title: Is “you’re the door on the right.” grammatically correct?

text: The _you_ is Harry Potter. I’m really curious about the grammatical construction and the reason why JKR chose it. > ”Mrs. Weasley, why – ?” > > ”Ron and Hermione will explain everything, dear, I’ve really got to dash,” > Mrs. Weasley whispered distractedly. “There” – they had reached the second > landing – “ **you’re the door on the right.** I’ll call you when it’s over.” > ( _Harry Potter 5_ [US Version]: p.62) **N.B.:** Mrs. Weasley has just led Harry to his room. She is in a rush because she has to attend a meeting downstairs. I think it means "your room is at the door on the right," but Mrs. Weasley might be making a mistake because she’s in hurry. I don’t know for sure, though.   1. What’s the true meaning of “you’re the door on the right”?   2. If it’s grammatically acceptable, is there any omission in the sentence?   3. If it’s grammatically acceptable, what situation do you use it in? And what’s the difference in listeners’ impressions between this kind ( _a-person-is-an-object_ type) of sentence and the more common version?   4. Would you give me some examples of _a-person-is-an-object_ sentences?


title: "Existence" in English and Persian

text: In Persian, things "have" existence, for example > To vojod dari = You have existence In English _existing_ is not something to have, it's something to be, > You exist Am I wrong in saying that? Why is there this difference? Is it an accident or it goes back to how people have interpreted the concept of existence or something else?


title: Term for someone who calls herself negative things that are not true

text: What is the correct term for someone who usually says negative things about herself (that she is fat,ugly or dumb) even though she knows that she is not?


title: What does “I’ll give you undercover!” mean here?

text: I have no idea on the meaning of “give you undercover” in the following citation. > “ ’S’ up, Figgy?” he said, staring from Mrs. Figg to Harry and Dudley. “What > ‘appened to staying undercover?” **“I’ll give you undercover!”** cried Mrs. > Figg. “ _Dementers_ , you useless, skiving sneak thief!” ( _Harry Potter 5_ > [US Version]: p.22-23) **N.B.:** _He_ and Mrs. Figg were supposed to guard Harry without Harry’s knowledge, but while _he_ was absent from the duty, _dementers_ (evil ghosts) attacked Harry, when Mrs. Figg’s identity was exposed. This scene is just after _he_ came back. (Dudley is a boy accidentally involved in the attack.) Here are my questions. I’d be glad if you could help me.   1. What’s the undercover’s part of speech?   2. Is there any reason she’s using the same word as he?   3. What’s the meaning of the whole sentence?


title: Is there a name for this ambiguity problem or for the construction that solves it?

text: I read a sentence, > John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and law. The author meant _John has published research in academic journals of philosophy and in academic journals of law._ But one could take the sentence to mean _John has published research in academic journals that cover both philosophy and law._ I remember reading an article about these sorts of 'and' constructions; I don't have any sufficiently specific keywords in mind to search for the answer. Do you know what keywords relate to these sorts of constructions?


title: Single word for the phrase "Investing more money to save the money already invested"?

text: People do that, they put in more money to save their money at stake. I'm guessing there's a single word for it. Thank you.


title: About inversion

text: Given the following sentence, > Nowhere on her title page or copyright page is there a suggestion that > anyone but Walker wrote her story. Can I invert it as follows without changing the meaning? > There is not a suggestion that anyone but Walker wrote her story anywhere on > her title page or copyright page.


title: Difference between 'taken back' and 'taken aback'

text: A sentence is written like this, > In this work of Pankaj Mishra, we are taken back to 18th century Europe > where ... > > In this work of Pankaj Mishra, we are taken aback to the 18th century Europe > where ... I understand that first one is more natural because 'taken aback' usually points to 'surprise' but the word 'aback' also mean backward. Thus the second construct should be equally natural, at least in this context. Isn't it?


title: Vocabulary: an event, usually an unplesant one, that might or might not happen

text: I kept searching for an English word whose definition I remember, but not the specific term. I have searched but cannot not find it. This is the definition: > an event, usually an unpleasant one, that might or might not happen in the > future Could you give me some hints?


title: “Confusing modifiers” reported where none are found

text: I have a sentence: > Take a look at this math problem and try to so solve it. The Grammar Checker told me: “This sentence contains Issue: Confusing modifiers.” But where?


title: Usage of 'content'

text: Can I answer the question 'How are you?' with 'I am **content** and happy. Thanks'. What is the use of the word 'content'. On the book 'You Can Win', Shiv Khera tells a story about a person like "He was happy because he was content, he was content because he was happy".


title: Does "Bitcoin" need to be capitalized?

text: Does "Bitcoin" need to be capitalized? In formal writing or informal, what is the current usage?


title: What is the meaning of 'Oshkosh by Gosh'?

text: I was recently watching a TV series named suits where a character said "Oshkosh by Gosh". I googled it and all I could find was the meaning of bagash from this site. Urban Dictionary - Bagash What does this expression mean? Also for people who asked in the comment for the episode, I don't know exactly which episode but the scene was like Harvey Specter and Mike Ross get high after smoking weed at Mike Ross's place from Suits Season 2.


title: "lives of people have remained a mystery" ...weird?

text: Consider this sentence: > The lives of people whose tools and pottery have been found on its [Lake > Titicaca's] shores have long remained a mystery. Does this sound weird? I'm particularly interested in the connection that "lives of people have remained a mystery". This goes in contrast with the fact that we actually know little about their lives. And even though they _are_ connected with something we perceive as a mystery, the time span of the mystery goes far beyond the actual lives. Does the tense use reflect this correctly? Or could/should this be phrased differently, more clearly?


title: the meaning of "pretty happening"

text: What does "they're pretty happening" mean in the following sentence? “These soccer players, they’re pretty happening,” the men’s designer Todd Snyder said. “David Beckham really set the bar. He paved the way for all of this.”


title: Does a name go before or after the noun it modifies?

text: The sentence > The user “John Smith” has been registered; go to the “User Profile” tab to > view the user’s details. reads more naturally to me than > The “John Smith” user has been registered; go to the tab “User Profile” to > view the user’s details. but I’m not sure why. In particular, it seems wrong for _John Smith_ to go before the word _user_ , whereas _User Profile_ can go either before or after the word _tab_ (although it seems to flow a little better when it’s before). What rules of grammar apply here?


title: How “Barely better-than-even-odd” success is better as compared with 50:50 success?

text: According to Washington Post’s Breaking News Alert (May 8), President Obama faced sharply divided counsel and, in his mind, _barely better-than-even odds of success_ when he ordered the daring May 1 commando raid that killed al- Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the president said in an interview broadcast Sunday. "At the end of the day, this was still a 55/45 situation," Obama told CBS's "60 Minutes" To me if the chance is 51 vs. 49, it seems to be “barely” better than even odd. But 55/45 chance looks not very, but ‘significantly positive’ mark if I’m asked to challenge. YMMV. Of course criterion of judgment varies by status and situation you are placed in and magnitude of consequence you expect. But _from purely rhetorical point of view_ , is 10% margin categorized in “ _barely_ better-than-even” range?


title: How to know what preposition to use

text: Say I want to use the word _cliffhanger_ in a sentence. > The show ended **on** a cliffhanger. Or, > The show ended **at** a cliffhanger. Not just this sentence; how do I know what is the correct preposition to use at what phase of a sentence?


title: "Previously" vs. "last time"

text: What is the difference between the following two sentences? >   * This is the vendor from which the item was purchased the last time. >   * This is the vendor from which the item was purchased previously. > Is there a better way to write them?


title: How do you say " I do not know why it is so" in an academic way?

text: The situation is, I'm comlaining about the problem concerning submitting important documents via Internet because it seems like that document was not properly submitted. However, I don't know if it was my fault because I didn't follow the procedure or because of the bugging system. I want to write a formal to my University about that, but I don't know how to say it in an academic way.


title: Marathon Event Question

text: How can I describe the marathon event more make sense? Assumed that I want to describe an marathon event:               Item: full, half.     or Category: full, half;     Or Dis: full, half;     or Group: full, half;      Which one is better to describe a marathon event? BTW, I noticed that from the official London marathon website, it divided by master category, etc... not by full or half.


title: Softened pronunciation of consonants, such as "t" or "s" followed by "y"

text: I noticed a certain softening of consonants in certain words/consecutive words and I haven't been able to find any resource on this matter yet. Some examples:   * letter "t" is not sharp at all, it seems to be close to close to "tsh" or "ť "  > tram ("t"), but you ("t y")   * similarly to "s" being similar to "ge" in "garage" ("ž")  > is your ("s y") _This is a subjective thing, maybe I'm hearing it wrong, feel free to state that; or maybe it's local, used in only some areas, but it seems rather frequent_ Is it true that these consonants are "soft" in some way, and can you describe the phenomenon or is there an online resource describing these specific pronunciations?


title: "Opportunity of purchasing" vs "Opportunity to purchase"

text: I am translating a phrase from Spanish and I would appreciate the input from a native English speaker: I translated a phrase as "to give the opportunity of purchasing", but I am in doubt whether it would be more appropriate "to give the opportunity to purchase". Which one is the correct phrase?


title: Do I keep myself "up-to-date" or "up to date" on something?

text: Question is quite straightforward. I want to say that "I keep myself up-to- date on the latest technology". Or is it better "I keep myself up to date with the latest technology"? Thanks


title: Wishing luck to third person

text: I want to express to an uninvolved person that I wish luck for some people involved in an endeavor. > I'm keen interested to watch the result and wish lucky for that. `Wish lucky for that` **or** `I do wish them best of luck`


title: Business meeting jargon- a "walkthrough" of a document

text: I'm writing a document and I need to discuss sessions during which one party presents a document and walks the other party through the document, reading each sentence out loud, asking for any comments or questions, and ending with a final edited document. Is there a standard business jargon term for this? Does "walkthrough" work? Thanks, Ilan


title: What's the literal meaning of "Real Estate"?

