title: Should a comma, a semicolon, or a dash be used before 'trust me' at the end of a sentence?

text: For formal writing, which one is technically correct?   1. I don't give a damn, trust me. (Is this a comma splice?)   2. I don't give a damn; trust me. (Should a semicolon be used?)   3. I don't give a damn — trust me. (Could a dash be used?) Thank you.


title: What is the difference between "dichotomous", "binary", "boolean", etc.?

text: To classify species we use a method called: dichotomous biological key. It works base on true and false cycles. In computer sciences true and fulse working is called boolean and binary is a 0 and 1 system (which is like true and false). What is the difference between them? Can I use term "Binary biological key"? Are these really different? (I have edited this question following Daniel's and MT-Head's comments.)


title: What is the origin of the word "conk"?

text: Is it obsolete to use this word? Where does it come from? I couldn't find the origin of this term. Can I use the phrase "The machine conked out" or should I replace _conked out_ with something else?


title: What are single views of an online banner ad called?

text: I am developing a web application for managing banners, advertisements, etc. I am not sure what the correct name for one 'view' of a banner is. I need to name it somehow to be able to report information like 'View count', 'Number of views paid', etc. to the manager. I have found three possible names for this:   * Impression   * Hit   * View What is the correct term?


title: "In my spare time" vs. "on my spare time"

text: E.g., "On my spare time I'm working on an essay" or "In my spare time I'm working on an essay". Which is correct? Both in/on are prepositions, but "in my spare time" sounds more idiomatic to me. A friend corrected me, and now I'm curious. Which is correct (or are both)?.


title: Use of past and progressive tense

text: Can someone tell me which, if any, of the following sentences are correct: >   * When she walked in, he was laying on the bed. >   * When she walked in, he was laid on the bed. >   * When she walked in, he lay on the bed > To me, the first two seem correct, but I am frequently confused as to when it is acceptable to use the progressive tense when referring to past events. EDIT: To just clarify the purpose of my question. My intended meaning for this sentence is that "he" was already on the bed when "she" walked in. If none of the above sentences convey this meaning then how is this correctly phrased?


title: Minimum amount of time a job needs to wait before executing again

text: I am looking for a single word or a phrase for the minimum amount of time a job or task needs to wait before executing again.


title: What does "principle" mean here?

text: What's the meaning of _principle_ in this definition of _soul_ from Dictionary.com as in _body and soul_? > the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a > distinct entity separate from the body, and commonly held to be separable in > existence from the body; the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the > physical part. Does _principle_ in this context mean definition #7 of Google definition or does it mean something else that's not in this dictionary? ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/7qSa5.png)


title: Is there any difference between ‘wondering whether that hadn’t been Cedric’s plan’ and ‘wondering whether that had been Cedric’s plan’?

text: I’m thinking a whether clause with a negative sentence means the speaker thinks the situation is less likely. However, I can’t find any explanation in dictionaries at hand. > He snapped it shut again, worried that the sound would attract Filch, > **wondering whether that hadn’t been Cedric’s plan** – and then, making him > jump so badly that he dropped the egg, which clattered away across the > bathroom floor, someone spoke. (Harry Potter 4 [US Version]: p.461)[Bold > font is mine] **N.B.:** ‘It’ is a magical egg which is wailing loudly while being left open. Filch likes punishing students. Why did the writer use a negative sentence in the whether clause? I’m wondering if it has some nuance in it.


title: Can I say "take effort"?

text: It seems to me “take efforts”, “take a great effort” “take the effort to do something”, all three are ok. But I wonder whether you say “take effort” as a set phrase to mean something abstractly, for example: People always take effort to be a better person, though they may be ignorant of what it means to become a better person.


title: Subsequent, Consequent... Presequent?

text: Imagine the following: > A -> B B is _consequent_ (and _subsequent_ ) to A, because A implies B. How might one describe A relative to B? " _Presequent_ " gets a few search results... but perhaps there's a better-established word? Another example: > Because it rained, the grass is wet.` The wet grass is _consequent_ to the rain. How can one make a similar statement about the rain itself?


title: What’s the meaning of ‘go on’ here?

text: ‘Go on’ has a lot of meanings in dictionaries, which makes me confused. What’s the omitted words and meanings of ‘go on’ in the following scene? (They are gambling on a sport in the magical world.) > ”I’ve already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first – I > offered him nice odds, considering Ireland’s front three are the strongest > I’ve seen in years – and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her > eel farm on a week-long match.” > > ”Oh … go on then,” said Mr. Weasley. “Let’s see … a Galleon on Ireland to > win?” ( _Harry Potter 4_ [US Version]: p.88)


title: Which is the word that means neither "believer" nor "atheist" but somewhere in between?

text: What word means neither "believer" nor "atheist" but somewhere in between? The word starts with the letter 'A', I tried "agnostic" but according to my instructor there is another one.


title: What's the origin of 'ditzy'?

text: The Online Etymology Dictionary said it was unknown. However, it also says that one of the meanings of dis, as in _disrespect_ , was originally: > short for _disconnected_ in the telephone sense and used figuratively in > slang to mean "weak in the head" I'm curious if _ditzy_ may have come from _dis_.   Any thoughts on the matter?


title: Defining a list of terms and rules

text: I hope I put this question in the right place. Currently, I am working on a huge software project. Within this project, we use a lot of different terms, words and verbs. We want to write down all terms with an explanation of what we actually mean with it. Also, we want to write down when to use which word. For example, we have the term "challenge" with it's explanation. Whenever you are going to create a new challenge, the button should say "Create challenge". When you are in the form, the button to actually save it should be named "publish". I am wondering if anyone has some sort of guidelines or an example of how to write the terms with it's explanation down and all rules related to the use of words. I could of course create a glossary, but where to put all the rules then? Should it be 2 separate documents? Should I put the rules next to each word? Looking forward to what you all are thinking. Thanks in advance!


title: What do you call something that under-utilizes its space? Opposite of cramped

text: In terms of web design, there is a very specific amount of space between elements that make an interface look nice. Too little space and things look cramped, but too much and they look **__**. Words like _spacious_ and _open_ usually have positive connotations. I'm looking for a word to describe how something looks when there's too much empty space.


title: "Extensible" vs. "extendible"

text: Where does the adjective form _extensible_ come from and does it connote anything different than _extendible_? What's the difference, if any, between the two?


title: person who's too eager to ascribe malicious intent

text: What's the word (formal or slang) or expression to describe a person who customarily and too easily ascribes bad motives to other people's behavior that could also be explained differently? E.g. I would like to say: > to a sufficiently X person, that thing could be interpreted as such and > such..." or "if I were an X, I would think that...


title: "On time" vs. "in time"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "In time " versus "on time" I don't know if there is any difference. Which of the following should I use? >   * I'll be on time to catch the train. >   * I'll be in time to catch the train. >


title: Place your orders on time/in time?

text: If you want to inform someone in advance to do something early enough so the person won't be in trouble later, do you say on time or in time? It's not a specified time, like order it today between 12 and 2, it's more of a better do it now than later suggestion? What's right here?


title: "In time" or "On time"?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "In time " versus "on time"   >  "On time" vs. "in time" I am confused between usages of "On" and "In" in following sentence: > Let the task be done **_** time. Should I use "On" or "In" in this sentence?


title: Is "bestowing anonymity" the right term or expression?

text: Is _bestowing anonymity_ the right way to say "keeping someones identity secret?" Basically the author is writing about someone, a fallen dictator and his nasty goings on, without using the name of the dictator.   Could you say he is protecting himself from further repercussions? Would he be _bestowing anonymity_ or is there another (nice) way of saying it? the anonymous person would be the dictator, not the poet


title: Can "concerning" ever be used to mean "worthy of concern"?

text: My daughter said "These photographs are concerning". Her intention was to convey that they were disconcerting, or alarming in some way. My impulse was to correct her, but then I doubted myself and thought that perhaps this is a legitimate use of the word. The two online dictionaries I looked in don't have secondary definition that fits the bill, so, I'm now once again reasonably certain that my impulse was correct, but I'd be curious what you folks think.


title: If prepend is not part of English, why is there no postpend or subpend? And who introduces them?

text: I wanted to ask it already for some time but was in doubt until I've read the comment by Stan Rogers to this answer: > In the case of prepend, we have created an artificial term that is > meaningless outside of the "in group", since to append means merely to add > -- it does not have a positional implication; it can be prepositional or > postpositional. If "prepend" is not an English word. It was created to sound like the opposite of "append," which means to add to the end. The correct English word is "prefix; and Although it sounds correct, prepend is not an English word. It was created to sound like the opposite of "append," which means to add to the end. The correct English word is "prefix;" then why there are no words "postpend", "subpend", "sidepend", "uppend"? Who does introduce incorrect words into English which are not English words?


title: What is the commonly accepted pronunciation of FAQ?

text: I hear FAQ(s) pronounced like a word in "FACK(s)", while I go letter by letter. In usage, what is more common? (Similar to SQL vs Sequel)


title: "Where is" versus "where are"

text: Is it correct to use _is_ rather than _are_ in this question? > Where is my mother and father? Grammatically, it should be _where are my mother and father?_ but, for some strange reason, I think I would use _where is my mother and father?_ and I can't explain why that is. Perhaps, I used this structure before while growing up, without knowing all of the grammar "rules"; if there is an explanation for it, that would be great.


title: What do you call a row of keys (music)?

text: What do you call a single row of keys on a keyboard if it has more than one (for example on an organ)? Is "claviature" the right word for it (example: "The keyboard of the organ has 4 claviatures.")?


title: What is the word for someone who initiates group social interaction?

text: Example scenario: a youth hostel employs someone to try get guests to be social and interacting. In a common area (lounge), the person may bring together various solo guests into a group and get everyone playing board games. The end result being a better experience for the guests. The guests then being more likely to leave a positive review. I experienced this some years ago at a hostel in New York. The social man later said he worked for the hostel to start such social activity. Long after, I saw a volunteer advertisement for the same thing somewhere else. I'm sure in that advert they had a word for the person who starts such social activity - I just can't remember the word. Edit: Perhaps another take on this is someone who is planted within a group of people with the goal of influencing the group toward a desired outcome.


