence (in context) is: > He conceived his work for the Latin populace, that is for the wide audience, > which is why it contains a lot of information on how to solve everyday > problems, including those connected with business and commerce. However, I do not like the "for the Latin populace" part. I have tried "for the Latins" and "for the Latin people", but neither sounds right. Is there a common expression for this in English?


title: Prepositions 'in' or 'of' for referring to a population of a country

text: I was wondering about these prepositions _in_ and _of_. Actually I was making an assignment in Spanish and I came across this problem and I translated it in English but I am still puzzled as to what the difference is in:   "The population of America..." and   "The population in America..." when do you use each or is there no difference at all? thank you in advance.


title: A generic term for both fast-forward and rewind modes?

text: I'd like to add an option to some program that would control the speed (or more exactly the delay between steps) in fast-forward or rewind modes. I don't know how to name it. If it wasn't for the size, I could use `--fast- forward-and-rewind-delay`. I looking for a shorter term that would stand for both fast-forward and rewind. Would “fast motion” be understood correctly? Is there anything else?


title: Origin of plurals and possessives

text: What is the origin of English plurals and possessives? English plurals look more French plurals, but I am not sure that is where they come from. As for possessives, I don't know where they come from.


title: Can I use "lardy-dardy" to describe a man's gay lisp and gesture?

text: Can I use " _lardy-dardy_ " to describe a man's gay lisp and gesture? If this is not OK, I have three more questions.   1. How else can I ever use _lardy-dardy_?    2. Which word should I be using instead?   3. Is there a new generation of buzzwords to use?


title: Synonym for "ready to use"?

text: What is a good adjective for something that is ready for use, in the sense that it was prepared in advance (besides "ready" or "prepared")? Example usage: "This (adjective) document is immediately available for your use" or "This file is already ready because it's (adjective)".


title: What is the meaning of "drill our way out"?

text: I read a news about the jump of gas prices and the president Obama said: > we’re not going to be able to drill our way out of the problem of high gas > prices My first understand was "escape", but I'm not sure about it. What is the real meaning of it?


title: What is the etymology of the word ketchup?

text: Title says it all. I've tried searching on google without a definitive answer.


title: Some problems in understanding a word in a sentence

text: I am translating the following text from English to Italian and it is not very clear for me the meanig of the phrase written in bold. Can somebody help me? Thank you in advance. > Twitter is an exceptionally successful platform for many people who are > marketing a product or service, but it does require that you build slowly, > over time, and connect only with people who are involved in or buying from > your industry already. **This guaranteed engagement, and because the > platform is free, it makes perfect sense.**


title: What's the meaning of "And this because"?

text: What's the meaning of "And this because" in the following text? > _And this because_ , Terasaki added, “there is both a practical and moral > imperative to rid the world of those apocalyptic weapons."


title: What does "Prepare to have your pleasure glands carpet-bombed" mean?

text: Check it out inside, man. It's bigger than your house. (describing a van ) **Prepare to have your pleasure glands carpet-bombed.** Watch out for the floors,'cause they're marble. From the movie judgement night (1993)


title: What is the origin of "dox" and "doxing"?

text: Wikipedia has a solid description of what "doxing" is: > Doxing is the Internet-based practice of researching and publishing > personally identifiable information about an individual. They also make a claim that the word is an abbreviation for "document tracing" but none of their sources confirm this. It seems like a completely unsubstantiated claim. Terms that appear in internet culture are notoriously hard to track but I'm finding it hard to believe that "dox" is short for "document tracing" considering the only relevant part of the longer phrase is "doc". One of their linked sources even disagrees: > The term "dox" (also spelt "doxx", and short for "[dropping] documents"). Does anyone know how long this term has been used and where it originated? Is it really an abbreviation for "document tracing"?


title: What is "opening her Caesar" referring to here?