text: Today I realized that the word "Real" in "Real Estate" might be about "royalty" instead of "reality". English is a foreign language to me, so I don't really know the literal meaning and origin of the term "Real Estate". Might "Real" be an alternative term for "Royal"?


title: What is a word to describe one's force of personality

text: I'm looking for a general term to describe an innate ability to compel others to obey. This effect might take the form of seduction, charm, intimidation, inspiration, etc. I do not mean a measure of how _likable_ someone is; only how effective they are at convincing others to comply with their agenda. The closest term I can think of is 'presence', but I was hoping for something a bit more exact. ## Context I'm writing a roleplaying game in which the player has your classic attribute map:   * Strength   * Agility   * Intellect   * **(subject of this question)**   * Vitality   * ...


title: Can "of" be followed by "between"?

text: I've encountered following phrase: > a vocabulary of between 10,000 and 15,000 words Is this phrase correct? Can `of` be followed by `between` in this case?


title: Is the sentence "The world is getting smaller and international connections tighter." grammatically correct?

text: Is following sentence grammatically correct? > The world is getting smaller and international connections tighter. What kind of construct is this? Parallel structure?


title: Etymology of "-by" suffix in proper nouns

text: I am curious to find out about the etymology of the suffix **-by** in proper nouns such as the following: > Hornby, Gatsby, Bartleby, Barlby, Selby, Osgodby, Keisby, and Hanby


title: Are "w/o", "w/", "b/c" common abbreviations?

text: I remember when staying a few months in the US years ago that I saw some people using the abbreviations below. However, I can't exactly remember in which contexts I encountered them, (whether I saw my teachers using them when writing something on the board, in papers or in personal notes etc.) So my question is: Are those abbreviations below commonly used and in which contexts is it okay to use them (e.g. formal texts, personal notes,... or better only used in personal note taking?) >   * w/o without >   * w/ with >   * b/c because > PS: Are there similar abbreviations that are commonly used?


title: How to use fully qualified acronyms

text: Which is proper/acceptable? Take for instance this sentence: > We would like to use IBM machines. Now consider that I needed to fully qualify IBM... How do I make this not read strangely? > We would like to use IBM (International Business Machines) machines. or > We would like to use International Business Machines (IBM) machines. (Please note that IBM is not the real acronym but it's similar to what I need to pull off) **EDIT:** I should add that part of my question is that if it's incorrect or less correct to put [Fully qualified name] (Acronym) or [Acronym] (Fully qualified name)


title: Meaning and etymology of "Crabbit"

text: What does this phrase mean? > Being a **crabbit** is not gonna make it any easier for you.


title: "Tear(drop)" synonyms

text: I've been looking for the synonyms (especially poetic ones) referring to the nouns "tear" and "tear-drop". Unfortunately, there wasn't much for me to find. I've found two, poetic ones - _"brine"_ and _"lachryma"_. Are there some other (poetic or even archaic) synonyms?


title: Is "in the first place better used to emphasize one fact than combined with “in the second place" to introduce a series of facts?

text: I used to think that "in the first place" is to emphasizs something. When we see it in the middle of a paragraph, we won't expect "in the second place". But I then saw several cases of "in the first place....in the second place" used to organize sentences. Are they good to show up together to introduce a series of reasons or facts?


title: What does "disarm and waylay one's heart" mean?

text: In Salinger's "Paula" there is the following passage: > "I so desperately want our baby born safely, darling. I’m afraid of falling. > I’m afraid of a thousand things." Mrs. Hincher paused, suddenly squeezed her > husband’s hand, as though some sharp, horrible image had come to frighten > her mind’s eye. She continued, "Cars and trucks and things. I’m so afraid. > And if I stay in bed I’ll be safe with my thoughts of you and baby." > > The word "baby" sans the preceding definite article completely disarmed and > waylaid Mr. Hincher’s heart. He replied to his wife in an exceedingly husky > voice but with slight command in his voice. I'm trying to figure out what exactly Mr. Hincher felt. So, first of all is "[t]he word "baby" sans the preceding definite article" a good or a bad thing? And what does "disarm and waylay one's heart" mean? My understanding is that Mr. Hincher felt totally defenseless and couldn't establish a counter argument. The thought of a baby was too dominant that he couldn't continue with the discussion. Is that correct?


title: Phrasal verbs (formal and informal use)

text: I'm not always comfortable with phrasal verbs. I find that Americans use a lot of phrasal verbs than say people from UK -- I might be completely wrong though. What I find most difficult with phrasal verbs is to know when it is appropriate to use them - like is this phrasal verb formal or informal. So for this very reason, I tend to avoid using them. I think it's definitely far easier for native speakers because of familiarity with cultural settings in which the verbs arose. My question is whether there are any tips for non-natives to not just know what phrasal verbs are, but also to understand the context of how they are used; and what such tips might be.


title: Is any utterance in English used only by men or only by women?

text: In my native language, there are some interjections used only by women. For example _Va_ (pronounced /vʌ/), is an exclamation used to express surprise only by women. If any man happens to use them, he will be either laughed at and humiliated, or will be considered a man with female characteristics. Are there any similar things in English which should be avoided to be used by men (or women) and one should be aware of? The example I used was an interjection, but your answer might be any word, phrase, idiom that could be thought of.


title: The Case of the Missing Verb, or can a perfectly good word fail to exist?

text: Is it possible for an action to lack a verb? For example - to answer my own question - there is a verb for smell bad ("stink"), but there is no counterpart for to smell good. Is there?


title: "in every respect" vs "in every aspect"

text: There is a quote from a local translation bureau website: > A translation shall be excellent _in every respect_ : style, and formatting, > and words, and meaning. Is the use of 'in every respect' appropriate in this context? I feel that 'style, formatting, words, and meaning' are aspects (or attributes) of a translation. Can we call them 'respects'?


title: Change subject after "in doing so"

text: I was recently told in class that this sentence is correct: "He reprogrammed the system, and in doing so, we lost crucial data." It just doesn't feel right to me - my intuition is that the subject on both sides of "in doing so" should be the same. Something like "He reprogrammed the system, and in doing so, caused us to lose crucial data." Is my intuition off, or is the original sentence wrong?


title: Difference between *guile* and *beguile*?

text: According to the dictionary, _guile_ as a noun means cunning or deceit, while as a tr.verb it means to deceive. _Beguile_ , doesn't seem to have a noun form, and as a tr.verb means to deceive or to be cunning. Is the difference simply that of a noun/verb? Can guile be used as a verb? If I am sightseeing and a tout charges me too much, was I _guiled_? Or was I _beguiled_? (or neither?)(or both?) Both seem to mean to deceive. Can anyone offer some clarification on the differences between the two? Are the interchangable?


title: Indirect quote without quotation marks, two spaces after comma?

text: I seem to remember the usage of a kind of soft quotation, with no quote marks, but a capital letter and two spaces after the comma. Has anyone seen this? Does it have a name? Example: > I asked him if it was possible. He gave me a dirty look,  No way.


title: What do you call this type of person?

text: What do you call someone who is seemingly working with you but is actually working against you?


title: Is ‘Specialist’ lower in rank than noncommissioned or petty officer in military term?

text: In business and academic fields, ‘specialists’ are regarded and respected as persons with special knowledge and skill about their own professions, like medical specialist, research specialist and computer specialist. However, I was amused to find the following lines of today’s Washington Post reporting that the suspect of OAK CREEK shooting rampage had been _demoted from sergeant to specialist_ before leaving the Army. "Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards said Page, who lived in a neighboring community, served in the military from 1992 to 1998, received a “general discharge” and was “ineligible for reenlistment.” A Pentagon official said Page _rose to the rank of sergeant before being demoted to specialist_ and leaving the Army. - Wade Michael Page, Sikh temple shooter, identified as skinhead band leader Are specialists in the American Army regarded as lower than sergeants and corporals in the ranking order, unlike general perception of specialists vs general staff among ‘fellow Americans?’ Is it special to the Army, or common to other fields of occupations?


title: What is a word for "cannot-be-wrong" attitude?

text: When speaking with someone recently I was continuously taken aback by how he could not concede even the slightest detail in my argument (which was not unreasonable), and it happened another time previously. Both times had to do with me pointing out 'error' in his action. He very much exhibits that 'I cannot be wrong' attitude. I first thought to call this arrogance or pride but he is not overbearing like arrogance demands and he does not show excessive self esteem that pride demands. What is a word that can accurately describe this attitude?


title: "Such as me" or "such as myself" — which one is correct?

text: Which is correct, "such as myself" or "such as me"?


title: Meaning of "man of his own invention"

text: There is a song "Something That I Want" (ending theme from Tangled). It has the following lines: > She's a girl with the best intentions. > > He's a man of his own invention. What is the meaning of the second line? Is there are some kind of idiom?


title: A word for when you only understand a language in its written form

text: Is there a specific word to express when you only understand the written form of a language? For instance: I can read Portuguese, but I can't understand it when it's spoken to me.


title: Plural noun with singular modifiers

text: I am writing up a document for an art exhibit and have found myself a bit confused. The piece in question is a lidded jar with a stand and handle. The sentence in question is as follows: > Worthy of particular attention are the _lidded jars with stand and handle_ > pictured here. Each jar has one stand and one handle. Is it proper to say "lidded jars with stand and handle," or does this seem to imply an amorphous collection of jars that share a stand and handle? I hesitate to say "lidded jars with stands and handles," as this would imply that multiple stands and handles are attached to each jar.


title: "Anticipate" for "look forward to"

text: Can "anticipate" be safely used as a substitute for "look forward to" in informal prose like emails and general correspondence, but also in business writing? e.g. _I'm **anticipating** to hear from you._ http://419.bittenus.com/12/9/gracejohnson.html _I **anticipate** hearing from you._ http://www.siue.edu/~tmarsha/


title: Is it correct to say "It is pathetic to see some people only see the lust side of a girl"?

text: I want to put as a comment on a photo of a girl on a social media site that some people has made some bad vulgar comments on her photo.


title: How should I understand this clause?

