title: Usage of "but" as preposition

text: About usage of "but", I am confused with this sentence: > You have no choice but to perform the back-test yourself. "But" is the preposition in this sentence. Why is the use of infinitive? Can I change the verb (perform) to _-ing_ form (gerund) as follows? > You have no choice but performing the back-test yourself.


title: What is a term for the "first" meaning of a word?

text: Words have lots of meanings/denotations/dictionary definitions, many connotations and contexts and they have literal meanings and metaphorical ones. For example, consider the word 'trash'. Literally it is a synonym of 'garbage', 'refuse' 'waste'. But it has secondary meanings of worthless or poor or of loose morals when applied to people. Or 'crazy'. For myself the first meaning would be the more figurative one (or what I think is figurative) which is 'mixed-up', wild', or 'over-stimulating'. But there is another meaning, a slightly derogatory term for having a mental illness. (Which comes first may be an individual matter). I am looking for a word (or phrase) that describes the first meaning/denotation you think of when presented with a word. It is related to   * literal - but the metaphorical meaning may be the first one.   * ostensible - but that makes it sound like there's an intention of misdirection   * canonical - which is closest, but just doesn't sound right (too clinical?) 'On the face of it' is also pretty close, but also doesn't sound right, and evokes 'facade' which like ostensible has too much intention in it. Maybe it's the first definition offered in a dictionary. Is there a word/shorter phrase for that? (but not OED which is chronological (right?)) Can you suggest some alternatives (or convince me that I've already listed the best one)?


title: What is the difference between "inflection" and "intonation"?

text: And which is utilized when turning this... > The monkey is fat. ...into a question: > The monkey is fat?


title: What term is most appropriate when describing the infinite space of possibilities created through inductive reasoning?

text: In arguments contrasting the differences between deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning, it is often pointed out that deductive reasoning is, by definition, bounded by the terms described in the problem through narrowing application of boolean logic. This contrasts with inductive reasoning, which is by definition unbounded through widening application of probabilistic analysis and inclusion of emergent properties. In describing the infinite nature of the solution space provided by inductive reasoning, I have generalized this into the phrase " _inductive space_." However, according to Google, this phrasing is pure jargon and suffers overlap into other knowledge domains that may cause the listener severe confusion. I am leery to ask this question on other StackExchange sites (especially http://math.stackexchange.com), because this is actually _a question of language_ instead of a mathematical problem and because I would greatly prefer a term applicable to a wider audience than mathematicians. So, I will ask here. To prevent confusion and maximize the odds that the correct definition is understood, what English term or phrase would be most appropriate here?


title: What does "thy" mean?

text: I read a sentence containing the word _thy_ , but I cannot find the meaning of that word. Is it older English, or is it still used in contemporary English today?


title: What is an alternative way to say "I am done"?

text: Is there a different way to say "I am done" to mean that I completed a task? I am trying to avoid misunderstandings with somebody who doesn't speak English.


title: Difference between "acute", "chronic" and "obtuse" in the sense of illness

text: I've checked Oxford Advanced Learners for _acute_ : > an acute illness is one that has quickly become severe and dangerous   >  Compare:CHRONIC And for _chronic_ : > lasting for a long time   >  Compare:ACUTE Can a disease be both "acute" and "chronic" simultaneously? For example it could be the case where a certain illness quickly becomes serious **and** have long term consequences   Are there any "obtuse illnesses" ?


title: Meaning and tone of "Offhand I do not know..."

text: Two days ago I sent a mail to a university I am interested in, asking for the ratio of Early-Decision–accepted students to Regular-Decision–accepted ones. I received this answer part of larger mail. > Offhand I do not know the ratio of Early Decision applicants to Regular > Decision applicants. What does _offhand_ mean? I used a few English–French dictionaries but it still remains unclear. Moreover, what is the tone of this sentence? I feel a lot of annoyance — am I right?