title: Difference between "meant to" and "supposed to"

text: Those two expressions have close meaning: > He is not **meant to** do this > > He is not **supposed to** do this What is the difference between them, and when I should use one or the other?


title: What is a new coinage to describe the style of articles that starts with number such as “7 Things happy people choose to do every single day."?

text: I saw a new compound word of something that related with “number” and “article” that describes the style of articles that start with number such as "7 Things happy people choose to do every single day," “10 paragraphs about lists you need in your life,” and “20 things you need to know about Einstein,” in an article of _today’s_ NYT, or Time magazine, or New Yorker. Wikipedia carries this word as a compound of ???+aricle. I forgot what ??? was. In other word, it’s an itemized style of writing under, for instance, Rule 1, 2, 3.. I thought it a very convenient word to describe “X number reasons, things, ways, tips for sucess, a better bargain, and persons who ....” style articles now in fashion, but, I forgot to note it down. Could you teach me the word, if you can think it up, or have read the article?


title: Noun for receiving end of promotion?

text: When promoting someone or something to a higher standing, is there a noun that can be used to describe the object of the promotion? Something equivalent to "the guy being promoted" is basically what I'm looking for. My first thought is "promotee" but that just strikes me as odd/wrong for some reason.


title: "Bury" — noun meaning?

text: I would swear that years back I saw a definition of the word _bury_ and it contained a noun, not only a verb. If my memory serves me well, the noun meaning was associated with church. Today I cannot find even a trace of a noun _bury_ -- only verbs. Could anyone definitely confirm or deny such noun exists, please?


title: we take safety measures, do we also 'take' control measures?

text: Someone provided me with a PowerPoint presentation and instructed me to convert it into a word document with sentences rather than point form notes. Here is what the PowerPoint slide said: "Control Measures -Provide an easy exit -Wear protective equipment" The slide talks about what to do when you are working in a tight, enclosed and confied space. Basically, the slide says that when you are working in an enclosed and confined space then 'take' the following control measures: provide an easy exit (that is, make sure it is easy to get out of the enclosed area) and wear protective equipment while working in a confied space. My question is, does it make sense if I say "When working in a confied and enclosed area, 'take' the following control measures: ensure that there is an easy exit provided to the individual who is working in the confined space, and ensure that the individual working is wearing protective equipment." Do we 'take' control measures, just as how we take safety measures? If no, what is the correct way of saying what I said in the paragraph above? Note: I do know that the 'control' measures stated above are really just safety measures, but I'm just wondering if we 'take' control measures like how we take safety measures.


title: Is this expression correct: "It is A and B who [verb]"?

text: I have no problem with the following sentence: > In this book, [it] is the father who tries to murder her However, what if I want to substitute a plural noun (or two names) for `father`? Are the following sentences correct? If not, how should I change them? > In this book, [it] is the father and John who try to murder her > > In this book, [it] is her parents who try to murder her I am struggling with associating `[it] is` with a plural noun. Even if I add `[it] is [...] *who*` the sentence sounds wobbly. PS. I am _not_ reviewing a book, in case you are wondering.


title: Is final /n/ sound reduced / nasalized in American English?

text: When my 6-year old daughter spells words phonetically, she regularly drops final 'n' at ends of syllables, after vowels, like "rabo" for "rainbow", "lach" for "lunch". This made me wonder, are we all dropping the distinct /n/ sound in these words? Is this a regular phenomena in American English, and what's the name for it?


title: Using "reduction" in a title

text: I am writing a paper where I will use the title _Reduction by half_. This is supposed to describe a method which reduces something by half, but I am not sure if _Reduction by Half_ is the right way to do this. Any ideas? Does _Reduction by Half_ sound weird?


title: What is the V-shaped thing called one puts in a checkbox?

text: What do you call the V-shaped figure one uses to check a checkbox? How about the X-shaped figure?


title: What is 'draw on'

text: This question was asked earlier (not by me), but closed and deleted by a mod. But I thought it was interesting, because I didn't know the answer. So I'm reposting it.... * * * The verb phrasal 'draw on' seems to have two conflicting definitions: > dictionary 1   >  to come closer in time "It became colder as night drew on." > > dictionary 2   >  (of a period of time) pass by and approach its end:   >  "he remembered sitting in silence with his grandmother as evening drew on" How is 'draw on' used by native speakers? * * * ...that's the original. Here's my own additional research from OED: > **draw** B.VI.70 _To draw near or approach in time._ > > **draw in** B.VII.82.f _Of a day or evening: To draw to a close, to close > in. Also of a succession of evenings in late summer and autumn: To become > gradually shorter (as if contracting or shrinking in)._ > > **draw on** B.VII.86.d _To advance, approach, draw nigh._   >  86.e _To draw near to death, be in a dying state._ So, to restate the original question, which of these does _as night drew on_ mean? (I've no idea!) > 1 _as night approached_   >  2 _as night passed_   >  3 _as night drew to a close_


title: definite article with plural hypotheses

text: Is it correct to write "scientests can test a hypotheses" even though hypotheses is a plural?


title: When you have 5 instead of 4, what's the word instead of "quadrant"?

text: ...or, to phrase it differently, like one of those silly SAT questions... please help me fill in this blank: **4 is to 5 as "quadrant" is to ????** (Does that make sense?)


title: Use of different tenses to express present fact on past action

text: I am trying to write a recommendation letter. The following two sentences sound quite awkward. Is it correct? I mean what I am doing describing all the events on the past tense and on that base I am implying some attribute of the present (this is the only sentence in present tense). > He frequently interacted with teachers and colleagues on the subject and he > demonstrated insight on what he studied. Also he possesses an excellent > communication skill.


title: "Bash" vs. "party"

text: Our management team ask us to join a pizza/beer **bash** , which is essentially nothing but a pizza lunch held for all employees. My concept of the word **bash** still remained somewhere near the name of the famous Unix shell until I looked it up online. As expected, a bash means a party or a celebration. It's a slang. Anyway, I have a hard time distinguishing between **bash** and **party** from online resources. Maybe someone who themselves has been to both of them could tell the subtle difference.


title: "Instantly" vs "instantaneously"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "Instant" vs. "instantaneous" I know there is a similar question already answered, but I still have doubts. I was doing a word formation FCE exercise where I had to form an adverb from the word _instant_ in the following sentence. > The artists created their own style and use of colours, which is > **instantly/instantaneously** recognisable. Is _instantly_ the adverb I should use?


title: What is the origin of "number" as in song or dance?

text: What is the origin of _**number**_ as another word for a song or dance? For example: > And then, when Astro came out to perform his sing-off against Ms. Francis > for the right to stay in the competition, he gave the judges and the studio > audience a bucketful of attitude. He said he didn’t think he should have to > perform. Then he asked the audience if it wanted to hear him **do a number** > (which, of course, it did). And he rolled out a less-than-his-best rap over > “Never Can Say Goodbye.”.


title: What is the proper alternative for 'credentialize'?

text: Usage: > The emergence of a second competitor in the market will help _credentialize_ > the product and the vision.


I read an article, here is the original words: > Lennon even created his own comic strip, which he called "The Daily Howl". > This contained drawings, frequently of crippled people, and satirical > writings, often with a play on words. For example, in one page, Lennon wrote > a weather report saying that "Tomorrow will be Muggy, followed by Tuggy, > Wuggy and Thuggy". Could someone tell me about the meaning of ""Tomorrow will be Muggy, followed by Tuggy, Wuggy and Thuggy"? This is hard to understand for me since English is not my mother language.


title: What does "topline issue" mean?

text: What does "topline issue" mean in a business and other context that neither refer to gross sales or revenue, nor allude to anything related to a company's income statement? Normal definition > A reference to the gross sales or revenues of a company, or an allusion to a > course of action that increases or reduces revenues. The "top" reference > relates to the fact that on a company's income statement, the first line at > the top of the page is generally reserved for gross sales or revenue. A > company that increases its revenues is said to be "growing its top line", or > "generating top-line growth". > > This contrasts with net income (or net earnings per share), which is usually > the bottom line of the company's income statement.


title: "How to [...]?" and "Where to [...]?" Questions that are not questions. Is this defensible?

text: Adding a question mark to the end of a "How to" or "Where to" sentence appears to be quite common. Here are two examples from this very site: **How to punctuate a list of questions?** (link) **Where to put the periods when using a parenthetical sentence?** (link) In my mind, the question mark doesn't belong at all, and it bothers me. Am I being unreasonable? Is this practice defensible?


title: Help diagramming a sentence

text: Can someone diagram this sentence: > I thought it was best to let you decide to whom this needs forwarded. In addition, is the sentence grammatically correct? If not, why?


title: Idiom Meaning "Ready to Correct One's Mistake"

text: I'm looking for a concise way to describe this situation: > Person A compliments B's team at a competition. But B does not respond to > this compliment gracefully, even though it means a lot to him. B senses that > doing this has hurt A, but pride or shyness get in the way of him clearing > the air with A about this for a while. When B works up what's needed to talk > to A, unforeseen circumstances change B's plans and he loses touch with A. > Years pass, but B continues to feel an urge to fix his mistake. B does not > actively seek to fix it (aside from learning from it), but if the > opportunity to do so presents itself he has told himself to take it. One idiom I've considered is _turning over a new leaf_. But this phrase seems better for a personality overhaul than for repairing one mistake. Is there a word/idiom/phrase (WIP) to describe a person who would leap if given the chance to correct a specific mistake he made? **Edit** : I have received some great answers, but I've realized I have one more condition I'm looking for: I'd prefer a casual/conversational WIP. Thanks!


title: Word that categorizes this set of words: {forewords, preface, prologue, chapter, author's note, etc}

text: I am looking for a singular word that categorizes this set of words: {forewords, preface, prologue, chapter, author's note, etc} The best I can come up with right now is Section Heading which is obviously not one word.