text: The following sentence is from a GRE reading passage: > Even as the number of females processed through juvenile courts climbs > steadily, an implicit consensus remains among scholars in criminal justice > _that male adolescents define the delinquency problem in the United States._ I don't quite understand the "that" clause in this sentence.   * What kind of clauses is this? (I'm looking for the terminology so that I can read more about it in something like Wikipedia.)   * I'm confused with this clause. I think it might be more readable if it was: > ... in criminal justice that male adolescents define **as** the delinquency > problem in the United States. If this understanding is incorrect, should I view " _male adolescents define the delinquency problem in the United States_ " as being in apposition to " _criminal justice_ "?


title: Which is correct here: "arbitrary" or "arbitrarily"?

text: Do you say "an arbitrarily small constant epsilon" or "an arbitrary small constant epsilon"? Or are both correct?


title: What's the difference between be verbs and auxiliary verbs?

text: I assume all be verbs are auxiliary verbs; is this correct?


title: Meaning of 'be upset', angry or not calm? Maybe evolved after decades?

text: I've thought for years that when you are upset, it means "you've just heard some unexpected news or something shocking, and as a result, you're not calm and probably you can't judge as correctly as usual." (I think it's a common translation found for the word "慌てた" in Japanese-English dictionaries.) But I find in many English dictionaries, in paper, or online, it's said to mean "be irritated" or "be angry". Was I wrong, or is my explanation not wrong but a rarer usage? If it means "be angry", let me ask two more questions.   1. Has the meaning changed? Older English dictionaries don't tend to explain much in this regards. They only say "disturbing" = "vomitting" or so.   2. Are there any English word that corresponds to my "old" meaning? "lost calmness" or so?


title: Idioms for enormous scale and great quality

text: How do you describe "legendary scale" events/entities? One I know is _an X to end all Xes_ Some say X _of epic proportions_ What other idioms or hyperboles could one use for something "extremely noteworthy"?


title: Are the words "network packet" and "network package" interchangeable?

text: "packet" and "package" are synonyms when we refer to mailings, but does the same apply to "network packet"? My co-worker frequently says: "network package". It's like nails on a chalkboard to me, but is it correct?


title: "Sonata of..." or "The sonata of..."?

text: For example, what's more grammatically correct (or at least common practice) "Sonata of Awakening" or "The Sonata of Awakening"?


title: Delayed subject with short subject length

text: I read a few pages (here for example) dealing with "anticipatory/dummy _it_ " and "delayed subject" to try and satisfy my curiosity about an observation I'd made about a friend's speech. Often, when my friend is making a simple observation, she will pull the subject of her sentence to the end, and replace it with an "it"--thus, not > *The movie was good. or even > *That/it was a good movie. but > It was good the movie. (I left out a comma after _good_ because my friend doesn't noticeably pause there.) The uses of "delayed subject" or "anticipatory/dummy _it_ " that I've seen are all connected to a subject which is either an infinitive phrase or a noun clause; I haven't seen an example in which the subject is a simple noun phrase. My friend grew up in northern New Jersey, USA; and her mother (who occasionally had the same trick of speech) grew up in Queens, New York, USA. Is this mode of speech part of a recognized dialect there, or somewhere else? I don't recall ever having heard it before. Do other varieties of English have similar constructs?


title: the single of plurals are?

text: I'm sure his has a general form and welcome a link to a duplicate, but as I don't quite know what to search for, here goes. Whilst answering a question on the Mathematics Stack Exchange, I found myself needing to say the mid point of one diagonal of a rectangle is coincidental with the mid point of the other and that that point is the centre of the rectangle. So I said: > "The key is to prove that for all rectangles, the mid **points** of the > diagonals are coincidental at the centre of the rectangle ..." It suddenly struck me that the correct form might have been: > "The key is to prove that for all rectangles, the mid **point** of the > diagonals are coincidental at the centre of the rectangle ..." I suspect this is related to "everyone took off his hat". Could someone explain the reasoning behind the correct form.


title: Should titles of people be translated?

text: Should titles of persons like (Mr., Herr, Sr...) be translated into English? For example: Herr Albert or Mr. Albert ?


title: "The" before acronyms and abbreviations

text: I saw several posts about usage of "the" before acronyms, but I still haven't found any answer on my question. Let's say I developed a _System for Definitions' Retrieval_ (SDR). So, should I refer to it as "the SDR" or just "SDR"? The sentence is: > Integration of _(the/a/?)_ SDR database with lexical (synonyms, antonyms, > etc.) databases.


title: The meaning of "Have been around"

text: In the following context (excerpt from this answer): > They're examples of the double genitive/possessive, which is perfectly valid > and has been around in English for centuries. The "of" already denotes > "possession", but we do this again when we use mine/his instead of me/him. I think **_has been around_** means **_exists_** in this context, but I can't confirm it. I tried to look it up in the dictionaries, but with no luck except as follows: From Wiktionary, _have been around the block_ is an alternative form of verb phrase _to have been around_ , which idiomatically means "To be experienced in worldly matters; to be seasoned, not naive." From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, the 13th entry for _around_ ( _have been around_ , informal) is > a) to have had experience of many different situations so that you can deal > with new situations confidently : [ _eg_ ] You could tell this guy had been > around a bit by the knowing way he talked.   >  b) to have had many sexual experiences – used humorously Can anyone help me to confirm that **_has been around_** means **_exists_** in the context I quoted?


title: Choosing verb tenses

text: Can somebody please help me understand the whole timeline thing when it comes to choosing verb tenses? Today, I asked a friend if he wanted anything because I was going to Starbucks for lunch. He said no, so I came back empty handed, but he was like, "I didn't know you were going to go to Starbucks for real!" I replied with the following: > I wouldn't have asked if i weren't planning on going. But it feels like I should have said one of the following: > I wouldn't have asked if I didn't plan on going. > > I wouldn't have asked if i wasn't planning on going. > > I wouldn't have asked if i hadn't planned on going. How would a native speaker decide to put these "events" on a timeline and choose verb tenses?


title: notion of complement

text: > Liam is **very ill**. (English Syntax and Argumentation, Bas Aarts)   > Traditional Grammar says ‘very ill’ as a subject complement.   And the book says ‘very ill’ as a complement for verb be.   Do I have to accept the remark as ‘Liam is’ can’t complete a sentence,   so the verb needs a complement. Or the complement modifies the verb?


title: What is a good word for “best example”?

text: What is a good word for “best example”? I would like to describe a film as the _greatest example_ of its features.


title: Answering the question: Do you mind if...?

text: The following always puzzles me as a non-native speaker. When somebody asks the question "Do you mind if...", there seem to be two possible responses.   1. "Sure" and "No, not at all", which both mean that the person doesn't mind.   2. "Actually, I do mind", which means that the person does mind. Why is this so confusing? Especially, how come people reply "Sure" to this question, if that could be understood to mean that they _for sure do mind_?


title: Expression for someone who doesn't like to eat

text: Is there an expression for a person who eats very little, doesn't like eating, avoids it? I don't mean the medical condition of anorexia, I mean a common preference, like kids who need a lot of convincing to eat their lunch or adults who can run a whole day on a single donut and realize this is wrong but simply don't care and won't eat a solid meal unless you shout at them. Very informal or even slang words are okay.


title: A single word for "to paint and/or draw"?

text: Is there a single word for "to paint and/or draw"? If you talk to artists frequently, you find you want one. _Depict_ , _portray_ and similar words work in a sentence like "The artist painted/drew a horse", but I'm looking for something that works in a sentence like "Did you paint and/or draw today?"


title: What is the difference between "leading" and "winning" in a game?

text: Is it correct to use 'winning' or 'leading' when referring to the current state of a match/game? e.g. for a game between Patriots and Broncos in progress, if Patriots have scored higher points than Broncos, would it be correct to say that "Patriots are winning" or that "Patriots are leading"?


title: Is there a word for the act of clearing one's throat?

text: A lot of people, especially those with a throat infection, make an oft irritating guttural noise to clear their throat. What is the act called?


title: Can something be apparently X without actually being X?

text: I mean, let's say a dog appears sick, but is in fact perfectly healthy. Could the dog be said to be _apparently_ sick?


title: "Scampi" in American English?

text: Is _scampi_ the common name used for the kind of shrimp in the picture in American English? Or is there an alternative common name for it? I ask because some Americans don't really know the word when I mention it to them. ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/tg7uN.jpg)


title: Term for a body cast maker

text: What is the word used for a person who makes body casts? Is compounder a good word?


title: "Illiberal" is not "not liberal"

text: In a text I was reading about philosophy, there was the word _illiberal_. I guessed its meaning to be something like _not liberal_ or _against liberalism_. But after checking the dictionary, I found out that it means _narrow-minded_ which is really odd for me. Doesn't _liberal_ stem from the French word _libre_ meaning _freedom_? And isn't the initial letter _i_ used for making something negative? Update: What I'm asking here is not the meaning of these words, as they can be sought easily in a dictionary. Rather I'd like to see a morphological analysis of **liberal** and **illiberal**.


title: "Reserved SQL words are written in uppercase" or "reserved SQL words are written in uppercase letters"?

text: > Reserved SQL words are written in uppercase.   >  Reserved SQL words are written in uppercase letters. Would the first sentence be understood? Would the second sentence be preferable, or more correct?


title: Why is the "s" in "island" not pronounced?

text: _Island_ is pronounced as `'aɪlənd` and I can't help thinking about why the "s" is not pronounced. Is there a special list of words in English where "s" sound is omitted, or is this a special case just for "island"?


title: Usage of "insomnia"

text: In Swedish one would understand insomnia as a disease where you couldn't sleep night after night, but now I'm currently learning Chinese and they seem to mean (for 失眠) just having trouble sleeping one night. That leads to a debate among my friends, what does insomnia in English actually mean? Can it be used for both? Is it correct to use it for both?


title: Where should adverbs be placed?

text: There are two sentences: > I completely understand.   >  I understand completely. Which one is correct and why? Another example: > I slowly opened the door.   >  I opened the door slowly.