title: Looking for a word to describe the burden of initiating a task

text: I'm trying to find a specific word to describe the act of putting the burden of initiating a task upon the person who has an interest in it. Whereas delegating is giving the task to someone else--a subordinate, for example, what is a word which describes handing the burden of initiating a task to another person? An example: if someone wants afavor from me, but I am busy and have minimal interest, I might ask the person in question to email me about the specifics of that favor. Instead of having to write it down, I have the other person write it down, I receive the specifics in an email, and the becomes part of my workflow.


title: What's the posessive form of address

text: What would be the correct possessive form of _address_? I was working on a project, and one of the error messages was > You can't spoof the address' domain A colleague of mine pointed out that this isn't how it's supposed to be spelled, and suggested _address's_. That looks odd to me, so I maybe it could eventually be _addresses_ , but that's also the plural.


title: Polite alternative to the term "bitch" when referring to a female dog

text: I'm writing an example of constructing logic, and I need to differentiate between an adult female dog, an adult male dog and a puppy and am searching for polite terms. Unfortunately, the word "bitch" has impolite connotations, so I'd rather not use it, but I'm not sure of any other terms for a female dog. Likewise, I don't know of a gendered term for a a male dog, apart from 'dog'. **Given the linguistic baggage that the term _'bitch'_ has in non-specialist areas, is there an alternative, polite term for a _'female dog'_?** For context: in the logic I'm describing, if the dog is young it is a _'puppy'_ , otherwise if it's female it's a _'term X'_ , or if it's male it is a _'term Y'_.


title: Alternative single word for "in demand"?

text: Is there any alternative single word for the phrase "in demand"? Because I couldn't find the word _demandable_ as an adjective in any dictionary. The word _demanding_ means strenuous. For example: > This car is **_demandable_** (incorrect, "demandable" doesnt exist) > > This car is **_in demand_** (correct) Also: > A **_demandable_** car (incorrect, "demandable" doesnt exist) > > A car **_in demand_** (correct)


title: In AE, is it okay to drop "with" in grammatical constructions with "to supply", "to furnish", "to present", "to issue", and "to endow"?

text: In analogy with "to provide" and "to feed", which can be both constructed with and without "with" (at least in AE) -- [This application will provide you (with) all the information you need] and [The young mother feeds her baby (with) milk] -- is it also acceptable to do so -- as far as AE goes -- with such verbs as "supply", "furnish", "present", "issue", and "endow", just to mention the few ones that just came to mind? You might want to consider the following sourced examples for this. > And most important to supply them the means to do it. source>/ > > Russia is supplying them the weapons of mass destruction. source>/ > > We presented them a good case. source>/ > > I presented them a pretty attractive investment profile. source>/ > > They are plenty of Copperheads, who furnish them all the information they > want. source>/ > > I am, consequently, unable to furnish you the information desired. source>/ > > Many an establishment to furnish you the necessary goods. source>/ > > His acting career in 1984 which endowed him a tremendously rich experience > of 29 years. source>/ > > His life experiences have endowed him am incredibly work ethic. source>/ > > Mr. Nasiatka said he told them he could issue them an infraction. source>/ > > We calculate what the lodging would have cost and issue them a cash bonus. > source>/


title: Should it be "no sign of" or "no signs of"?

text: I'd like to say: The calm, balmy evening air showed no sign of the carnage that would ensue. My question is: should it be "no sign of" or "no signs of"? Obviously the word "sign" is countable noun in this context. One sign. Two signs. But NO SIGN means zero sign. Should I use sign in singular form "sign" or plural form "signs" here? Thanks.


title: Does the words, “Love interests” and “Love intelligence” have a special meaning other than plain “love affair” and “love gossip”?