text: > "But, oh, Marilla, I really felt that I had tasted the bitterness of death, > as Mr. Allan said in his sermon last Sunday, when I saw Diana go out alone," > she said mournfully that night. "I thought how splendid it would have been > if Diana had only been going to study for the Entrance, too. But we can't > have things perfect in this imperfect world, as Mrs. Lynde says. Mrs. Lynde > isn't exactly a comforting person sometimes, but there's no doubt she says a > great many very true things. And I think the Queen's class is going to be > extremely interesting. Jane and Ruby are just going to study to be teachers. > That is the height of their ambition. Ruby says she will only teach for two > years after she gets through, and then she intends to be married. Jane says > she will devote her whole life to teaching, and never, never marry, because > you are paid a salary for teaching, but a husband won't pay you anything, > and growls if you ask for a share in the egg and butter money. I expect Jane > speaks from mournful experience, for Mrs. Lynde says that her father is a > perfect old crank, and meaner than second skimmings. Josie Pye says she is > just going to college for education's sake, because she won't have to earn > her own living; she says of course it is different with orphans who are > living on charity—THEY have to hustle. Moody Spurgeon is going to be a > minister. Mrs. Lynde says he couldn't be anything else with a name like that > to live up to. I hope it isn't wicked of me, Marilla, but really the thought > of Moody Spurgeon being a minister makes me laugh. He's such a funny-looking > boy with that big fat face, and his little blue eyes, and his ears sticking > out like flaps. But perhaps he will be more intellectual looking when he > grows up. Charlie Sloane says he's going to go into politics and be a member > of Parliament, but Mrs. Lynde says he'll never succeed at that, because the > Sloanes are all honest people, and it's only rascals that get on in politics > nowadays." > > "What is Gilbert Blythe going to be?" queried Marilla, seeing that Anne was > **opening her Caesar**. > > "I don't happen to know what Gilbert Blythe's ambition in life is—if he has > any," said Anne scornfully. > > –– L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables


title: use of "has been" vs. "was" for a website

text: When writing notifications for a website, for example: "Your password has been reset successfully", when do I use "has been" and when do I use "was" as in "Your password was reset successfully". I already considered the present perfect continuous and past continuous tense rule however it doesn't help me in this case.


title: Is there a less religious alternative to "the creation" when referring to everything that's alive?

text: Is there an alternative to "the creation" (when referring to everything that is alive) that is less "religious"? After all, having a creation implies there is also a creator.


title: Meaning of "I have three books and CDs"

text: > I have three books and CDs. Does this mean I have three books and three CDs? Or are there three items in total? Are both possible? I am asking for a native speaker's opinion.


title: What's the meaning of "to reach opinion leaders"?

text: What's the meaning of "to reach opinion leaders" in the following text? > He called for concerted efforts _to reach opinion leaders_ and policymakers > in the nuclear weapons states: “Many of them have already acknowledged the > essential bankruptcy of deterrence doctrine in a world where non-state > actors are seeking access to nuclear weapons technology and stated that a > nuclear weapon-free world will be a safer world.”


title: Seconds has/have passed

text: Which is proper? > The method will be fired after the specified duration of seconds _has_ > passed. OR > The method will be fired after the specified duration of seconds _have_ > passed.


title: Gerund Phrase as Subject

text: Is it acceptable to use a gerund phrase as the subject of a sentence? More generally, can a gerund phrase be used interchangeably with other nouns? For example: > Understanding history enhances one's judgement. I feel it makes more sense to write: > An understanding of history enhances one's judgement.


title: Term for attempting to appear intelligent or refined by taking unpopular opinion

text: Is there a word or concise term for attempting to appear intelligent or refined by taking an unpopular opinion? I'm not sure how to best describe this concept. The best term I can think of at the moment is to be _contrarian_ , but it doesn't seem completely satisfying.


title: Term for "Death by Lack of Water"

text: I don't know if the title is completely appropriate/applicable, but I guess it'll have to do until there's an edit. * * * So a if one dies of starvation, one dies from "suffering or death caused by hunger (New Oxford American Dictionary)". Is there a given term for "suffering or death caused by lack of water/thirst"? When one says "He starved to death", the meaning is "He died from hunger", but there's no term (at least to the best of my knowledge) for something like "He (word for died from thirst) to death)".


title: How and when can we use "why else"?

text: what kind of Grammer rules is using of " why else" ? when and how we ca use it? and for example, what is the meaning of " why else would you do it" ?


title: How to write quotes and singing in dialogue

text: > Ben stared into the distance, then rose from his seat and with his arms held > wide, “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.” > > And as Jane followed his gaze, “My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, > or else my heart concealing it will break.” > > “Though she be but little, she is fierce!” chuckled Victor. Would it be correct to write the quotes in the dialogue in this way or would it be expected that the quotes should be centred in the page? > _And as Jane followed his gaze, “My tongue will tell the anger of my heart, > or else my heart concealing it will break.”_ The above is a subordinate clause. Would I get away with that, so I can avoid the rather tedious _he said, she said_ that breaks flow in dialogue in writing? Or would I have to join it to the sentence above, which could cause confusion as to who the speaker is, or would it? Would it be necessary to capitalise as in Something in the first quote as this would be a new line in the play script. Secondly, would the same rules apply for singing dialogue in a narrative? > At this point Ben was swinging around the lamppost, “Slast Chlistmas, I gave > you my heart.” Is this okay without he sang? > Jenny joined tunelessly, “And the very next day, you gave it away.”