title: Difference between "at" and "in"

text: In some time related sentences I saw expressions like _in the morning_ and _at night_. For example > I work **in** the morning and > I work **at** night What is the difference here? Why does the writer use _at_ with _night_ and _in_ with _morning_? I also know that: > **at** : In or near the area occupied by; in or near the location of > > **in** : Within the limits, bounds, or area of


What is the difference between a command and an invitation? Both seem to be directed to elicit an action. Are there structural differences between the two?


title: Is "I don't work here" literal or does it mean "I am not an employee of this establishment"?

text: Part of my work involves visiting retail establishments during business hours. Often, when mistaken for an employee of the store, I am asked a question about where to find something in the store, to which I politely respond, "I'm sorry, I don't work here". But I got to thinking, I _am_ working, and I _am_ "here". I know that I could be more precise with a more verbose reply, but is my quick, convenient response truthful? Conversely, it would not be true to say, "I work here", right?


title: Why did Obama use "a" in "... to hear a King proclaim that ..."

text: From Obama's second inaugural speech: > We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of > us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided > our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it > guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along > this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear > **a King** proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the > freedom of every soul on Earth. I know that he was referring to Martin Luther King, Jr. But why did he use the indefinite article "a" before "King"? Is it better, for example, to use "Dr. King" or just "King" instead? Does the use of the word "a King" provide a sense that Dr. King was the king of something, such as righteousness, justice, etc?


title: Is it correct to say, "Will you do it or NO?"

text: Lately, I've heard people say something along the lines of, "Will you do it or **no**?". I'm a little confused because all along I had been under the impression that it should be "Will you do it or **not**?" My emphasis is on "NO" or "NOT". Which of them is correct?


title: "Lose time" vs. "waste time"

text: Are 'lose time' and 'waste time' different in meanings? If so, how does it use the first and the second in different contexts? If not, what is it preferable?


title: A common word for something Simple yet Powerful

text: As the title says: what is a common word for something simple yet powerful?


title: Word for "best person in a group of bad people"

text: What do you call someone or something that is the best in a group of bad people or bad things? For example, a prisoner who is the best in terms of behavior in the prison, even though we know that all prisoners (including the best prisoner) are bad people.


title: Consistency of "There is the same number of elements in... as there are in..."

text: I'm proofreading this in a friend's paper: > There is the same number of elements in the set of odd numbers as there are > in the even numbers. _The same number_ is singular and it's the thing being compared, so it does seem like _is_ is the right word to use, but then it bothers me that it switches to _are_ in the second half of the sentence. Shouldn't it parallel the first half, as in "There is the same number of elements in the set of odd numbers as there is in the even numbers."? But that sounds wrong. Note: This is _not_ a duplicate of 'Does “the same number of people” behave as singular or plural?' That question refers to a verb clause modifying "people", and not "the number". Also, I am primarily concerned with the switch to plural in the second half of the sentence, which is not covered in that other question.


title: Word for introducing people without knowing their names

text: I have heard that English has a word for the situation in which you are talking to an acquaintance when another acquaintance walks by whom you greet. Neither knows the other so you are about to mutually introduce them, but you suddenly realize that you do not remember either of their names! What is the word or phrase for that? I have consulted books of idioms, a thesaurus, and multiple search engines without any luck.


title: Lean in and lean out

text: There was an article titled “Forget Leaning In, Let's Talk about Leaning Out” in Forbes magazine (April 2. 2014) in which the author, Caroline Mayer says: > “I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard way too much about Sheryl Sandberg > and her new book, **Lean In** , encouraging women to be more assertive, > especially in the workplace. At this stage in my life, I simply want to > **Lean Out**.” http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/04/02/forget- > leaning-in-lets-talk-about-leaning-out/2/ I was in understanding both “lean in” and “lean out” simply refer to bodily actions as defined by Oxford English Dictionary: to move the top part of your body in a particular direction. Example: Don’t lean out of the window,” until I've read Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. ” I understand now the word, “lean in" is used to mean to get aggressively involved in business and ambitious career development, and “lean out” as its opposite word. As far as I checked Google Ngram, both “lean in” and “lean out” have been used since well before 1840 with predominant incidences of “lean in” over “lean out.” However, usage of “lean in” made a remarkable increase coming into 2000 (from 0.0000085329% in 1980 to 0.0000118571% in 2000) possibly for its extended meaning. I’m curious to know (1) from around what time the word “lean in” started to be used in Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” context other than proper “body actions,” and (2) whether the word, “Lean out” is now commonly understood as a pair word of Sandberg’s “Lean in.”


title: How to properly write sentence with double words

text: I commonly come across sentences where I have to write the same word twice such as, > This is what I've been looking for for a long time. and in these cases I just try to rewrite the sentence to avoid this.   1. Is it OK to write sentences like these?   2. How do you properly write these types of sentences?


title: What is the meaning of “grosser sense” in this sentence?

text: What does _grosser sense_ mean in this passage from _Mortal Immortal_ by Mary Shelley? > A bright flash darted before my eyes. I had forgotten the medicine of the > adept; I gazed on it with wonder: flashes of admirable beauty, more bright > than those which the diamond emits when the sun’s rays are on it, glanced > from the surface of the liquid; an odour the most fragrant and grateful > stole over my sense; the vessel seemed one globe of living radiance, lovely > to the eye, and most inviting to the taste. The first thought, instinctively > inspired by the **grosser sense** , was, I will—I must drink. I raised the > vessel to my lips. “It will cure me of love—of torture!” Already I had > quaffed half of the most delicious liquor ever tasted by the palate of man, > when the philosopher stirred. I started—I dropped the glass—the fluid flamed > and glanced along the floor, while I felt Cornelius’s grip at my throat, as > he shrieked aloud, “Wretch! you have destroyed the labour of my life!”


title: Origin of the expression "pull your finger out"

text: I've heard that "pull your finger out" came from muzzle loaded gunnery. One of the team firing the gun would put his finger in the hole during loading to prevent embers being ejected form the hole. When loading was complete, he would be told to pull his finger out. But I can't find anything confirming this. Any ideas?


title: Disproportionate vs. disproportional

text: Which is correct in which contexts? "My head is **disproportional to** my body."   "My head is **disproportionate to** my body." "My head is **disproportional**."   "My head is **disproportionate**." I have the same question for "proportional/proportionate".


title: Idiom or word for a very heavy thing

text: There is an idiom in Turkish for describing very heavy things: "Heavy like a dead donkey" ( _Eşek ölüsü gibi ağır_ ). In English, there is _a dead weight_ but it is not quite similar. Also, it has two meanings, the first of which is related to heavy weight but used for people in certain contexts. I'm not sure if it used for objects also. And the usage of the second meaning seems like more common. (It might need analysis). > **1**. if someone is a dead weight, they are very heavy and difficult to > carry, often because they are not conscious. _Tom was a dead weight and her > muscles ached as she carried him upstairs._   >  **2**. something or someone who prevents other people from making progress > _We must free ourselves from the dead weight of history._ _She's just a dead > weight on the business at the moment._   >  Source: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/a+dead+weight I think there is a misperception of dead being heavier than alive and it is reflected to languages also but technically it is not correct. A dead body has the same weight of an alive body. The misperception comes from that an alive (conscious) person can distribute weight and adjust the center of gravity for a better balance. But, "dead weight" is the center of mass being wherever supported, lacking any effort on their part, and therefore concentrated in one spot, more or less. Why am I saying all of these? Because there is too much technicality and different senses behind a dead weight. Is there any idiom to place in a sentence smoothly? As in: > heavy like a **______** or > as heavy as a **______** For example: > The box was heavy like a **____** , I couldn't carry it by myself. Are these usages flexible enough that it can be filled with different words that convey heaviness? Other than that, is there a single word that means "very heavy" or "extremely heavy" ?


title: Definition and meanings of "shall not"

text: I am looking for all the meanings of "shall not". Is it closer to "must not" or "might not"? In this example: > The circuit-breaker shall not trip. does this mean _must not happen_ or _might not happen_?


title: What does the expression "brikking it" mean?

text: I have a British friend, and we text each other sometimes. Yesterday she sent me a message with the expression "brikking it". Could someone explain it to me?


title: Why do non-native English users often spell "standard" as "standart"?

text: I've seen this incredibly often on StackOverflow, but also on a few other internet sites. "Standart" is an extremely common misspelling of "standard". Is there a reason in how English is taught to non-native speakers, or another language which spells standard in this way, which results in the confusion? Usually when I see this the rest of the conversation is otherwise flawless, which gives this an air of a careless mistake — e.g. confusing the English word with a cognate in another language. However, I don't know enough about other languages to tell if that's what's going on, or if it's something else.


title: How do you pronounce "is there" in fast speech?

text: I'm not a native speaker of English, and I was recently puzzled with the question, "How can Americans put their tongue in _z_ (is) position and then change to _th_ ( _there_ ) in such short time?" May you explain to me how it is possible?


title: Transitive verbs where the object is the object of the effect rather than the verb

text: Consider the following examples:   * I ate myself sick.   * They drank the place dry. Is there a name for this kind of construction. How would it be analysed? Obviously the sense is:   * I ate (something and made) myself sick   * They drank (at) the place (until the alcohol supply had run) dry I am assuming that in this case _myself_ is not the direct object of the verb _to eat_ as the subject did not eat himself. What kind of object then is _myself_ , and how would _sick_ be classified?


title: Leaders Lead By Solutions

text: Is it a possible sentence? Leaders Lead By Solutions.


title: Is the use of 'researched X for answering Y' to mean 'checked with X to answer Y' a good usage?