text: I was drawn to the words, “Love interest” and “Love intelligence” appearing in Maureen Dowd’s article, “Creeping Crowd” which dealt with the N.S.A.’s domestic surveillance, in Sept 28 New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/opinion/sunday/dowd-creeping-cloud.html?hp Dowd describes the ‘surveillance’ as indiscriminate Hoovering of Americans’ phone records, and says: > “Yet, news broke this past week that the N.S.A. inspector general admitted > that there have been a dozen instances of staffers spying on **love > interests**. The Wall Street Journal said this practice is known as > “LOVEINT,” for **love intelligence.** Though I’ve never heard of the words, ‘to spying on “love interests”’ and “love intelligence,” until today,Weblio English Dictionary carries the heading of “love interest” and defines it as: 1.One who is of interest as a potential partner in love 2.A romantic plot or subplot in a film or book 3 Any of the characters involved in such a plot But, can any of the above definitions be an object of the NSA’s surveillance? Are “love interests”’ and “love intelligence” neologies? How do they differ from plain "love affair” and “love gossip”? Are there any special meanings, say political, or intelligence implications in “love interests”’ and “love intelligence”?


title: What Is the Real Name of the #?

text: I used to say "sharp sign" to refer to the `#` sign. Today a friend told me that the correct term is _number sign_ or _hash sign_ or even just _hash_. What is the difference between these options and what's the correct usage of the names for this sign?


title: "While standing" vs. "stood"

text: Original: I didn't react to her pessimism ,and tolerated her pessimism. I didn't react to and tolerated her pessimism I didn't react to while I was tolerating her pessimism. Would you tell me if they mean the same thing? If not, would you possibly elaborate your explanations? I am willing to write the second and third sentences in such a way that they would mean the same meaning as the original does.


title: What is the generic term for potential evidence whose bearings upon truth or falsehood is not decided yet?

text: Strictly speaking, evidence already implies bearings for or against a proposition. But often times, people collect candidates for evidence before they know whether they can count as evidence or not. "Data" will do most of the time, but there are occasions where "data" would not do, e.g. on an archaeology site. Nobody calls dinosaur bones data.


title: Adjective form of "foreign policy"?

text: Is there a adjective form of "foreign policy" or "foreign relations"? It needs to fit in with: > There were contrasting political, social, and _???_ systems. EDIT: By "foreign policy", I really mean "military relations", not diplomatic.


title: Wages and Salaries

text: What is the difference between **_Wages_** and **_Salaries_**? Is it a question of manual vs intellectual jobs or more a question of how frequently payments are made, weekly or monthly?


title: what's the phrase for "I don't want to be reliant on someone else"

text: I remember that there is a phrase with the word `whims` that goes about like this: "I don't want to be reliant on someone else" Does anyone know what that phrase is?


title: Where did the person change?

text: "She realizes there is nothing to fear, not world travel alone to remote places, nor her own disease - and that letting go of identity is the only hurdle to leap before doing what you want." I -think- the author (who I am advising) is invoking a trite phrase, 'doing what you want' which weakens the sentence. It changes the meaning to say 'doing what she wants'. Are either (you/she) correct?


title: Is there a single verb or expression that means "to [gather|aggregate] and then arrange/filter"?

text: Let's say I am collecting information on a topic 'a' from different sources (1, 2, 3). Each source may give me one or more pieces of data: 1a, 1a', 2a, 2a', 2a'', 3a. As I examine this data, I realise that some are more relevant than others, while some are completely irrelevant. I produce a final list of: 3a, 2a', 1a, 1a'. Is there a single verb or expression that describes this process?


title: Does absence of articles in computer-related sentences look natural?

text: I'm a non-native speaker (actually from Russia) and for us the articles (a, an, the) came as a thing that we just have to adopt. We do not have not similar constructions in Russian. Menus I see in programs, and other short phrases related to computer user interfaces usually lack articles (for example Open Location and something like this). I'm wondering, does it look natural for a native English speaker or is it something one is getting used to?


title: What is a "terrace park"?