title: Excusing oneself

text: What’s the actual meaning of the expression “I will excuse myself ”? I’ve thought of it as kind of a joking expression about doing something that would actually require the excuse of someone else in a more formal situation, but I figure that need not actually be the case.


title: Proper usage of 'which' in a sentence

text: I read the post Usage of "which", and am trying to frame my own sentence that uses "which". Consider the sentences below. In the first, I want to say that variable shadowing is the reason that Class Sheltie does what it does. In the second, that the default constructor is also the body of the class. Is _which_ correctly used? > • Class Sheltie of Dog.scala illustrates variable shadowing, which also > explains why this class does what it does.   >  • This causes the default constructor to be invoked, which happens to be > the body of the class itself.


title: Would "pentaminutely" reflect an event that occurs every five minutes?

text: Would the compound _pentaminutely_ (from _penta-_ and _minutely_ ) be correct in describing an event that occurs every five-minutes? Or is there a better word? **Edit:** For clarity, I'm looking to name an object in a programming model so it is clear by the name what the object represents. I am trying to avoid writing a short novel to describe the name in the object model.


title: How do you form the 'north' and 'south' versions of 'occident' and 'orient'?

text: How does one correctly form the "north" and "south" forms for which _occident_ and _orient_ are "west" and "east"? I found _boreal_ and _austral_ , but those look like adjectives and I'm after the nouns. Bonus: what about "up" and "down"?


title: Written date formats in US English: how jarring is it to use the UK format?

text: In general, there is a difference between the common spoken ordering of dates between US and UK usage. So in the UK, we would tend to say: > "the 14th of December, 2005" while in the US, people would tend to say: > "December 14th, 2005" The US ordering is possible in spoken usage (usually with "the", so "December the 14th, 2005"), but probably not the most common in spoken usage, and definitely not in written usage. In written UK usage-- at least in a modern written style-- one would tend to write: "14 December 2005". Now my question: **how _jarring_ does it look to a native US speaker to _write_ dates using the UK format**, i.e. "14 December 2005"? Visually, I quite like the UK style because it keeps the two numbers separated, but the document I'm writing is for a US audience.


title: Prefix "a-" in abash, abeyance and agape

text: From Wiktionary, "abash" means "To make ashamed; to embarrass; to destroy the self-possession of, as by exciting suddenly a consciousness of guilt, mistake, or inferiority; to disconcert; to discomfit." "abeyance" means "Suspension; temporary suppression; dormant condition" "agape" means "Being in a state of astonishment, wonder, expectation, or eager attention; as with mouth hanging open. " In the given links, I found that   * in "abash" and "abeyance", "bash" and "bey" both mean gape, i.e. open mouth wide. In the three words, are the meanings and reasons of "gape" the same?   * "a-" in "abash" means "ex- (“out of”)", and in "abeyance" means "to". I am not sure about "a-" in "agape" ( meaning "in")?  Why do the three words mean so differently, given that they basically have the same prefix "a-" and root "gape"? I haven't understood yet, but the above is what I have found.


title: What does "about now" mean?

text: > I know you're feeling pretty hey sailor up here about now.   * What does _about now_ mean, in the sentence?   * Is it an informal way of saying?


title: Correct abbreviation for “byte” and “bit”

text: What is the correct abbreviation for the word “byte”? What about the word “bit”? For example, isn't it common to see in printed media that “Kb”, “Mb” and “Gb” are used in place of “KB”, “MB” and “GB”, respectively? Is the usage different, depending on the medium? Has this changed over time? * * * Although I don't specifically recall encountering this very-very recently, a quick Google easily reveals a example from about a decade ago, circa 1998/1999: http://archive.arstechnica.com/paedia/celeron_oc_faq3.html > If you are going to use a 100 MHz bus speed, you should plan on getting > PC-100 SDRAM memory. Many people have reported successfully using their old > PC-66 memory, however, if you do try it and have problems overclocking, > memory would be a likely suspect. You should also plan on starting with a > minimum of 64 Mb. It's best to get 64 or 128 Mb DIMM modules since the > number of memory sockets is usually only 3, or 4 at the most. Two 32 Mb DIMM > modules will limit your ability to upgrade memory in the future.


title: "turn them all off" or "turn all them off"?

text: "turn them all off" 84,800 results "turn all them off" 63,200 results both are correct?