text: When one uses the word _research_ transitively, the subject of the research is normally used as the object of the verb _research_ (e.g. _He researched the effects of acid rain for nearly a decade_ ). Another common usage is having the target publication or presenting channel as the object of the verb _research_ (e.g. _She research a magazine article_ ). (Note: I've consulted a few dictionaries for these usages.) However, I found a small number of the usage _researched X_ where the author actually means _checked with X_ , or _consulted X_ , or _studied X_ , in order to answer Y where Y is the subject of the research. For example, Google gave me these results when I searched for "researched several references", >   * "I researched several references that discuss the education, > socialization and schooling of Native Americans in Minnesota." > >   * "Students researched several references and gathered information > regarding the environmental impact of their proposed airplane designs." > >   * "I have researched several references and I know what the fair market > value for a similar veh(icle) is." > > This made me wonder... if the usage of _'researched X'_ where X is the source of references used in the research, not the subject of the research, considered a good usage?


title: What is the correct word / words for the information about someone's body, like hip circumference?

text: I would like to find a suitable word, that summarises data like different body parts' circumferences. What I could think of is 'Body Information', but it sounds bad at least for my non-native ears, and I don't know whether there is something better.


title: What is a word that is like a little treasure you leave for someone else to discover?

text: I am having trouble coming up with a noun that is almost like an Easter egg. Is there any word that could be something someone intentionally leaves for another person to find at a later time?


title: "On grounds of" vs. "on the grounds of"

text: Here's the sentence from Wall Street Journal: > ...eight individuals have been deported _on grounds of_ national security. Instead of this, if one says, > ...eight individuals have been deported _on the grounds of_ national > security. Any difference?


title: When would I use "transience" vs "impermanence"?

text: I was looking for the translation of the German word "Vergänglichkeit", and the most suitable candidates from the contexts I looked at seemed to be _impermanence_ and _transience_. I found the following text samples via linguee.com where the two words are used in contexts comparable to mine. From those, I can't determine a significant difference, so I'm wondering if the words are interchangeable.   * _transience:_ > [...] - now and then in the film, one can see a train passing, a car or a > pedestrian on the road -, and makes the viewer aware of transience and the > passage of time.   * _impermanence:_ > Who lets matter become his master will also never overcome matter and to > whom the loss of earthly goods was not a help to overcome these will rush > towards these possessions with increased eagerness to increase them again > and if he is to be helped again then this can only happen through renewed > loss so that he learns to recognize the impermanence of matter and mentally > profits from this. Overall, _transience_ seems more common, and _impermanence_ seems to be preferred in texts related to Buddhism.


title: Correct order of multiple possessive words

text: Which is correct: > Myrtle’s party took place in her and Tom’s apartment Or > Myrtle’s party took place in Tom's and her apartment Or neither?


title: Is "et al." used as a singular or plural subject?

text: When referring to multiple authors by using the name of the first author and _"et al."_ , is it correct to grammatically treat this as one person or multiple persons? > Gamma et al. **are** saying in **their** text... vs. > Gamma et al. **is** saying in **his** text...


title: Origin of "in a pig's eye"

text: This Wikipedia article says that _"in a pig's eye"_ is rhyming slang for "lie", but I'm not convinced. The article also claims _"in a pig's bottom"_ exists as a variant - but I doubt that's ever had any meaningful level of currency, which is another reason I don't much trust the author. There might be some element of alliteration (also with _"Pigs might fly"_ ), but it doesn't seem like the kind of rhyming slang I'm familiar with. Can anyone either substantiate the Wikipedia article, or give a more convincing etymology? EDIT: Soddit - the Wikipedia page lacks citations anyway, so I just changed it.


title: Can "off" and "from" be used interchangeably?

text: I am wondering if "Off" and "From" can be used interchangeably? Such as:   1. I am taking this note off the document.   2. I am taking this note from the document.


title: Is this sentence truly a fragment?

text: Microsoft Office is claiming a statement I recently made is a fragment, however I do not agree with its opinion. > Bob, to my knowledge that resource is currently unsupported. Can anyone provide any insight into whether this truly is a fragment or not?


title: Changed upon the blue guitar?

text: I had seen the following excerpt from this poem in a rhetoric workbook a while ago as an example of a word construction: > They said, "You have a blue guitar, You do not play things as they are." > > The man replied, "Things as they are / Are changed upon the blue guitar." My question is regarding the use of the word "upon" in the last line. Is this usage ever correct, or is this just an example of creative license in poetry?


title: A word for "mercy killing"

text: " _Mercy killing_ " is an act of killing someone who is already dying and in terrible pain, in order to reduce his or her suffering. Is there any single word for "mercy killing"?


title: Pronoun with metaphor

text: Which pronoun do we use when referring to something metaphorically rather than directly? Todd Leopold, et al., May 28, 2014 writing on CNN: > A **literary voice** revered globally for **her** poetic command and **her** > commitment to civil rights has fallen silent. I would think one might use the pronoun corresponding to the metaphor _literary voice_ ( ** _it_** ) here, rather than the personality it refers to ( ** _her_** ). Especially as it somehow seems interfering with the subsequent _has fallen silent_.


title: Does "so called" have a negative connotation in English?

text: In some languages the word-by-word translation of " _so called_ " usually has a neutral connotation. E.g. in the Czech language you may very often find a sentence like this ( _word-by-word_ translated from a Czech newspaper, not a genuine English text): > 1. The government approved exceptions for so called non-pedagogical workers. Here the "so called" means that what follows is a _terminus technicus_ , a domain specific jargon. Only sometimes (in the Czech language) in a very specific context it has a negative connotation (and is usually marked with quotation marks in written form or by showing the quotation marks by two fingers of both hands or by changing the intonation in speech): > 2. The government does not accept the result of the so called "referendum" > in the East Ukraine. However, I read a recommendation in an English textbook not to use " _so called_ " as it almost always has a negative connotation in English, like in my second example. The book was written by a native English speaker who had lived for many years in my country and wrote recommendations specific to our locale. In my language we use " _so called_ " by default with a neutral connotation and we usually _have to_ mark a negative connotation somehow, e.g. by intonation. The writer of the textbook, however, advised against using it in English as its _default connotation_ is negative. Is it true? Do you as native speakers perceive it the same way?


title: Is it polite to say "as a gesture of goodwill"

text: When offering something based on good will, is it polite to convey to them that this is being done _as a gesture of good will_?


title: "So though" vs "so even though"

text: Do they mean the same? Or they mean slightly different things? Example: > They both had passion for music, so, (even) though their tastes differed, > they never ran out of topic to talk about.


title: Between with "and" or "or"

text: Which of these is grammatically correct: "They had to choose between apples and oranges" "They had to choose between apples or oranges"


title: Meaning of “patronage” in the 1700s

text: When the Constitution was written in the late 1700s, Daniel Webster wrote the following regarding the Constitution. > I am committed against any attempt to rule the free people of this country > by the power and _patronage_ of the Government itself. In this context, what does _patronage_ mean?


title: Comparative or superlative use of the word "far"

text: Which sentence is correct? The quarterback threw the ball farthest than anyone else on the team. The quarterback threw the ball farther than anyone else on the team. The quarterback threw the ball further than anyone else on the team.


title: creative alternatives to "web"

text: What are some good terms for a collection of lines. My actual use-case involves networked collections of lines of thought, but I'm interested in hearing mathematical/scientific terms. Differently put, as the title states, I'm looking for creative alternatives to the term **_web._**


title: Flexibility of English: Always so?

text: The other day I read a question about nouns being used as verbs. An answer informed that in English _any_ word can be used as a verb, but that it is not so in other languages. Beyond verbs, English is a very flexible language in general. (This is based on my own experience of English, Spanish and Arabic. I would gladly hear a linguistic argument that English is in fact _not_ looser than other languages.) Has English has always been less restrained? Or can we date the allowed playfulness to a particular period? Is it simply because our linguistic champion and forefather (of ModEng) was Shakespeare and that he engendered a culture of linguistic liberty?


title: "for someone to do something" in the beginning of a sentence

text: > _`For people to change their minds`_ , first, the Church needed to.... is this a correct usage? what i am trying to say is people will change their minds if the Church does but the Church's changing is a necessity...


title: Difference between "insensitive" and "not sensitive"

text: Is there any subtle difference implied when using "insensitive" as compared to "not sensitive"? I am writing: A is insensitive to changes in B. But someone suggested that it conveys a strong conclusion (and would need more explanation) and instead I should use "not sensitive". ngram


title: Is there a slang term for a mailbox?

text: I'm searching for slang terms for standard mailboxes like the image. ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/FRa3w.jpg)


title: Difference between "indefinite" and "indecisive"

text: What is the difference between _indefinite_ and _indecisive_ , and when do you use each one of them?


title: "Most of our generation only knows/know him by repute."

text: I stumbled at this construction today. Usually I have an intuition of English grammar from past reading that serves me well - but this time both of the versions sound right.   "Most of our generation" is a collective, but singular entity. Does the verb conjugate as that of a singular or as a plural?   It would also be nice to have a reference to a general rule that covers such constructs.


title: Noun form of “umbilical”?

text: In Differential Geometry (a branch of mathematics) there exists the notion of an umbilical point. Is there a noun corresponding to the adjective _umbilical_? Could I write something like "It follows by **umbilicality** that […]"?


title: Is this statement grammatically correct - "I have spent too long confusing nice for good"

text: My confusion is whether the right way of writing this would be "confused X **with** Y" or "confused X **for** Y"


title: Why is a meal's main course referred to as "entree"?

text: How did it come to be that the main course of a meal is referred to as "entree", where that french word has always meant "appetizer" ? Did someone translate it incorrectly it ages ago, and we haven't caught on yet, or is there another reason?


title: Simple word/ slang for "Re-share a content"

text: I need a simple(commonly used/known) word or short slang(2 words max.) which means to re-share a piece of information with your network of friends. Something just like " ** _Share_** " on social networks. The word/slang is to be used in an application to let the user share a content with his friends. The content is not owned by him but just found by him & what he wants to also **_Re-Share_** with his network. Something similar to **_Re-Share_** or like **_Re-tweet_** (as used by twitter) may be a good fit. Could you suggest some simple word/slang to imply this ?


title: Just vs. lately in the present perfect

text: Can we use _lately_ instead of _just_ in the following sentence: > I’ve just gotten back from London. It was a business trip. Does it have any meaning?