title: What’s a word for people sharing a common culture?

text: _Tribe_ is good. But what more? I need more words, but exactly mean “they have same culture, traits, etc.”


title: Professor Bob's lab

text: I know "Bob's house" and "Bob's" mean the same thing. Question 1: Is there a name for this grammatical phenomenon? Can one call it an abbreviation? Question 2: In the context of within a university, can I simply call "Professor Bob's lab" "Professor Bob's"? Example: I am interested in the labs of Professors A, B and C. I also like Professor Bob's. Is the example sentence formal and correct? Do people understand that I'm referring to the lab of Professor Bob?


title: Exchanging Experience or Exchange Experience

text: I am now studying at XXX University as an exchange student. Is this my "exchanging experience" or my "exchange experience"? Am I actually an "exchanging student"?


title: Is there an acceptable corresponding negative to "well off"?

text: When we wish to refer to people who are living an affluent lifestyle or simply enjoying favorable circumstances in any particular area, we often say they are _well off_. So far so good. But listening to a podcast this afternoon, I heard the host try to express the opposite condition, and the term he used ("badly off") clanged in my ear. It just doesn't sound right. Still, if we look at the positive expression "well off" we might judge that _well_ functions as an adverb and _off_ as an adjective. So if you want to introduce the negative condition, the corresponding adverb is _badly_ (or _poorly_ , etc.). But it still sounds awful. Funnily enough, my ear's inner alarm remains silent when I hear someone say _bad off_ , as in "They were pretty bad off in those days." So is that the answer? If so, why doesn't it yield to my immediate grammatical analysis? Why should _bad off_ sound acceptable in that context but not _poor off_ or some other combination of adjective/adjective? And it's not as if I'm trying to force-fit the corresponding negative construction: those already exist, and are heard all the time. What gives? Note that I mean this question in the very narrow scope described above. I am **not** looking for synonyms of the negative. I don't want _destitute_ or _unfortunate_ or any of the others, and I will scowl at those who attempt to run me through with a thesaurus. **Well, well** I like J.R.'s contention that the word _well_ is problematic in and of itself. Still, I'm not sure the other part of the team, _off_ , should get off scot free. It has been overloaded in meaning for centuries. It can mean _apart from_ , _in a state of disuse_ , _rusty_ ["His game was off due to a hangover"], _not operational at this time_ ["The oven was off"], _inaccurate_ ["The figures are off"], _extending from_ , _abstaining from_ ["He's been off alcohol for years"], and so on. Which is why when I hear "badly off" it makes me feel that _off_ is being emphasized when it is not meant to carry the semantic freight with respect to positive or negative values. **Off with their heads!** Additionally, and with respect to the latter point, I see in the comments that some of you are trotting out Google word and book searches, which may or may not apply here. (Full disclosure: I have mixed feelings about the use of such sources.) So it is worth pointing out that, taken out of context, the terms "bad off" and "badly off" do not always refer to the purported opposite of "well off": > _He aimed for the target, but was badly off the mark._ > > _They were badly off in their estimate of how much time the project would > take._ > > _Her performance was bad off the get-go._ That last is colloquial, and may be straining the issue, but even if the search fails on account of the ambiguity of one term, it nevertheless fails for both.


title: When do I use "can" or "could"?

text: When should I use _can_? When should I use _could_?   What is right under what context?


title: Is either "can" or "could" more polite?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When do I use “can” or “could”? I wonder which of the following is more polite: >   1. Can you please change my email address? >   2. Could you please change my email address? > The second one sounds to me as if the request is more urgent. So I would choose the first. But I heard that "could", "should", etc. forms are more polite forms of "can", "shall", etc. Is this true at all and if so, what is the underlying reason?


title: Can or Could - which one is correct to usein question

text: Can you please shift a little? or Could you please shift a little? which one of the two is correct?


title: Correct usage of "Could" and "Can"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When do I use "can" & "could"? In a company, the HR asked me: " _Could you please sign here_ ". I want to know whether it is correct or " _Can_ " should be used or simply " _Please sign here_ " is sufficient. When to ideally use _Could_.


title: "Can" vs. "could" in asking a question

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When do I use “can” or “could”? I am a little bit confused about asking a question: > Can you please tell me my next work? or > Could you please tell me my next work? Which is more correct?


title: "Can I have one apple from your box?" vs "Could I have one apple from your box?"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When do I use “can” or “could”? I was doing some reading on usage of _can_ and _could_. I understand that _can_ is used when asking for ability, and _could_ for willingness. I would use _can_ in the following sentence. > Can I have one apple from your box? After reading about the usage of _can_ and _could_ , I am confused. Actually, this is not about my ability of taking the apple; of course, I can take (snatch) the apple even if he/she does not give it to me. So I guess according to the above rule I should be using _could_ and not _can_. Using _could_ here somehow does not sound correct to me. So I just wanted to confirm whether it is correct or not.


title: Meaning of 'his bled'

text: This is an extract from 'The Sheltering Sky' by Paul Bowles: One day a Targui comes, he is tall and handsome, on a beautiful mehari. He talks to Outka, Minouna, and Aicha, he tells them about the desert, down there where he lives, **his bled** , and they listen, and their eyes are big. Then he says: ' Dance for me' , and they danced. What's the meaning of 'his bled' here? (Pag 33 e-book version)


title: Technical(ly) vs technological(ly)

text: Technical and Technological Technically and Technologically Can these be used interchangeably? Is there a difference?


title: Plural of looker-on and terminus

text: I found the plural for Looker-on as both Lookers-on and Looker-ons!!   Is this possible? Also the plural for Terminus is given as Termini and Terminuses!   Please clarify the plurals for Looker-on and Terminus...


title: A real-word synonym for the non-word "trustedness"

text: I always thought that _trustedness_ was a word, but apparently it isn't. What's a real word that means the same thing, namely _the quality of being trusted_? Note that this is a different meaning from _trustworthiness_ , which means _the quality of being deserving of trust_ , not of actually being trusted. To clarify, I am looking for a word which devorces _popular_ judgement from my _personal_ judgement. If 99% of people trust a person, but I don't, I would say that he is _trusted_ , but not, in my opinion, _trustworthy_. I'm looking for a noun form of the former specifically, or a synonym if it doesn't exist (I don't think it does).


title: Is there a term for someone who "can see multiple perspectives"?

text: A colleague of mine is trying to describe herself as "capable of seeing a situation from multiple perspectives" or "able to look at the big picture from various viewpoints". I feel like there must be a better way to get this point across. Is there a more concise way to describe this characteristic?


title: Should rhetorical questions end with a period?

text: Would it be appropriate to end a rhetorical question with a period, to show that it is not intended as a question that one should ponder or attempt to answer? For instance: > Why do I eat so much(?)(.)(!) I don't want anyone to answer it, but it's still phrased as a question.


title: Use of the word "have"

text: In a menu title/button, does "have" need to be used? Is "1" okay or should "2" be used?      1) People who contacted you in the last 24 hours   2) People who have contacted you in the last 24 hours      This is for a website that uses friendly, informal (American) language. It basically goes by native speech, but as I have been living in a non English- speaking country for a while my intuition is a little rusty.


title: When is it important to use the plural of "system?"

text: When would **system** need to be pluralized? Say you offer two products that serve the same function. Do you offer two systems or one system? To try and give an example... I have an integrated facial recognition system built into the camera. Few years passed and I developed a new camera that also has my facial recognition. I offer both options. Would I say: "My system integrates facial recognition..." or "My systems integrate facial recognition..." Is there a rule for determining something like this? By sound I lean towards it being a singular system. My colleague believes it needs to be plural.


title: "As explained in Section 2" vs "As will be explained in Section 2"

text: As the title. When writing to a report, should I refer to a section of the report located later by writing "As explained in Section 2" or "As will be explained in Section 2"?


title: Word request: exploration of frontier research/science ideas?

text: I'm looking for a word that describes new ideas in a particular scientific field that aren't necessarily based on research or science but still interesting to discuss. So the word should encapsulate thinking such as: "I don't know how or if this is relevant to our field, but there's something interesting I read about and which I would like to discuss with you people." EDIT: Or imagine a researcher reading about an interesting concept related to a completely different field/discipline/area that he thinks might be useful to discuss within his own field (for instance, the computer scientist who reads about a technique in opera singing that might be applied to computer science).


title: Using a singular or plural verb after "and/or"

text: If the subject of a sentence is separated by "and/or", should the verb be pluralized, as with "and", or agree with the rightmost subject, as with "or"? For example: > His co-workers and/or his boss was at fault. vs. > His co-workers and/or his boss were at fault.


title: Is it right to say “in the open sky’ instead of “outdoors”?

text: Can _outdoors_ and _in the open sky_ be synonyms? I find these two terms really confusing.


title: "Optimal" vs. "ideal"

text: I was wondering when to use which because both _optimal_ and _ideal_ convey the same meaning to me. For e.g., comparing these two usages: >   1. This is the optimal temperature for the machine to work correctly. >   2. This is the ideal temperature for the machine to work correctly. > When referring to people, I do generally use _ideal_ , e.g. > He is an ideal husband.


title: What. Is. This. Style. Called?

text: I see this style rather frequently and in the past decade many print advertisements have apparently decided that it makes their sentences. have. more. impact. I can tell that the style is trying to mimic a very specific spoken word pattern that accentuates every. single. word. But I don't know if this writing style has a name. I am specifically interested in the _written_ variant that uses periods throughout a sentence in order to emphasize each word.


title: Comma Usage using Titles

text: My sentence is as follows: > Carol Ohmann discusses in her article _Daisy Miller: A Study of Change in > Intentions_ how the main heroine of Henry James' novella brings rise to > arguments. Do I have to set the title of the article off in commas or leave it as it is written?


title: "We are all of us engaged in..." What does 'all of us' mean here?