text: In an autobiographical book, the narrator, an American, tells about a period he spent in Kiev: > The front door of my building opened onto the bustling but cozy street of > Zhitomirskaya, and it was an easy walk to Saint Sophia Square. There was > also a nice terrace park where the young and hip of Kiev would gather in the > late afternoon to throw Frisbees, play bongo drums, and drink beer in the > glow of the sunset. What is a "terrace park" (I mean it as a common noun, not as the name of a specific place or town)? Is it actually a park extending on terraces?


title: Is "architect" a verb and a noun?

text: I hear the word _architect_ used as a verb in the technical field and now more often in other industries and groups, for example: > We need to **architect** a better solution to the problem. I am interested if this is considered "proper grammar", as I see this word being used more in published technical documents (not necessarily books, but corporate publications). I can see how a conductor can conduct, a typist can type, but can a scientist "science"? A scientist might research, analyze, and so forth, as an architect might design, create, build, etc. Merriam-Webster defines _architect_ as a noun, however, I have been told that other dictionaries exist that define _architect_ as both a noun and a verb — is there a credible reference or source that authoritatively answers this question?


title: "it's" vs "its": what happened lately?

text: During the course of the last 6-12 months (approx.) online I've seen more and more the mistake of using "it's" in place of "its" and the other way around. While my habits might have slightly changed, I'm talking about a huge difference here: a few years ago I knew it was supposed to be a "standard mistake", now I notice it almost daily! Even by native speakers! Assuming it's not "just me", did you notice that? Have any idea of what could be the cause? The only logical thing that comes to my mind is that the Internet is now more cheaper and worldwide, so (no offence intended) we have more non-native speakers and more uneducated people. With "uneducated" I do not only mean they might not _know_ proper grammar: I mean they might not _care_ to write correctly.


title: "Multi-" prefix pronunciation

text: I often hear native English speakers pronouncing "multi-" as ['mʌltaɪ] (mul- tie), however all the dictionaries are saying that the only way to pronounce it is ['mʌltɪ] (mul-ty). Example words: multitasking, multimedia. What is the right or more often used pronunciation? Does it differ in British/American English? Does it depend on context?


title: A word for individual letters?

text: Is there another word for individual letters of the alphabet, perhaps a typographical reference?


title: "The end of next week" or "the end of the next week"?

text: I wonder if there should be a _the_ in front of _week_ in "the end of next week". Context: > I will give you updates on how things work out by the end of next week.


title: What does “Logitem” mean on many freightliners?

text: What does _Logitem_ mean that I see on the sides of many passing freightliners? I wonder wether it’s a kind of clipping combining _logistic_ with _item_. I'm not a native speaker but I love English.


title: Is this a run-on sentence? Is there a better way to rewrite it?

text: > Since Osan was Jihei's wife and Koharu was his adulteress, they represented > his obligation and passion respectively. I see three potential problems:   1. Run-on sentence: There are two conjunctions and three clauses in a sentence.    2. Ambiguous reference: The "they" obviously refers to Osan and Koharu; however one may also interprets "they" as Osan and Jihei or Jihei and Koharu when she/he ignores the gender difference.    3. The structure of the sentence is awkward (to me). I am a non-native speaker. Is there a better way to rewrite this sentence?


title: What drives the usage of 'God', 'Jesus', and 'Jesus Christ' as expletives?

text: I grew up in a conservative Christian home, and was taught that we do not 'take God's name in vain'. Interestingly, among some churches I grew up in, the consensus was that the common usage of God or Jesus as an expletive offered 'proof' that there was 'power in the Name.' Meaning, no one took Satan's name in vain because there was no 'power' in it. (I'm sorry if this is not clear to those who don't have a Christian background) Now I look back and find this reasoning rather self-serving; and that led me to wonder...what is the real reason people use God/Jesus/etc. as expletives? Was that always a common part of speech? Has it accelerated recently? Do other cultures use the name of their local Deity as handy profanity?


title: Use of "and" in a list followed by "as well"

text: Do you need an _and_ after _wife_ in this sentence? > The husband, wife, mother as well as the sister are coming.