title: Is the word utilisability correct

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "Utilisability" vs. "usability" The word utilisability seems to come from the french utile (useful), utilisabilité (usability). I checked dictionary.com and some other online dictionaries, but without any result. However, when searching google, this word seems to be used in research papers, but mostly by french students. Is this word correct?


title: Better than premium

text: Is there something higher (better) than the word **premium** , or does it mean _the best_? Also, is there something in between premium and deluxe? Graphically: _Does any word fit here?_ > Premium > _Does any word fit here?_ > Deluxe


title: Usage of -ist and -ian, when to use which?

text: This is a question bugging me for a long long time, especially for a non- native speaker like myself. We have **_physicist_** standing for the people doing physics research, as is **_linguist_** , **_chemist_** , etc. But for math, the counterpart of "-ist" suddenly becomes "-ian": I call myself a **_mathematician_**. What bugs even more is that we have **_physician_** as well, yet representing a totally different occupation with _physicist_. This is not the end, in mathematics, we have so many adjectives derived from the names of mathematicians. Through some wikipedia-fu I learned they are called **eponymous adjectives** , most of which I used often end with "-ian": **_Newtonian_** potential, **_Cartesian_** coordinate system, **_Lorentzian_** transformation etc. These words often indicate somewhat the relationship of possession. Yet again, not all possessive relations are represented using "-ian", there are: **_Maxwell's_** equations, not **_Maxwellian_** equations; **_Gauss's_** divergence law, not **_Gaussian_** law (even though there are tons of things with Gaussian in it). What confuses me even more, is that "-ian" after people's name can not only represent "of someone", it also can stand for "a believer or supporter of someone's theory". For example, I call myself a **_Kantian_**. There is **_Leibnizian_** as well, the supporter of Leibniz's philosophy. Now my questions are:   * Is there a standard rule to decide which one to use, "-ian" or "-ist", when describing an occupation?   * For eponymous adjectives, my vague impression is that: when something is derived not by that specific person, but rather whose derivation bears the spirit of that someone's theory, then we use "-ian". For example, _Newtonian_ potential is not invented by Newton, yet _Maxwell's_ equations are unified by Maxwell. But another example is that Descartes invented _Cartesian_ coordinate system, but the system is not called _Descartes'_ coordinate system...How to tell if we want to invent some new terms? For example, if I proved a new theorem using some idea from Newton, do I call the proof _Newton's_ argument or _Newtonian_ argument?   * Can "-ian" be used interchangeably in "I am a _Kantian_ " and "This is a _Kantian_ style argument."? or there is some tradition for each word ending with "-ian"? i.e., Some words ending with "-ian" can be only used as noun or adj.


title: Pronunciation of "er" in "farmer" vs. "earth"

text: I'm confused about the difference in pronouncing "er" in words such as "farmer" and "earth". I hear them the same, but they have different phonetic symbols. Is there any difference in pronouncing "er" in these words? example: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/tckSz.png)


title: OK to use two "there"s in a sentence?

text: A teacher once told me that it is improper to use two _there_ words in a sentence, such as > There is a woman there. or > Is there a man there? and instead state > A woman is there. or > Is a man there? even though it's completely fine to state > There is a woman here. or > Is there a man here? Is there correct advice there? :-)


title: Funds or Money?

text: I'm having an ongoing dispute in my organization over whether to use the word "funds" or "money" to describe, um, money that we award to grant applicants. My position is that a fund holds money. When we take a portion of that fund, and pay it to a grantee, we award them money, not funds. At times I've taken out my wallet and described it as a fund and the dollar bills inside of it as money. I can't pay for something by handing the cashier my wallet; I have to take the money out of the fund. I'd appreciate any insight or advice on this usage. thanks


title: What does “draft” mean in “draft a cyclist”?

text: I would like to be able to understand this question. Also, in British English, would this be named "draughting"?


title: "Why and for what reasons"

text: I saw "Why and for what reasons […]" here and it seems to be present in other places. Is it pure redundancy, or does the asker expect an anwer in two parts ("why" and "for what reasons")? If it is redundant, why would someone use this expression instead of just "why"? Is it just showiness?


Can prone always be used as a synonym of sensitive? For example, is the sentence "Rabits are prone to humid conditions." equivalent to "Rabits are sensitive to humid conditions."? The first sentence seems to use "prone" incorrectly, but I'm not a native speaker, so I can't tell for sure.


title: What is the difference between "start off" and "start"?

text: For me they both seem interchangeable, but I suspect there should be at least subtle difference in meaning. When it's more appropriate to use "start off" instead of just "start"?


In this sentence: > One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, > who worshiped God. What does "a merchant of expensive purple cloth" means? Does it mean that Lydia is a merchant who always wore expensive purple cloth or does it mean that Lydia is a merchant who was currently wearing expensive purple cloth ? Or does it mean something else altogether ?


title: Using hyphenated words in technical writing?

text: I always get confused when using hyphenated words in my research papers. Is there any specific rule for using hyphenated words? For example, which one of the following is the correct usage of `co scheduling`? One has `smallcase` `s`, while the other one has `uppercase` `s`. Is it just simply a taste of the writer? Google shows both the words along with `coscheduling`. `Co-scheduling` or `Co-Scheduling` Moreover, wikipedia tells that: > Certain prefixes (co-, pre-, mid-, de-, non-, anti-, etc.) may or may not be > hyphenated. Could someone clarify this?


title: Does 'evoke' need to mean that information goes into your memory first?

text: Could **evoke** possibly mean just 'to register something in your mind (for the first time)' and not 'to summon up what has registered in your memory'? I just couldn't make sense out of this explanation below if it only meant the latter. Or, I say it should include both calling up memories, or better yet bringing up what has registered in your mind to a conscious level, and registering new information to make this sentence coherent. > (1) a. In her talk, Baldwin introduced the notion that syntactic structure > is derivable from pragmatic principles. > > A Heim-style approach to definiteness, where use of a definite noun phrase > is felicitous just in case its referent has been previously **evoked** > (...), provides neither necessary nor sufficient conditions for the > felicitous use of the definite article. > > For instance, in the example given above in (1a), the notion that syntactic > structure is derivable from pragmatic principles is felicitous even when the > claim in question represents brand-new information (...). Crucially, > however, it also represents information that is uniquely identifiable, in > that there is exactly one notion that is denoted by the noun phrase. Thus, > the noun phrase itself uniquely specifies the claim in question. > (Uniqueness, Familiarity, and the Definite Article in English by Betty > Birner and Gregory Ward) The thing is you don't have to have previously **evoked** something to say 'the something' the second time or later. Granted unless you are aware of it at the time of citing it, or so the speaker thinks, he/she cannot use 'the.' But it doesn't have to be 'summoned up' before it is mentioned with 'the.' Someone just says it and it stays in your conscious mind, and the speaker refers to it with 'the.' This is not evoking it, isn't it?


title: Can "ness" be added to any adjective?

text: My friend and I have recently engaged in a little argument. It came about when he used the word "suaveness" and I argued that it wasn't a word. While I will concede he was right in this example, he made the claim that he could put "ness" on the end of any adjective. I do not believe this to be true. Words like "fastestness" or "sleepingness" don't sit well with me. Are these words? If they are, are there any examples that don't work? I also brought up "polyesterness" as an example, but he won't concede that "polyester" could be considered an adjective. Thanks


title: What is the difference between "peasant" and "villager"?

text: Can anyone explain to me the difference between _peasant_ and _villager_? I can see that _peasant_ refers to a social class, and _villager_ refers to a physical location, but are these words interchangeable?


title: What does "put on a show" mean?

text: This is verse one of the song _Moves Like Jagger_ by Maroon 5 (sorry it looks so spread out I tried to single line it, but didn't work): > Just shoot for the stars   >  If it feels right   >  Then aim for my heart   >  If you feel like   >  And take me away, make it okay   >  I swear I'll behave   >  You wanted control   >  So we waited   >  **I put on a show**   >  Now we're naked   >  You say I'm a kid   >  My ego is big   >  I don't give a shit   >  And it goes like this In line 9-10, "I put on a show. Now we're naked", what does _putting on a show_ mean?


title: Troubled understanding verb consistency

text: The primary tense in the following paragraphs is the present tense. But I have trouble understanding why the two bolded words ( **could** and **would** ) are in past tense.. > There are many misconceptions about the practitioners of chemistry. Many > people picture a chemist as a solitary figure who works in a laboratory and > does not talk to anyone else for days at a time. Nothing **could** be > further from the truth. Many chemists do indeed work in laboratories but > rarely by themselves. A typical day for a modern chemist **would** be spent > as a member of a team solving a particular problem important to his or her > company. This team might consist of chemists from various specialties, > chemical engineers, development specialists, and possibly even lawyers. > Figure 1.1 represents the people and organizations with which typical > laboratory chemists might ex- pect to interact in the course of their jobs. > > Many topics in economics can be discussed within both a positive and a > normative framework. Consider a proposed cut in federal income taxes. An > economist practicing positive economics **would** want to know the effect of > a cut in the unemployment rate, economic growth, inflation, and so on. An > economist practicing normative economics **would** address issues that > directly or indirectly relate to whether the federal income tax should be > cut. For example, she may say that federal income taxes should be cut > because the income tax burden on many taxpayer is currently high.


title: "I was one for two"

text: The following dialogue snippet comes from True Blood. A man comes onto a woman with a pickup line, and she replies: "Okay, that was a good line." "Well, I only used it on two other women before you." "Really? And how'd it go with them?" "I was one for two." That last line is what puzzles me. Is it a real expression, or have I misheard the line?


title: What is the correct word to use instead of else’s?

text: If I am trying to say “That problem that belongs to someone else,” then what is the correct word to use in this sentence: > _That is someone else’s problem._ My spell checker says _else’s_ and _elses_ are not words and does not have a correction suggestion for it. What is the correct word to use?


title: What does 'wear-wite' mean?