text: I read the following sentence in Chicago Sun-Times's review of the movie In Time: > We are all of us engaged in the trade of buying and selling time. The sentence sounds grammatically weird to me. It seems to me that it should be: > All of us are engaged in the trade of buying and selling time. Another way for me to make any sense of this sentence is adding a couple of dashes (or maybe commas, I'm not good at punctiation): > We are — all of us — constantly engaged in the trade of buying and selling > time. Or does "all of us" have an adverbial meaning? Or maybe "we are all of us" is a set phrase? Please throw some light on this curious issue :) **Update:** If it is a grammatically correct sentence, how is it parsed? I assume "We" is the subject, "are engaged" is the predicate. What is the function of "all of us"?


title: Should "popperians" be capitalized?

text: Popperians being people who are sympathetic with Karl **Popper** 's views? In general, should groups of people who take their collective name from a proper noun in turn capitalize their name?


title: What does "wishy-washy" mean?

text: **Question:** What does it mean when something is "wishy-washy"?   Is it informal? Is it American English, British English or both?


title: Is there a verb meaning 'to fail to discern analogies between things'?

text: I'was looking for a verb meaning 'to fail to discern **analogies** between things', but, after a bit of searching, I realized that 'confound', which first came to my mind, is not the right term because Merriam-Webster defines it as 'to fail to discern **differences** between' things, not **analogies**. Thus, my question is, is there a verb meaning 'to fail to discern **analogies** between things'?


title: What’s the difference between “how” and “how so”?

text: Please tell me the difference between these two questions:   * _how_   * _how so_ Do those two mean the same thing? If they do not, please explain with examples.


title: Are prefixes, as bound morphemes, always separable from their root words?

text: The root words in the examples below look fine even without a prefix: > un + **bearable**   >  ir + **regular**   >  dis + **able**   >  mis + **fortune** ... but not in these: > pro + **gress**   >  pro + **mote** Possibly, I don't understand what a prefix really is. **–pro** in the above two examples may or may not be a prefix at all. But I would like to have these two points clarified. 1) Is it not always possible to separate a prefix from its root word because doing so will cause the root word lose all meaning? 2) Is it alright to look at **–pro** as a prefix in the above two cases because it's a prefix anyway and being detachable from its root word is not really a criteria for it to be a prefix? Please discuss.


title: Are “rescind”, “repeal”, and “annul” perfect synonyms?

text: What are the best places to use these three verbs:   * rescind   * repeal   * annul Are these all exactly similar in meaning, or are they supposed to be used for different purposes?


title: Is the tense change of the verb "need" to "needed" mandatory?

text: If the tense change of the verb _"need"_ to _"needed"_ is not mandatory, then if it was changed then how would it affect the meaning in the sentences below? > If they asked for help, I would provide whatever help they **_need_**.   >  If they asked for help, I would provide whatever help they **_needed_**.


title: Appositive or other things?

text: > Bidentate (also called didentate) ligands bind with two atoms, an example > being ethylenediamine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denticity Is "an example being ethylenediamine" a inappropriate appositive? As far as i know, appositive is usually to define the preceding noun. > My youngest sister, Meghan, will be visiting soon. "Meghan" is an appositive describing the preceding noun(sister). So, is the sentence in the beginning exemplifying a different grammar structure than appositive? thanks


title: Any difference between “Are you done?” and “Are you done yet?”

text: I see people in movies saying > Are you done? and > Are you done **yet**? And I wonder what that the addition of _yet_ might mean or suggest in the second version which is absent in the first one. Are those two versions completely equivalent, or is there some subtle distinction?


title: Role of a person in charge of the casting of a film

text: Let's say this is the information related to a film: > **Written by:** John Doe   >  **Produced by:** Mary James   >  **Casting by:** Peter Smith, Sarah Jones   >  ... Then:   * John Doe is a **writer**.   * Mary James is a **producer**.   * Peter Smith and Sarah Jones are **...** ?


title: What is the meaning of the word 'navitis' in the second edition of 'Introducing html5'?

text: The word 'navitis' shows up a lot in the book _Introducing html5_ , and I didn't find it in a dictionary. The sentences are: >   * 'I was previously guilty of navitis—the urge to surround any links to > other parts of a site as <nav>.' > >   * 'When tempted to use a “fat footer,” consider whether such links > actually need <nav> at all—navitis can be hard to shake off.' > >


title: Can I say "due call"?

text: If there is a phone call I forget to make, can I say this call is a "due call"? Or is there a better word which can describe it?


title: Word to describe an object in continuous cycle that is eventually ejected when it matures

text: I'm trying to find a word or phrase that best describes the _process_ of an object or entity that enters a continuous cycle until it grows large enough or matures to a point of self-sustainability. _**Example:** A person who enters rehab for help on some problem and stays within the system until the person has matured or grown to some point (after undergoing repeated examinations) that the subject can once again enter society._ _**Example:** A college paper that starts as a rough draft, submitted for review by a peer, and returned with improvements. This cycle is ongoing until the paper is (mostly) cleared of flaws by peers and the author, finally graduating to a final draft ready for submission (the ejection from the cycle)_


title: Orienting or orientating?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Oriented vs. Orientated Both orienting and orientating seem to be in common use. Is there any difference in meaning or usage? Is orientating just a common misspelling?


title: Is orientate a word? Does it matter where you are when using it?

text: Is orientate a word and if so how is it different than orient? I found this definition of it says "Generally considered an error in American English." does this mean it is not wrong for British English? I'm not sure if there's a right or wrong answer to this, but is it incorrect to use British English in North America? For example is it flat out poor English if a British man was giving a speech and referred to the "boot of the car" or is somehow more right since he is British?


title: regarding “Oriented” vs. “orientated”

text: I couldn't help but add an additional frame of reference. Though I personally find the utterance of "orientated" to be a failed attempt at the proper word "oriented", the collective commentary is indeed food for though. Commonality of the use of this incorrect word seems to be the explanation (justification?) for calling it an acceptable word. While this may drive crazy those that pride themselves on being moderately adept at identifying improper english, the reality is language evolves in this very way. Put another way, if an "incorrect" word is used commonly enough, by a large enough percentage of the population, and over a substantial enough period of time, it often becomes acceptable. Common error is one of the reasons why multiple spellings for certain words, slang, and other verbal "anomalies" are added annually to the English dictionaries of the word.


title: Proper/official pronunciation of “conch”

text: A moment ago on _Mr. Sunshine_ , Matthew Perry pronounced the end of a _conch_ shell as in _church_. I learned it as being pronounced with a _k_ sound. On WikiPedia, both are listed as pronunciations, but on the Merriam Webster and Dictionary.com sites, the audio clip pronounces with a _k_. Is there a proper or official pronunciation, perhaps from a different, originating language?


title: "Legend" or "key"?

text: What is the difference between a legend or a key? Is it still called a _legend_ if it is located at the top, rather than the bottom of results?


title: Differences between "price point" and "price"

text: Apart from its use among the bean-counters who talk about maximising company profits, I can't understand why _price point_ has spread so widely in popular American parlance. As far as I can tell, the term is exactly synonymous with _price_ ; do people use it the way they do the word 'monies' — to sound clever on the cheap — or is there actually a difference between the two terms?


title: page : paginate :: paragraph :?

text: Is there a verb that means "to typographically format a paragraph" the same way that `paginate` means "to typographically format a page"? I'm inclined to coin `paragraphinate`.


title: What do you call second-party quotes within a quote?

text: On NPR this morning I heard a newscaster say a phrase something like this: (paraphrased) > … Bank declined to interview, but in a phone call said, "We are making > (quote) every effort (unquote) to …" I assume that the bank spokesperson didn't actually say "quote" and "unquote", and that that was added by the journalist. It seems to me that the journalist (consciously or unconsciously) wanted to communicate his own doubt about the meaning of "every effort". I'm curious what this journalistic/rhetorical device might be called. Is there a word for it?


title: Should "The history of X" be followed by "began" or "begins"?

text: This BBC page states > The history of life on Earth **began** about 3.8 billion years ago... Similarly, this one states > The history of Canterbury's religious significance **began** with the > Romans... However, this page states > The history of Rastafari **begins** with the colonisation of Africa... as does this: > The history of the march **begins** in the village of Tolpuddle... Which is correct/preferred, or are both equally acceptable?


title: Antedecent of "velocity u" in "particles moving in a medium with macroscopic velocity u"

text: In the following sentence, whose velocity is `u`? The particles or the medium? > For particles moving in a medium with macroscopic velocity u: The normalized > Maxwell’s distribution function (Eq. 1.38) can be written as, ..."


title: Something happens because clause A, and clause B.

text: I wonder whether **because** can introduce two or even more reasons; if yes, how they are connected. For example, > John came late because he woke up late, and his bicycle was broken. Is the sentence above correct? Thanks!


title: What does "biased in your favour" mean in this sentence?

text: I checked several dictionaries and googled and checked previous _biased_ -related questions here including Is it "biased towards" or "biased against"?, Word for being biased "towards the other direction"?, What do you call a person who is regionally biased? (unrelated), Moreover, subscription-only LDOCE says: > ### **biased (adj.)** :   > > >   1. unfairly preferring one person or group over another:   >  _Of course I'm biased, but I thought my daughter's paintings were the > best._   >  _racially biased attitudes._   >   >  **biased against/towards/in favour of**   >  _news reporting that was **heavily biased** towards the government_ > >   2. more interested in a particular thing than in another: **biased > towards**   >  _The majority of infants are biased towards being social rather than being > antisocial._ > > OED says: > **biase (v.):** _To give a bias or one-sided tendency or direction to; to > incline to one side; to influence, affect (often unduly or unfairly)._ ,   >  **biased:** Influenced; inclined in some direction; unduly or unfairly > influenced; prejudiced. But I still can't understand the meaning of the following sentence: > I appreciate that you took the time to contact me. You are great in my > opinion! But then I am very biased in your favour! Does the sentence imply that: a. The person saying this, is somewhat being unrealistically nice at their own expression of the addressee being great (in a negative way); or b. Do they mean that they're not great enough to be able to return the favor (in a positive way being keen on the addressee's greatness)? I also notice that LDOCE uses " _favour_ " rather than _favor_ , which probably indicates that this usage is British only?