text: I've got a spoon (probably a boulion spoon) with the following text in capitals: > wear-wite rustless   >  nickel silver Sheffield   >  Made in England What does 'wear-wite' mean?


title: What does the phrase "little big" mean?

text: What does the phrase "little big" mean? Samples (game titles):   1. Little big planet   2. Little big adventures   3. Little big magazine


title: "Place the pot somewhere where it is 20–22 degrees warm."

text: > Place the pot somewhere where it is 20–22 degrees warm. The double _where_ sounds a bit silly. Is there a better way to word this sentence? "Someplace 20-22 degrees warm" sounds too informal.


title: Is there an expression for creating something from start to finish (e.g. grain to bread)

text: Maybe this is not really the right place to ask this, I hope I will not be penalized for asking this. I am a webdeveloper, and I do most of the stuff myself, from the basic idea, till the final design and implementation. It's like when a baker has his own farm with grain, creates his own wheat, makes the bread, and sells it in his own shop. Some time ago I heard a nice English expression for this, but I forgot what it was. It was something like _producing from grain to bread_. Does anyone know this expression, or can think of something that would nicely fit.


title: Is the term "hack" more positive or more negative?

text: What emotional association does the word _hack_ have nowadays in the first place: negative or positive? Is it more for doing something illegally or without permission? Or for doing something in a quick, clumsy and inelegant, though functional and practically efficient way? Or doing something in a very clever, non-obvious, admirable fashion? I agree that context gives the exact meaning used, but I wonder what basic connotation the word has by itself for a native English speaker (not only for a software industry person). Is it a "slang" word and should its usage be restricted?


title: How would one use the word preposition?

text: I've always been interested in the word _preposition_ and at times, had used it correctly. How would one use it?


title: Survey vs. Questionnaire?

text: What is the difference between a survey and a questionnaire? Which word would be more appropriate in a report?


title: Why "present simple" and not "simple present"?

text: When reading grammar, I find the names of the tenses kind of weird to me;   * **Present simple** and not **simple present**   * **past simple** and not **simple past**   * **present continuous** and not **continuous present**   * etc Does this contradict with the " _adjective noun_ " ordering rule or is it an exception (or something else)?


How does one convey in a single phrase, the act of failing several times and succeeding finally? I wrote something like _"Several trials and errors later, I had found the solution"_ Is this valid usage? Is there a better way to say this?


title: "come/spring to mind" or "come/spring to your mind"?

text: Which one is proper English: Come/spring to mind Or Come/spring to your mind? Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English clearly states that possessive adjectives should not be used.


title: Paramount, tantamount and ...?

text: **Paramount** : > more important than anything else; supreme. **Tantamount** : > equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as. ?? **mount** : > less important than anything else What is the word that completes the trio with a matching suffix?


title: What do you call a person who incessantly thinks only they are good enough to do something?

text: What is the best word or way to describe a person who just has to try and do everything themselves because they think, either rightly or wrongly, that only they are good enough to do the task in hand? The type of person I'm thinking of will attempt to take over any situation. So if you're having a BBQ only they are good enough to cook the food or if you're planning a day out then they decide only they are good enough to drive you there.


title: Copy on vs. copy in

text: When copying someone in an email, should we say _copied in or copied on?_ I was almost positive that _in_ was the only correct usage until I hit google and was surprised to see _on_ more prevalent. Could someone explain why _on_ could be used in this context as we say something _in_ an email not _on_ an email? > I copied him on this email. > > I copied him in this email.


title: Another word for "carrying pole"?

text: My sister-in-law wrote in her memoirs that while she and her sister were scavenging for food and water in a burned-out town in Germany during the war, they found and used a _pede_ , which she described in terms that made it clearly a carrying pole, like this: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/RpuiV.jpg) I have not been able to find the word _pede_ , either in German or English. Perhaps, since she was originally from East Prussia, it was an Old Prussian word? Or some other language? I am really perplexed, and my SiL is no help; she doesn't remember the word, either. But there it is. **Edited to Add** : Now that I've accepted an answer ("Yoke"), I've continued to investigate the matter, and it now appears that the word may be Low Prussian: "It developed on a Baltic substrate through the influx of Dutch and Low German speaking immigrants." This notion is especially attractive because my sister-in-law seems to have picked up the word during her residence in the burned-out town of Preussisch Holland (or Prussian Holland), a town which was specifically settled by immigrants from Holland in the 13th Century.


title: Use of 'not' with 'currently'

text: Being a non-native English speaker (and not good at English too), I am bit confused about the use of `not` with `currently`. For Example: In my `Visual Studio` tool, I got a message - > This key combination is bound to a command which is not currently available I haven't seen many instances of this kind where the use of `not` before `currently` rather it is commonly written as > This key combination is bound to a command which is currently not available Now, If both of them are correct then why such two different usage?   Do they convey different meanings? Thanks in advance for any help !


title: What word describes the process of conceptualizing a collection of things by giving it a name?

text: Around 1999, a woman told me about this sort of meta-verb (in English) which I found so magical. I've been searching for this word again but can't find it. As an example, I could say "Look, I attached these three short wooden rods to the bottom of this flat circle of wood. I can place it so that the rods are against the floor and then rest my bottom against the circle of wood, thereby elevating me above the floor. How nice." But if instead I say, "I made a stool," I've taken that whole idea and expressed it in one word, and this word carries meaning even beyond the one stool I just made. If there were no such word, stool, this concept of wood-assisted buttocks elevation would never congeal in the same way. What is the word for this thing that happens when a word for something is created or discovered? _Edit:_ I really appreciate all of these awesome words you all have shared. I've been studying the meanings of neologism and reify. And I think what I'm basically looking for is neologistic reification. Does anyone know of a single word synonym for something like neologistic reification?


title: Does having a master's equal being a Master?

text: If an English major graduates from college, must one say, _She has a Bachelor of Arts_? May one instead say, _She is a Bachelor of Arts_? _He has a master's_ is certainly correct, but might one say, _He is a Master of Science_?


Should you use a comma before the "Inc." in a company name? **Xona Games, Inc.** vs. **Xona Games Inc.** (in this example, this is the official registration format) ?


title: How to use the word “duplicate”

text: I would like to warn my customers that names can be duplicate. How do I put it in words? In MS Word when I entered `Name can be duplicate.`, it draws a green line under `duplicate`. Whats my mistake? **Update** : Say I have two products in my store with same name. I don’t want my customers to be confused when they see two different products with same name. If I have to warn them with a written notice, how should I write that? For now, I wrote it as, “Multiple products with same name can exist at a time.” But I don’t understand why my initial statement was wrong.


title: "Useless like tits on a log" vs. "tits on a bull" vs. "tits on a turtle" and so forth

text: I was reading an online book and there was the expression "useless like tits on a log". I googled to find more about this expression and I found a similar one: "useless like tits on a bull". Which one of them is more recognizable in everyday English? Why haven't I been able to find references about the first one? **Edit:** I think there is a whole group of expressions like that — "useless like tits on a boar", "useless like tits on a nun", "useless like tits on a turtle" etc. It is really interesting how we can make such an expression.


title: “Bad blood” usage

text: I know that the _bad blood_ expression means animosity and dislike. But where does it come from? I can understand why _bad_ , but why _blood_ , and whose blood is implied here?


title: Dropping articles in the title (of an article or a section) or in the caption (of a figure or a table)? What's the general rule?

text: It is said that "To give added punch, articles are often dropped in the titles" Source: http://www.davidappleyard.com/english/articles.htm Is there any general rule or reference about dropping articles, especially in academic research papers?


title: Do we hang up a telephone call, or just "hang up"?

text: I have to announce a message on a call that is like this > Alert!! There is an alarm from the system,to disarm the system, press 5, to > ignore this call , hang up!! Is this OK? should I use _hang up the call_ or is the _hang up_ enough?


title: Antonym of 'Formalize'

text: Is there an antonym for 'Formalize'? As to make something not formal.   Would it be Deformalize, Unformalise, Informalize, or something else?


title: How to affectionately call someone who is always moaning/whinging?

text: How can one affectionately call someone who is always moaning/whinging? I am looking for a qualifier with minimal negative connotation.


title: Differences between "sleeper" and "dark horse"

text: I was wondering what the differences are between **sleeper** and **dark horse**. Are they interchangeable while having similar meanings? Are there other similar words?


title: Word for someone that owns a media house

text: What is a word for someone that owns a media house? Can I call him a _proprietor_?


title: Why does someone "pull my leg"?

text: Someone was pulling my leg the other day (meaning, attempting some mild or humourous deception), and I wondered about the etymology of this phrase. Does anyone know when it originated, and why it should come to be used in this way? This source here suggests it originates from the idea of tripping someone up. But that doesn't explain the alternative case of _pulling my plonker_.


title: "Headed in the right direction" or "heading in the right direction"?

text: I've heard people using both expressions. Which one is correct, or are they basically the same?


title: How productive is the prefix "un-"?

text: Is it possible to use _un-_ with new words such as _sit, sleep, sad_? I'm currently seeing many words (in programming) which use "un-" in the meaning of undoing something. For example, is it possible to use "make me unsleep" (the Chrome spell-checker underlines it) as a synonym for "wake me up"? If yes, why is it so rare? And if not, why can't it be used?


title: "The more often — the better." Is it possible to say that?

text: The meaning I want to show with this phrase is that you do something more times and it produces better results. Is "the more often — the better" correct? Or maybe there are any set expressions instead of this?


title: Can I say "I (have) dropped the chair"?

text: If I accidentally pushed a chair and it fell down on the floor (it is no longer in the upright position), can I say "I (have) dropped the chair" or I should use another verb for that?


title: In the movie "Meet the Fockers" does the word "Focker" really sound different?

text: In the movie "Meet the Fockers" does the word "Focker" sound really different from the four-letter word? I don't hear any difference. Do all the actors pronounce this word really differently from native American English speakers?


title: Classify into 4 categories or in 4 categories?

text: Which is more correct? >   1. I am going to classify these faults into 4 categories. >   2. I am going to classify these faults in 4 categories. >   3. I am going to classify these faults as 4 categories. > The last one makes the least sense to me. However, the first two are being used by a lot of people. Are both okay?


title: Do we say "… is greater or equal to…" or "… is greater or equal than…"?

text: We _do_ say "… is **equal to** …", but we say "… is **greater than** …". What happens when we mix those? What should we say:   * "… is greater or equal **to** …" (297,000,000 hits on Google), or   * "… is greater or equal **than** …" (286,000,000 hits)? … or maybe even "… is equal or greater than…"?


title: "retain the title" in legal terms

text: Here is another question from me while making efforts to translate a wordy document. Please read the paragraph as follows: Mr. Justice Holmes stated in dissent: "If [the manufacturer] should make the retail dealers also agents in law as well as in name and retain the title until the goods left their hands I cannot conceive that even the present enthusiasm for regulating the prices to be charged by other people would deny that the owner was acting within his rights." (source:https://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/US/433/433.US.36.76-15.html). I'm a foreigner and mainly study Law in my language, Vietnamese, so I'm not very familiar with all sorts of wording in an english legal document. I'm not very sure about which meaning of the word is used in this context, there can be some expressions or meanings that I can't find out or I have overlooked. So, I would like to be confirmed the meaning of "title" used here. Does it mean "the legal right to own something" ? Thank you.


title: Word that means "tendency to avoid something"

text: I am looking for a word that means "tendency to avoid something". At first I thought that _aversion_ fit the bill, but then I learned that it meant "a strong dislike towards something." For example, most people have an aversion towards feces. I am looking for a word that more along the lines of "they don't hate PBJs, they just try to avoid them as much as possible."


title: Origin and meaning of "lay an egg"

text: What is the origin and meaning of the idiom _lay an egg_? I believe the phrase is usually used for when a team goes out and plays really badly, but I am not certain why.


title: What word would best be used to describe an entity that "cancels" something?

text: I am writing some code for an application that initiates an asynchronous action and returns an object that can be used to cancel the action before completion. However, I am having difficulty naming this object. Basically I need a word that means "that which cancels". "Cancellor" doesn't seem to be a word. "Terminator" may be suitable _in theory_ but I would prefer an alternative if one exists. Does anyone know of such a word?


title: A synonymous word for "wrong desire"

text: A man said to a girl "don't grow a wrong-desire about me in your mind". Thus, please let me know a single word for "wrong-desire"?


title: Charge of the Light Bridage

text: > "Forward, the Light Brigade!"   >  Was there a man dismay'd?   >  Not tho' the soldier knew   >  Someone had blunder'd:   >  _Theirs_ not to make reply,   >  _Theirs_ not to reason why,   >  _Theirs_ but to do and die:   >  Into the valley of Death   >  Rode the six hundred. I was wondering about the use of "theirs" in this poem. For me it feels like " _there_ is but to do and die" would make more sense. Obviously I am wrong somewhere. Can anyone tell why the poet uses _their_?


title: Is it correct to say "...of guys got fame..."?

text: (I'm learning English, so please correct any mistakes or poor English.) When reading a post I've seen this comment: > Stupid idea from a bunch of guys got fame for helping people steal stuff – > now they want to help you beg for money. > > I think these guys have high hopes of gettin any real traction with this. Is it correct to say "... guys got fame..."? Hasn't he forgotten the "that" word, as in: "... guys that got fame..."?


title: Starting an independent statement with "I mean, ..."

text: A friend was noting that his daughter would occasionally start sentences with the phrase "I mean, " simply for emphasis, not for clarification: > Friend: How was the Miley Cyrus concert? > > Friend's daughter: I mean, it was the best concert ever! I have typically seen "I mean" used to join two statements - for example, as a correction: > This juice is orange. Well, I mean, more of a yellowish-orange. or for clarifying emphasis: > This juice is orange. I mean, it's the most neon orange you've ever seen! However, his daughter's usage seems to combine the two parts of the "emphasis" example, creating a single independent statement that begins with "I mean": > I mean, this juice is the most neon orange you've ever seen! Considering that teen girls are leading language change, has "I mean" just been co-opted as an interjection?


title: Why is it "Do a Barrel Roll" and not "Does a Barrel Roll"?

text: Google search throws you a nice effect when you try searching "Do a Barrel Roll." Should not it be "Does a Barrel Roll," assuming it's one Barrel (or barrel), or at least "Do a Barrels Roll"? (I assume it should be a question: "Does a barrel roll?" or "Do a barrels roll?") EDIT: The problem is that I didn't know that "Do a barrel roll" wasn't a question. (Yes, it hadn't a question mark, but I felt that there was an historic reason not to add it.)


title: Are the acronyms FYI, BTW, LOL, WTF now considered "normal" words?

text: Are these "words" moving out of the elitist slang stage and into popular usage? It is hard for me to tell, because in the techie culture I work in they are ubiquitous. However, I've tried them out with my journalistic hat on and did not get yelled at. If the consensus is they are now acceptable usages, I'll say them more often, and "w00t" too. In response to comments, I'll clarify the preceding paragraph. The class of word I'm talking about is acronyms that become (What do we call it?), normal words with an independent meaning. The most famous examples are _OK_ , for which the origin may be lost, and _snafu_ and _fubar_ , whose origins are known by few that say them. I posit that _FYI_ is also now a "normal" word, just a bit newer than the preceding. The next ones on my list are _BTW_ , _LOL_ , and _WTF_ , which I think are following the same process as _OK_ and _FYI_ , but are not so far along. How far along are they, though? I'm pretty sure I can't use them in a political speech or a grant proposal, but how about, say, a user manual, or a non- technical blog?


title: Proper grammar regarding "write only" or "only write"

text: Do you say, "Write only the answer" or "Only write the answer"?


title: Word for small junk items in household

text: Every household has a drawer, box or case full of little assorted items — buttons, plastic bendy things, screws, small metal pipes, etc. — that are usually very inexpensive and generally considered to be junk. What would you call these things? _Trifle_ is the closest word that I can think of but even that isn’t “junk” enough.


title: Is “get one’s pants off” a popular idiom or an eyebrows-raising slang?

text: I came across the phrase “get one’s pants off” impossibly in association with Confucius analects in the following sentence which I found in a website, but forgot to jot down the source: > What kind of leadership will help to restore the credibility of our > financial institutions? Perhaps we should try to listen to Confucius. No, he > didn’t say, “If you keep your feet on the ground, you can’t _get your pants > off_ ”. But many of the things he did say are about what it takes to be a > leader who wins respect while getting things done. Although I found definitions of “take (your) pants off” in urban dictionary and “getting her pants off” in www. theatraction forum, I wasn’t able to find the definition of “get one’s pants off” in any major dictionaries. However, _Google NGram Viewer_ shows growing incidences of this phrase since its emergence in 1925 and temporary drop-down of usage during 1955 through 1965. It’s possible to interpret “If you keep your feet on the ground, you can’t get your pants off” in the context of leadership in restoring credibility of financial institutions in either way: (1) If you keep your feet firmly on the ground, you’ll never be perplexed, or (2) If you stick to the status quo, you’ll never make any change (or take an action). I don’t know which way I should take it. Perhaps there would be other ways of interpretation. Though I don’t think I can use this phrase in front of ladies, is this a popular phrase, or a simple slang which is rarely used?


title: When to use whence instead of hence

text: I've come across instances where I felt using both was just fine. The dictionary definition doesn't provide much clarity either. Could someone please clarify the differences between the two?


title: Inquiry vs. enquiry

text: I received an email today with "a simple inquiry." I responded that her "enquiry" was quite reasonable before I realized that we were spelling the word differently. Dictionary.com has enquiry as an alternate spelling of inquiry -- is the difference regional, archaic, a modern misspelling, or just a random variant? Anyone know?


title: Differences in Past Tense: 'used to have' vs. 'had' (non-native speaker)

text: I don't understand the difference between these sentences. Is there a special usage for each? > I **used to have** three cats and > I **had** three cats


title: How to use words like Cusp and Nadir,

text: 1st Q: How do I construct any sentences referring to man's personal well-being with the word nadir. & 2nd Q: How do I describe humans touch or feelings using the word CUSP.


title: What is funny in this paraprosdokian?

text: I was reading the wiki page about paraprosdokians when I come across this sentence. > One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas, how he got in my pajamas, I > don't know. What is funny about it?


title: "Impromptu field hospital"?

text: All the usage examples for _impromptu_ I could find in a couple of dictionaries involve actions (impromptu speech, wedding, etc.) Is this a general rule, or can I talk about an "impromptu field hospital"?


title: How do American dialects differ?

text: I grew up in a very homogenous suburb, and was quite shocked when I moved to Philadelphia for college and started hearing how many different dialects exist even within one city. My untrained ear could not tell you the difference between a New York or Philadelphia accent, but some of my friends swear they can tell the difference between North and South Philadelphians, and spot someone from Jersey in a syllable. Just recently I moved to San Francisco, and I was shocked to hear several people observe that I had an East Coast accent. Throughout your travels around the country, what observations have you made about the different dialects in America? How do different regions differ in terms of syllable emphasis, sentence construction, or even slang?


title: I am looking for a word for an abstainer from red meat

text: A number of friends of mine describe themselves as "Vegetarian" but then go on to explain that they don't eat meat - but do eat fish and poultry, (plus in one case bacon). In my books this is not Vegetarianism but I can't think of a **_polite_** word or phrase for it. Note that these people are not acting from religious convictions so that rules out dietary descriptors for specific religious restrictions.


title: Italicization of "aka"

text: I received a document where one collaborator italicized _aka_ and another did not. Should _aka_ be italicized?


title: 'For dear life' phrase origin

text: What does the phrase 'for dear life' (for example as in, He ran for dear life) originate from? And when was it first used and became popular?


title: 'a trip for my wife and self'

text: Can one use 'self' as substitute for 'myself' in 'a trip for my wife and self'? I have noticed that using 'myself' there raises other grammatical issues strictly related with the so_called "Toff's error", which I want to avoid!