title: English name of "Maegami tomeru" (前髪とめ〜る)

text: "Maegami tomeru" (前髪とめ〜る) is a Japanese velcro-like product that keeps womens' hair in place. Is there a commonly accepted English translation of this name? Bang Blocker found it hard to find a good translation > Enter Dariya's Maegami Tomeru... Front Hair Stopper. No. Bang Blocker... > Hmm... Fringe Foiler? > > Talking velcro and **** translations aside A trademark application for the device said > Goods and Services: > > Hair tapes; hair accessories, namely, devices for holding hair in place, > namely, hair grip sheets, hair barrettes, hair tapes and hair ornaments; > hook and pile fastening tapes While a friend suggested "Fringe tape". ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/ninTi.png)


title: Name for a website page with all kind of posts mixed

text: Imagine a website with many kinds of posts: announcement posts, offer posts, question posts etc. For each kind of post there could be a page listing them. How would you call a page that lists all the posts of all kinds? All I came up with is "cumulative page", but that sounds obscure.


title: "Awesome" vs. "Awful"

text: How did the English language come to this? > The play was awful. Is the complete opposite of > The play was awesome. But if you break it down to **awe** followed by **ful** or **some** , it doesn't make sense at all.   Can someone shed a light on this? Is there a rule to this, or is it one of those things you need to just memorize?


title: How should "Home sweet home" be punctuated?

text: A quick survey of the internet reveals many instances of "home sweet home", no punctuation. But doesn't "home, sweet home" make the most sense?


title: Is it normal to separate hyphenated words on different lines?

text: I'm typing in Microsoft Word, and it automatically separated the word T-shirt when it ran out of room: > blah blah blah, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, I have a T-   >  shirt leaving just the letter "T" on one line. This doesn't look right to me at all, or for any compound, hyphenated word, yet basically all text boxes will split words at a dash on separate lines if needed. I would prefer: > I have a   >  T-shirt I know it would be fine if I was splitting words in a narrow column, like the newspaper, but is there a rule about what you're supposed to do to words like this? Is my way always right, or Word's, or either? (How to get Word to actually stop doing it is a totally different question...)


title: Explain this sentence to me please

text: I'm taking this true or false questionnaire for work. One question is > Most supervisors accept that you cannot always call in for an absence. > > true or false


title: "I may know where it is" vs. "I know where it may be"

text: I am wondering if the following two sentences have different meanings. >   * I _may_ know where it is. >   * I know where it _may_ be. >


title: Should there be a comma in "The heading reads, 'a chart heading.'"?

text: I have a sentence along the lines of > The heading reads, "a chart heading." The comma seems a bit awkward to me, but I cannot seem to find any explicit guidance in the Chicago Manual of Style on whether or not it should be there, and a couple of searches of CMoS's Q&A find instances both with and without the comma (and a number of instances with a colon instead of the comma). Is this better with or without the comma? Why?


title: How do the words "stare" and "gaze" change the meaning of the sentence in the given context?

text: Please consider the excerpt below. > I felt awkward discussing such issues with Aarti’s dad, so I kept quiet.   >  “I know how the education business works, Tiwari talks intellectual, but he > wants his share. I hope you guys won’t get me involved with that.”   >  “Not at all, sir,” I said. “Even I don’t deal with that stuff. I only look > after the college.”   >  “So all such work is done by Shukla-ji’s men?” Aarti’s father asked.   >  “Yes,” I said, as I **___ ___** at the floor. I need little help how the words _stare_ and _gaze_ changes the meaning of sentence in the given context. Please find below the dictionary (ODO) meanings of those words: > **Stare** = look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something with one’s eyes > wide open.   >  **Gaze** = look steadily and intently, especially in admiration, surprise, > or thought.


title: What does "b/f" mean?

text: What is **b/f**? My friend sent me this. I searched on google, but couldn't find a satisfactory answer.


title: Plural subject - singular object

text: This is the same grammatical issue raised in another thread, except the examples there were not ideal, so the syntactic problem was side-stepped in favor of the semantic one. Consider this example instead. A man has a car. His wife has a car. Together, they have two cars. He says: > "We both have a car." Sounds perfectly natural, right? Unambiguous, even. Yet the mismatch between "We" and "car" is weird when you think about it, at least to me. Luckily in this case, there are ready alternatives: > "We each have a car."   >  "We both have our own cars." Both sound vastly superior to me. Sometimes, however, there are no obvious alternatives. Take, for example, the opening of the song Different Drum (delightfully sung by Linda Ronstadt, by the way): > You and I travel to the beat of a different drum. Well, actually, I suppose you could say: > You and I travel to the beats of our different drums. But there have been cases where I couldn't readily apply my fixes. I just can't think of them at the moment. My requests for you:   1. Does this issue bother you (whether before or after my pointing it out)?   2. If not, why not? (I'll be grateful if you can convince me and liberate me from these pedantic concerns.) If it does bother you, then do you approve of my proposed solutions. Feel free to suggest some of your own.   3. (optional) Make up a sentence that doesn't lend itself easily to the already mentioned solutions, and suggest a way to fix it.  Thank you.


title: Strange sentence structure from a piece by Paula Gunn Allen

text: This lesson is in a pattern book. I want to know why the word _about_ is repeated quite a few times in the text: > My mother told me stories about cooking and childbearing; she told me > stories about menstruation and pregnancy; she told me stories about gods and > heroes, about fairies and elves, about goddesses and spirits; she told me > stories about the land and the sky, about cats and dogs, about...


Is there a single noun, preferably not a gerund, for the act of exceeding or surpassing? In editing test reports and similar technical material, I come across the notion of exceeding or surpassing a limit, threshold, or expectation. My dictionary searches have yielded only gerunds. I've considered "exceedance" but cannot find evidence that it is a word.


title: What is the etymology of "board" as found in "room and board"?

text: How did board come to be associated with meals? I am referring to this definition of board:   * regular meals or the amount paid for them in a place of lodging (noun, Wiktionary)   * daily meals, especially as provided for pay (noun, reference.com)   * to furnish with meals, or with meals and lodging, especially for pay (verb, reference.com)


title: "Unsociable" vs. "unsocial" in the following sentence

text: I got stuck in my exam when there were two options which look similar in meaning. Interestingly, the examiner gave two synonyms. The sentence was: > The hockey team could not deal with his **unsociable/unsocial** tendencies. Both mean _having or showing a lack of desire for the company of others_. Could anyone tell the difference between the two?


title: Staying up at night

text: I'm trying to describe two people who stay up at night to get some work done. Are the following sentences all grammatically correct and equivalent? > Without sleeping we go on to finish our work. > > Without sleep we go on to finish our work. > > We unsleepingly go on to finish our work. Is there anything wrong or awkward about any of the above?


title: Is "may or may not" redundant?

text: (Note: I'm **_not_** talking about the same kind of redundancy as in this question). Is "may or may not" correct, or is it a redundant version of "may or not"? I've seen both, and I don't know which one(s) is (are?) correct:   * The position of lecturer is occasionally given to individuals [...] who may or not have a doctoral degree.   * The position of lecturer is occasionally given to individuals [...] who may or may not have a doctoral degree.


title: "Any club cannot use . . ." vs. "No club can use . . ."

text: Here in Japan, many of my students use "any" in a negative sentence like this: > "Please note that any club/group cannot use the copy machine after 8:00pm." I believe this is grammatically incorrect, or at least unnatural and should be: > "Please note that no club/group can use the copy machine after 8:00pm." My question(s) is/are:   * Is the first sentence grammatically incorrect or is it just a matter of natural style?   * In the case that it is grammatically incorrect, what is the rule regarding such a sentence construction? (Any . . .cannot vs No.....can) I would like to give them a reason for changing their work beyond "It's just a native-English thing". Thank you very much for your help on this. GT in Japan


title: Is "with" or "by" the correct word in the phrase: Replaced ________ a new printer

text: English is my second language. Which of the following is correct? >   1. Replaced with a new printer. > >   2. Replaced by a new printer. > >


title: Expected is to actual as expectee to what?

text: > A value that is _expected_ might be nounized to an _expectee_ awaited by the > _expector_. Is there a formal term corresponding to that for the adjective _actual_? > A value that is _actual_ might be nounized to a _what_ received by the > _whom_. My suggestions for _what_ are either _actual_ or _actuee_ and for _whom_ they're _actuator_ or _actuator_. Am I anywhere close to being correct? Is it understandable to NSEs (if yet a bit artificial and formal)? What'd be a better way to express these formally?


title: Naming a chat group with The Lee or Lee's

text: I want to start a WhatsApp group and I don't know which of the following names is grammatically correct: Lee Family   The Lee Family   Lee's Family   The Lee's Family.


title: Usage of "walking out clean"

text: Is the following sentence grammatically correct? "I just hope he walks out clean from the probe" If not, what is the correct form? **EDIT: The context of the above sentence is a situation where you wish someone comes out of an investigation (say, by the police) being acquitted.**


title: "Corner" vs. "nook"

text: Are the nouns "corner" and "nook" synonymous? I just saw them employed in an enumeration as if they meant different things: > ... has a funny shape, with ledges, corners, nooks,... What are any differences between them?


title: When did "out of" come to mean "in"?

text: When I was a child, I learned that the term "out of" could be used to apply to a person or thing to describe where he, she or it was from. For example, a ship docked in Miami could be described as "out of Boston" as a means of describing that ship's hailing port, Boston. By the same token, a professional football player on the Denver team, playing in Dallas, might be described as being "out of Purdue" as a means of describing where he played college football. But now, I hear newsreaders say that a company is based "out of" a particular town. For example, they will say, "The Apex Corporation is based out of Philadelphia." This causes me to wonder, "Well, if they aren't based in Philadelphia, then where are they based?" Of course, the newsreader actually meant to say, "Apex Corporation is based in Philadelphia." As best as I can remember, the term "out of" came to be the preferred alternative to the word "in" sometime during the early 1980s, as I don't remember hearing this error prior to that. I'd be interested to know if there is a documented example of it appearing before that time. For those of us who learned the language long before the 1980s, this is especially confusing as the term "out of" means the exact opposite of the word "in." Why would someone use a two word combination (out of), that means the exact opposite of what they really meant to say, when a single word (in), that describes what they really do mean, is a better choice of words?


title: the difference between company and a companion

text: In what situation would you use _company_ or a _companion_ in the following sentences? > I have a dog and it's my company.   >  I have a dog and it's my companion. Can I use _company_ instead of _companion_ in "a traveling companion"? For example: traveling company.


title: How do I refer to the top few contenders in a tournament?

text: For example, how do I refer to the top three or four participants in a tournament. _The victorious_ doesn't apply; would _finalists_ be the best choice here?


title: What's the difference between "cheat" and "deceive"?

text: Is there any nuance that exists between the two words? I would like to hear from linguistics if there is any subtle difference.


title: What does "long" mean before a name?

text: What does _long_ mean before a name? Like _Long John Silver_ in _Treasure Island_ or _Long Susan_ in _Ripper Street_.


title: What is the correct way to define an acronym when its first appearance is plural?

text: The question and answers posed in What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? deals very nicely with acronym (and possibly initialism) usage. What about the case when you are defining the acronym? For example:   1. ...automated teller machine (ATM)... - Easy enough.   2. ...automated teller machines (ATM)... ?   3. ...automated teller machines (ATMs)... ? If the singular form will be used later then option 2 seems poor. Generally option 3 appears to be best, but is it clear to the reader that we will write the singular form as "ATM"? This idea is touched upon in Defining an acronym when using the plural of the term? but it is not complete.


title: What's the opposite word for "sin"?

text: I would like to know if there is an opposite word for _sin_ in English. I mean, how could I say the opposite of > I committed a sin other than using a negation?


title: Antonyms of "sin" and "poison"?

text: Are there any exact opposites of _sin_ and _poison_? I have tried to find suitable words but I can't find an exact opposite.


title: What is the exact opposite of 'sin'?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What's the opposite word for "sin"? Well, I have got the answer 'virtue' from most people I asked. But still the answer is not satisfactory to me.


title: One word for "opposite of 'sin'"

text: I have checked many dictionaries but there is no one opposite of 'sin'.


title: "James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher" Correct Sentence?

text: How **"James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher"** is Correct Sentence? Can anyone explain?


title: Capitalise 'squadron'?

text: Should the word 'squadron' be written with a capital? In some contexts it seems more appropriate than in others, but I'd like to do it consistently. > The 12th squadron set sail. versus > The 12th Battle Squadron of the Imperial Navy Sources seem a bit contradictory, and even the Wikipedia people have not agreed upon a consistent style, it appears.


title: What phrase or word can I use to describe a bad mix of action?

text: This is in a Saudi YouTube series that I'm subtitling; I came across a colloquial word which means literally 'a mixture of melon juice, mango juice and corn', and figuratively expresses a bad course of action, a messy action or bad and uncontrolled management. For example: > Tim was a bad boss, his administration was the worst of its kind he gave > false promises and spoke about imaginary projects thats why we going to call > them شمنجاحبش which is the name of the mix juices


title: Proper adjective to use with the word "chance" ("low", "small", "slim", etc.)

text: What is the proper adjective to use with the word _chance_? Can chance be _low, small, slim_? What would be your suggestion?


title: Is an "acronoun" a real concept?

text: In discussing pronunciation of difference kinds of acronyms and initialisms, I recalled the term "acronoun." However, I can't find any reference to this term on the Wikipedia Acronym page, nor in google searching. I am questioning where I would have heard this before and if it is a real concept. If I had to guess at a definition, it would be an acronym that is pronounced as a word and used like a noun. However, that might be true for most acronyms or there might be a different word for this. I am looking for any insight or evidence this either is our could be a concept.


title: put forward in explanation or put forward to explain

text: A hypothesis is a supposition put forward in explanation of observed facts. Is this sentence wrong??and if it is then why? In a grammar book the right form of this sentence is given by this way - "A hypothesis is a supposition put forward to explain observed facts." or "A hypothesis is a supposition put forward as an explanation of observed facts."


title: When uncertain if refering to multiple or single should the plural form or singular form be used?

text: If asking a question or giving instruction towards a group of objects where the number is unknown (and possibly could be one) what is the correct way to phrase the sentence? Which of the following sentences are more correct: > Has there been any studies regarding this and if so what has been the > conclusion? OR > Has there been any studies regarding this and if so what have been the > conclusions?


title: How to properly use "lump sum"

text: How is the term _lump sum_ properly used? Do I work for a lump sum or on a lump sum? Can I work lump sum based, or can I offer a lump sum price?


title: The dog is (a) half wolf

text: Which of the following is correct? > (1) The dog is half wolf. > > (2) The dog is a half wolf. If (1) is correct, is "wolf" an uncountable noun or an adjective?


title: What is an automobile "aftermarket"?

text: In a discussion on car wheels, someone commented that "Stock wheels are usually more expensive than aftermarket." When I looked up _aftermarket_ on Google definition states that, it is > The market for spare parts, accessories, and components, esp. for motor > vehicles. However, I'm confused as to which sense of _market_ it applies here to the definition, for example one of the sources I searched was AHDE: >   1. A public gathering held for buying and selling merchandise. >   2. A place where goods are offered for sale. >   3. A store or shop that sells a particular type of merchandise: _a > vegetable market_. > >   4. (a) The business of buying and selling a specified commodity: _the > soybean market_. > > (b) A market price. > > (c) A geographic region considered as a place for sales: _grain for the > foreign market; the West Coast market_. > > (d) A subdivision of a population considered as buyers: _cosmetics for the > upscale market_. > >   5. The opportunity to buy or sell; extent of demand for merchandise: _a > big market for gourmet foods_. > >   6. (a) An exchange for buying and selling stocks or commodities: > _securities sold on the New York market_. > > (b) The entire enterprise of buying and selling commodities and securities: > _The market has been slow recently_. > > Or is there another suitable definition that's not on this list?


title: When to use Affect and effect?

text: i had a hard time in using these similar looking words at appropriate places. some help would be appreciated. Thank you


title: How to Remember the Difference Between Effective and Affective?

text: > **Possible Duplicates:**   >  What's an easy way to remember when to use "affect" or "effect"?   >  Effect vs. Affect I always confuse the two and I have no way of telling them apart! Help!


title: What's an easy way to remember when to use "affect" or "effect"?

text: Is there an easy way to remember when to use the word affect or effect in a sentence? It is very confusing, and I still get them mixed up.


title: How to explain the difference between affect and effect?

text: I don't know how to explain the difference between effect and affect to someone. I've tried explaining that effect is a noun, and affect is a verb, that "to affect" is to make a change, and "effect" is the change that was made, but these explanations haven't made sense. (They're 17 and very intelligent, so please don't be rude.) Could you please suggest other ways of explaining this?


Where did the practice of using apostrophes for possessive nouns but not pronouns originate? For example, possessive nouns (both proper and common) are written with a apostrophe before the final _s_ : >   * _Bill’s_ , not _Bills_ >   * _Sarah’s_ , not _Sarahs_ >   * _the bear’s_ , not _the bears_ >   * _the lizard’s_ , not _the lizards_ > On the other hand, several possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes before the _s_ : >   * _his_ , not _hi’s_ >   * _hers_ , not _her’s_ >   * _its_ , not _it’s_ >   * _theirs_ , not _their’s_ >   * _ours_ , not _our’s_ >   * _yours_ , not _your’s_ > When and where did this usage originate? Was there any technical advantage of this usage?


title: Is there a way to refer to the biblical state of Israel in another name?

text: The biblical and modern day states of Israel have the same name, even though they are not the same entities. Is there a name for the biblical state of Israel which is diffrent from Israel? Like the name _Israelite_ refers to the ancient Jews/people of Israel and not to the citizen of modern day Israel (which are called _Israeli_ ).


title: Why this phrase "When your program breaks, you get to keep both pieces." is used in the warning?

text: I came across this phrase in source code files open-sourced by Apple. Here is one such example: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/OSSLk.png) The warning basically means the source code is internal to Apple and is subject to change. We (software developers who use these files) should not expect the 'interface' to stay the same between version. If the interface is indeed changed, any program that depends on the file will be broken. What I do not quite understand are: 1) Is the phrase "When breaks, you get to keep both pieces" a common one? If so, how is it usually used? 2) Does 'both pieces' means 'two pieces' here? 3) Is it supposed to be playful in tone? Is there any other implied meaning based on the context?


title: Nouns and determiners

text: Are singular non-proper countable nouns **always** preceded by a determiner ( _a, the, some, any, this, that_ )? > ORIGINAL QUESTION: " _Dose singular no-proper_ [Are singular common] _nouns > always preceded by an article (a, the) or are there some situations that > this is not true?_ "


title: A dictionary that systematizes commonly accepted combinations of words

text: Where can I find a dictionary that contains words along with their commonly accepted "neighbors"? I had one, but it's not for English language. The structure of this dictionary is the following. Take a noun in this dictionary. Along with its brief definition, the dictionary shows what adjectives, verbs, and other parts of speech are appropriate to use with this noun. E.g., a "day." Possible adjectives: "sunny," "long," "bad," etc. Verbs: "spend," "waste," etc. And so forth for many instances. Quite a handy thing for writing. What English dictionaries offer similar capacities? PS: It's not about simple collocations or corpuses and ngrams that don't differentiate parts of speech, like Corpus Concordance English. It's important to have this part-of-speech distinction. **UPDATE:** Brief list of dictionaries from the answers:   * Online version of Oxford Collocation Dictionary


title: Where did the word "buckle" come from?

text: _Buckle_ is used mostly for the thing that's on belts. Where did the word come from?


title: How can I express "sacrificing ease for quality" in a common expression?

text: I'm really having a hard time to even phrase the sentence I'm looking for, sorry! Examples would include:   * A programmer telling someone he wrote a small piece of code directly in assembly instead of C++ for increased performance.   * Telling someone you could have used duct tape, which would have been quick and easy, but chose fiberglass for a longer lasting solution. In general, the person is willing to sacrifice easy task execution in exchange for increased quality in the end result. I'm not looking for someone to write a sentence for me, I'm looking for a common way of expressing something.


title: Why isn’t the definite article used in "The commission commanded that work [...] should cease"?

text: In this sentence: > The commission commanded that **work** on the building should cease. Why isn't _the_ used before the word _work_? It seems that the work is specified by _on the building_. Another example is, > **Construction** of the building will start next week. I understand construction here is something like putting up the building, and so the construction isn’t general in meaning. But the definite article isn’t used here, either. I’ve asked about this several times, but none gave me a good answer.


title: Terminology - What is the exact word to describe 'being skeptical of something/someone'?

text: What word do we use to define someone who is accusing someone/something for everything going around him or her. For example, lets say Jack accuses Jill for everything happening to him. He falls off his bike, Jill sabotaged it. He caught fever, Jill poisoned food. How do you call Jack's action towards Jill? Phobic or Skeptical or blaming? I don't get the exact word to precisely picture this character.


title: Is there a difference between "plagiarizer" and "plagiarist"?

text: Dictionary.com lists plagiarist as the noun form of plagiarism and lists plagiarizer as the noun form of plagiarize. I do not see the distinction of the separate entries and expected both words to be listed as noun forms.


title: Using "to" twice in a row

text: In the sentence "Who should I talk to to learn about that?" my grammar checker says I have a repeated word. I admit that it sounds a little awkward, but I'm not sure it's incorrect. I realize I could rephrase it in at least a dozen different ways, but is it valid in its current form?


title: Can the word “deceiving” stand for “positive”?

text: I was puzzled with the line “(President Lyndon Johnson’s) appearances can be deceiving,” in the Washington Post’s (April 2) article titled “President Lyndon Johnson did indeed attend an Easter Egg Roll” with a photograph showing President Johnson at an Easter event at the White House on May 7, 1964. My confusion arose from the contradiction of the phrase, “Appearances (which can be taken as 'attendance') can be deceiving” and the picture evidencing the obvious appearance of President at the site. > “A March 29 Loop post said it appeared that President Lyndon B. Johnson had > not attended any of the White House Easter Egg Roll gatherings. But > **appearances can be deceiving**. Marilynn Eaton, whose husband William > Eaton covered the White House during the Johnson years for UPI, sent us a > signed March 30, 1964 photo of Johnson and some kids, including her > daughters Susan and Sally — seen sitting at the far right of the stage.” Why is it “deceiving,” not “positive” or “obvious” when appearnce / presence / attendance of Jonson were evidenced by a photograph?


title: Is “he is a proven commodity” a common phrase?

text: I find many unfamiliar phrases in readers' comments on the statements of political figures and articles on news sites these days. I can't tell if they are accepted usage. Comment posters could be native English speakers or non- native speakers. I cannot judge, and it is frustrating. In _The Washington Post_ ’s “Comment of Today” (May 13), I came across the phrase, _he is a proven commodity_. The comment was in response to Chris Cillizza's "The most eventful week of the 2012 Republican primary race": > Put the pieces together and Ron Paul has a very good chance of winning the > Republican nomination. The GOP is suffering from an enthusiasm gap with the > rest of their 2012 possibilities. No one excites the base like Ron Paul. And > he is a proven commodity in terms of raising funds and knowing the ropes of > running for president. I understand “a proven commodity” is a metaphor, but can a person be called a _commodity_? Is the expression, _he is a proven commodity_ normal American English that I can use to describe any of my friends in conversation with my peers over a drink?


title: What is the meaning and etymology of the adjective "jammy", of Yorkshire English?

text: What is the etymology of the adjective _jammy_? As in, > Thou art a jammy bugger! I confess I've never seen the word before. When I looked it up, I found confusing etymologies: one source says it comes from the construction _jamais de guerre_ and an ordinary dictionary source says it comes from the word _jam_ ; I wouldn't imagine the two are related. Which is it?


title: Sequence of tenses?

text: Can you please help me with this thing called "sequence of verbs"? From what I'm understanding, if I use "would," I have to keep "would" throughout the sentence. Example: "I would go visit my cousin if he would come visit me as well." But in a situation like my example below, is it okay not to keep the same tense throughout? > "I went to this store called 'K' yesterday." > > "What kind of store was it?" > > "It was a store that sells jewelry." The last sentence is my question. I think I've heard people usually say "Yesterday, I went to a store that sold jewelry". But since I'm just explaining what kind of store it was/is, is it okay not to say "it was a store that sold jewelry"?


title: Origin and correct meaning of "make political book"

text: Re-watching old episodes of the X-Files. In which Agent Mulder says: (paraphrasing) > just pseudo-science used _to make political book_ (Transcript here) _(FYI The Episode was written by Mat Beck)_ I can infer that it means, to add (false) weight to a political agenda or argument. (ie. making it a safer bet.) I recall hearing the phrase before, sounds like a Hunter S Thompson, or beat era style phrase, but I'm unable to find any reference to it. Can anyone help with **definite** meaning and/or etymology? _Edit: Please don't offer conjecture, I can guess all by myself._


title: Usage of a participial construction in a specific interrogative sentence

text: I cannot grasp the construction and meaning of the following sentence. "What do Company A and Company B intend to achieve, anticipating that their intentions may be somewhat different?" Could you please teach me the construction and who is anticipating in the sentence? I have never seen this kind of sentence before. I have no idea what is the subject of "is anticipating." Thanks in advance.


title: Pronunciation of "especially"

text: In some podcasts (it seems the speaker was from California) I heard that the word "especially" was pronounced with "ks" sound like "ikspeshally". What was it likely to be, personal way of pronouncing this word or a local dialect?


title: Suck with a nose

text: What word is there in English for sucking with your nose? There are people who do not sneeze but instead have a bad habit of sucking with their nose snot in again. However, the English dictionary definition for sucking refers to the mouth.


title: What does "to invite oneself" mean?

text: I usually have lunch alone but yesterday I asked my colleague to join their lunch by saying > "I will join your lunch." (I usually join them one or twice a week.) Then one of them told the other guy in the group that > "XXX (my name) invited himself today." Is it the same as saying "he will join us today?" or does it imply something?


title: Use of preposition "with" after the word "marry"

text: Is it right to use the preposition "with" instead of "to" after the word "marry or married" under any given circumstances if we change the position of gender being mentioned? For example: "She is married to John" Can we also say: "John married with her" OR "John is married with her" I highlighted this mistake in the notes of an educationist which he gave to his students. I raised this point with him that "to" is the only preposition which is used after the word "married". However, he argued that use of preposition depended on the position of gender being mentioned, thus the change in the position of gender also changes the preposition and it is right to use the preposition "with" after the verb "marry". Can anyone explain?


title: Use of preposition 'to'

text: I hope to understand the use of the preposition **_to_** gerunds and the overall structure of the following sentence. Normally the use of **_to_** is to specify a destination or a purpose but here the way it is used is unfamiliar to me. * * *               The report was relentlessly hostile to the scientist,     interpreting one complex event after     another to his discredit.      * * * I await your answers.


title: Is it "re-offend" or "reoffend"?

text: I want to know whether there is a hyphen in the word _re-offend_ , or if it is spelt _reoffend_. I looked in Oxford English dictionary and the word "reoffend" appears, but then I checked Merriam-Webster and the word is not in there. So is _reoffend_ a word or is it _re-offend_? I'm in Australia where we observe UK English if that matters.


title: Question on lack of comma usage

text: My English teacher took some points off on a recent paper of mine based on improper comma usage, so I'm coming here for clarification. Here are the examples. The [x]'s indicate where the commas were deemed missing and I was marked down accordingly. > When I was younger[x] I skipped the superhero phase, and never really > thought twice about it. > > At this point[x] the character becomes ridiculous as he becomes a God. I was under the impression that commas are generally used to indicate pauses in speaking, connect independent clauses, delimit lists, or signal appositives. For example, many authors and speakers may use commas more frequently than others to indicate many pauses in speaking, whereas others prefer a more rushed manner of speaking (Had I been in a more pensive mood, I may have included the commas, but my manner of thinking at the time felt the chosen method more accurately represented what I was attempting to depict.) Is one wrong and the other not? Is my teacher correct? Are there set-in-stone comma rules that are to be consistently followed in order to be proper? If so, are only creative writers and authors allowed to break those rules? Thanks for reading.


title: Long way to catch up?

text: My friend and I watch the same TV show, but she's on 5th season and i'm on 2nd. so she tells me what's going to happen next, what do i say here "God, i got a long way to catch up " or what, to say that i want to catch up , or be in the same season she is on. Help me please.


title: Is it correct to write a noun once while listing two related (verbs) activities?

text: For instance, in the sentence: > Without adding new items and modifying existing items. Would it be correct to completely remove the first reference to the noun items? as in: > Without adding new and modifying existing items. It sounds wrong. Is the only correct alternative replacing the explicit noun with an implicit reference as in: > Without adding new items and modifying existing ones. Is there a more elegant way to avoid writing the explicit noun twice in this sentence? I read this: Mixing adjective and noun enumerations but did not find it very useful.


title: Should I say "Your order is now complete" or "Your order is now completed"?

text: When a user finishes an order on my website, what's the correct way? >   * Your order is now **complete**. >   * Your order is now **completed**. >


title: Should I use 'by' preposition of time in past/future perfect tenses only?

text: In which tenses can I use 'by' as a preposition of time? My teacher told me you are allowed to use this preposition in past perfect or future perfect tenses only, but I ran into a lot of sentences on the web where people use it in past or future simple/continuous tenses. Consider the following examples: > I will do my homework by tomorrow.   >  I will have done my homework by tomorrow. > > They will be working by then.   >  They will have been working by then. > > The domestic water use did not change by 1960.   >  The domestic water use had not changed by 1960. Please let me know which of them are correct.


title: Is there another word for 'listening' to an answer?

text: We 'listen' when we're being told something. Is there another verb for 'listening' to an answer to a question we asked? Is 'receiving' an appropriate word for it? It sounds reasonable in the context of the answer being in a written format > "I have received an answer" But it doesn't sound right if the answer happens to be in an audible format (think two people face to face, instead of the answer being a recording) P.S.: I'm not looking for 'hear'. I'm asking if there's a verb that carries the same weight as 'listen', but applies specifically to the situation of being given an answer.


title: What occasion should use the word "affection"

text: Hi this is my first post !! Salute to y'all nice people!! I am not a native English speaker so sometimes I concerned about if I picked up the correct word. The word today is "affection". I try to describe a guy holds a little boy and like it as much as his own son, so I use `He shows him(the boy) much affection like to his own son.` I am not sure that's the correct phrase, the reason I use this word is the guy is not the real father to the kid so `love` sounds too much and `like` sounds dull. But I am not sure if `affection` make the guys sounds perverted, from a man to a kid. Because nowadays people need to be careful to show fondness to kids...and my native language does not has a equivalence as this word, we generally use "like" all the time :) Also I am always confused about this word, it sounds like a little more than like but less than love but with some "love". So what is the normal occasion to use this word? Only to kids? a thing? Thanks in advance.


title: Term for mentioning X by saying "I will not say X"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the origin of the phrase "not to mention …"   >  Is there a name for "I don't mean to…, but" phrases? Is there a term for the rhetorical device of making a statement by disguising it in the context of saying that you will not in fact make such a statement? I'm thinking of a politician announcing "I will not stoop to calling my opponent an adulterer" and, in effect, doing exactly that.


title: Is there a name for "I don't mean to..., but" phrases?

text: > "I don't mean to change the subject, but..." but you are changing the > subject. > > "I don't mean to interrupt, but..." but you are interrupting. Is there a name for these type of "polite" phrases?


title: Talking about not talking about the topic—name of figure of speech

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Is there a name for "I don't mean to…, but" phrases?   >  Term for mentioning X by saying "I will not say X" I am looking for a name of a figure of speech which expresses a desire to recommend something by talking about not talking about the action. Example (coined from a real example that happened on IRC). The topic is a certain animation which the speaker would like to recommend to another person. > Well, ok, it is not a drama, so I am not going to try convincing you it is > worth watching. I understand that people have different preferences as to > what to watch. Not knowing its plot is not punishable after all… (yet). And > the authors haven't got a Nobel prize for it either. So, don't worry, I am > not going to say how much you are losing by not watching it right now. I think it's related to Suspiciously Specific Denial TV trope, but I've seen this specific way of recommending things many times and I am wondering if there's any nice description of this kind of figure of speech.


title: "India's army, in numbers, is second only to China's and America's."

text: The odd sentence > India's army, in numbers, is second only to China's and America's. appeared in the article _Contest of the Century_ in the current issue of _The Economist_ (August 21-27, 2010). Should the author have written **third** instead of **second** , or is it fine as it stands?


title: What is the difference between "monologue" and "soliloquy"?

text: Just a random thought as to what the actual difference between _monologue_ and _soliloquy_ might be.


title: What does it mean "to port over"

text: I ran across with phrasing "to port over" in some articles. What does it mean? >   * _There have been a few instances, where **porting functionality over** > to the Zend Framework resulted in immediate performance gains._ >   * _the initial **port over** tends to perform a little slower* >


title: How to correctly express volume units

text: I have to replace imperial units with metric units in a text, and since this is not technical writing , I have to maintain the prose style and clarity. This is a troubling phrase: "...the air in **1 cubic foot**...". I think I can do that: "...the air in **a 30-centimeter cubic region [or cubic volume]**...", but since I've seen units being used wrongly before (like saying that 1 cubic foot = 30 cubic centimenters), I would like to have your opinion on this. BTW: I'm not a native English speaker, nor have I used imperial units daily (my country uses metric). **EDIT** : I can't use liters because this is describing a cubic area of space, and 30 liters (or 28 liters) is hard to picture as cube. Take a look at it on another way. When I say "this is a two-feet cubic volume", how big do you think it is in cubic feet? Also, did you understand the diference between saying "X-feet cubic volume" and "Y cubic feet"? **EDIT2** : Here is a new doubt, what is the more correct way of writing this: "the space of a 30-centimeter cube" or "the space of a 30 centimeter cube" (the difference in the hyphen).


title: Is it reasonable to use "by so far"?

text: Is it reasonable to say: "This is going to be the most amazing day by so far!" ? I mean the "by so far" part. English is not my first language, but I caught myself typing so and started wondering where did I get that from. It's just without the "by" I feel like something is missing.


title: What is the social context of "pizzazz"?

text: The word can also be written "pzaz" and "pizazz". I have found some definitions, but I want a synonym. As English is not my natural tongue, I also don't exactly know what it means socially. Is it the same as _je ne sais quois_?


title: Is “At the foundation of everything good is (the cause of goodness / success) a popular idiom, or just a set of words?

text: Time magazine (December 16) introduces Mitt Romney’s new TV campaign commercial as follows: “New Mitt NH TV spot hits twin goals: Romney as economic savior and Romney as a man who can relate to working people. Romney: "We’ve got to get this economy going again. _At the foundation of everything good is a very strong economy_." I’m interested in the expression, “ _At the foundation of everything good is a strong economy._ " Is “At the foundation (base) of everything ＋adjective is (predicate) a popular idiom, or just a set of words? Can I say conversely “At the foundation of everything bad is a very bad economy (management, waste of money, a person, e.g. you, president of a company) without being felt awkward?


title: "State of Maryland" or "state of Maryland"?

text: When referring to a U.S. state in a formal document, is it correct to capitalize "State," or should it remain uncapitalized? For example: This school is accredited by the State of Maryland OR This school is accredited by the state of Maryland


title: Should "State" be capitalized on its own?

text: Say we had the following: > Higher Education spending, clout, and influence in New York State is > substantial. Within the **State’s** borders... Should the latter instance of _State_ be capitalized or not?


title: Capitalize "state?"

text: Do you capitalize the word "state" when saying, "In Washington State, individuals who are unemployed may apply for treatment through DSHS."


title: What are the uses for 'quick'?

text: Is the word quick ever used in reference to candles eg the quick of the candle? I know about the quick of the nail and obviously about the wick of a candle but I have a memory of the quick too being something to do with candles.


title: Word whose definition is "words that have multiple meanings"

text: What is a word whose definition is "words that have multiple meanings"?


title: Correct placement of articles

text: My supervisor corrected the draft of my thesis, inserting a lot of articles here and there. I have doubts if he was correct. Could someone comment on the following sentences? > Over the last decade a lot of companies recognized [the] importance of data > warehousing and business intelligence technologies to their businesses. > Complex queries can significantly decrease [the] performance of a source > system. [The] Availability and quality of data is crucial for this process. > Because of [the] standardization of SQL, [the] technical heterogeneity could > be solved automatically.


title: Figuring out what's wrong with the sentence

text: I took a quiz given in the BBC magazine. it had the following sentence. > The Queen arrived at the castle with the King by her side, in a dress > adorned with hand-sewn embroidered dragons. please explain what is technically wrong with the above sentence.


title: "Turn out the light" vs "Turn off the light"

text: What is the difference between "turn out the lights" and "turn off the lights"? Are they interchangeable? Which one seems more appropriate if there is no difference?


title: Why does "contrary" have two different pronunciations?

text: I have the impression _all_ Anglophones pronounce **contrary** with stress on the second syllable _(cont-RARE-ee)_ when applied to a person's actions or disposition, as in: > Mary Mary quite contrary,   >  How does your garden grow?   >  With silver bells and cockle shells   >  And pretty maids all in a row. ...but it's nearly always stressed on the _first_ syllable _(CONT-rər-ee)_ in all other contexts. It's still the same word, and I can't really see any difference in meaning apart from that which arises naturally by virtue of it being applied to a _person_ , rather than something abstract/inanimate. Is my impression correct? If so, is there any reason? It can't just be for the sake of that well-known nursery rhyme, can it? I know I probably shouldn't ask, but are there any other cases where "the same word" has a different stress pattern according to context? (I'm not counting things like You don't **haff** to do that, where the consonant can change according to whether the word is stressed or not.)


title: Does English allow a zero copula in subordinate clauses?

text: In a casual search of the web, I found a few indications English does not allow zero copulas (http://linguistics.stackexchange.com/a/1468). However, I frequently see sentences with subordinate clauses that juxtapose a noun phrase with an adverb phrase, such as the following from a contemporary sci-fi author: > Kai stares up at me from the grave, **his eyes hard as obsidian**. If this clause were made into a sentence, it would take an obligatory verb: > *His eyes hard as obsidian.   >  His eyes are hard as obsidian. The original clause seems to contain an implicit "to be." Is it an example of a zero copula? If not, what is this construction called?


title: 'As I heard' vs. 'When I heard'

text: Which of the following sentences is correct English, and why? > As I heard that Greenday got a new CD, I went to the store to buy it. > > As soon as I heard that Greenday got a new CD, I went to the store to buy > it. > > When I heard that Greenday got a new CD, I went to the store to buy it.


title: What's the difference between "rise" and "arise"

text: What is the difference between **rise** and **arise**? When and how should I use each one? Note: similar question


title: Is x plotted against y or is y plotted against x?

text: Given a diagram where the x axis is the horizontal one and the y axis is the vertical one. Which of these alternatives are the right and or best way of writing it:   1. plotting x against y   2. plotting y against x   3. plotting x versus y   4. plotting y versus x My (Swedish) brain wants alternative 1 or 3 but there are sources pointing in other directions. Could this be a case where different languages do different ordering? I would expect these mathematical 'things' to be standardized among languages but now I am not so sure...