title: Does "positive" mean good and "negative" bad?

text: Some examples are _a **negative** connotation_, _Don't be so negative!_ , or _Be positive!_ Is it proper to use these words this way? The denotations of _negative_ and _positive_ support this use weakly. However, I frequently correct people (being a semantics freak) and tell them that a negative statement is a statement that denies, while a positive statement is one that affirms. An Ask.com question is _very_ ambiguous on this issue. It seems that these two words are more useful in these meanings in a very casual setting. What are the best meanings for these words, and the best words for these meanings? How about ( _un_ ) _desirable_ or ( _un_ ) _favorable_ or _eulogic_ / _panegyric_ : are these words suitable alternatives for _positive_ / _negative_ in formal settings?


title: What is the mistake in this sentence?

text: > Can't understand my easy writing comment? Something seems wrong about this sentence; I want to know where the mistake is in this sentence. Is it grammatically correct?


title: Use of less and lesser vs lesser and lesser

text: > The consumer on an indifference curve is willing to sacrifice _less and > lesser_ of good y to get an additional unit of good x. This is an answer I got from a model answer paper while preparing for economics exam..my question is...is the use of "less and lesser" here, grammatically correct?


title: What is the correct pronunciation of "February"?

text: Please tell how do we correctly pronounce the word _February_. Though common pronunciation should be _Feb-RU-ary_ , in some dictionaries it is _Feb-U-ary_ where the first "r" is dropped. Which one is correct?


title: A word for "characterized by a defined ending"

text: I am documenting some code and I need a word (adjective, preferably ending with "y") that means "characterized by a defined ending." Here is how I will be using it in a sentence: "Unlike active scripts, passive scripts are capable of being started and stopped multiple times due to the simplicity, brevity, and [word I'm looking for] of their tasks." I asked my friend and he suggested the word precursory, but I find that the meaning of that word is a bit too far from what I'm looking for.


title: 'The company I work for' cannot be shortened to 'My company'?

text: My English teacher said that it's not correct to say 'my company' for indicating the company I work for, because 'my company' means the company I own. But I don't think this kind of confusion happens often. It's too long to say 'the company I work for'. So can't I use 'my company'? If so, what about 'my apartment' or 'my band' or 'my country'?


title: Can a double negative be used to express caution or uncertainty?

text: In the following statement, what is the effect of the double negative? Is it necessarily emphasis? Or could it be a kind of cautious statement implying a degree of uncertainty? If a double negative can be used to express caution, how can it be distinguished from cases used for emphasis? > None of the cells appeared not to have divided.


title: Term for poems structured by repetitive devices

text: Terms such as "blank verse", "free verse" and "heroic couplet" are used to refer to poems with particular forms. I am curious to know whether there exists a term for poems that are strongly structured by means of repetitive poetical devices such as anaphora, epistrophes and parallelisms. A good example is Tolkien's "Ring Verse": Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,   Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,   Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,   One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne   In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.   One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,   One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them   In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. Another example comes from the lyrics of the song "Last Quest" by the band Kerion: Far away beyond the hills   Far away over the rivers   Far away this magical journey   Ride with me under the moonlight   Ride with me across the trees   Ride with me in green valleys where the sun shows all its light


title: The set of (the?) numbers of the form 2x+1

text: Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?   1. The set of the numbers of the form 2x+1 is infinite.   2. The set of numbers of the form 2x+1 is infinite. That is, should I or shouldn't I put "the" in front of "numbers" ?


title: Struggling to find a word for a respectful, silent response

text: I'm having a senior moment. The word I'm looking for is a third grade vocabulary word; it's not in any way obscure. "After she told her story, the others reacted with a respectful, _something_ moment of silence." The word emphasizes the feeling of awe. What word am I looking for?? I'll know it when I see it, and I'll accept the first answer that gives me the word. EDIT: When I finally hit upon the word I was seeking, it became clear that I should have said something else in this question. _Awe_ doesn't cover it. The others were in awe, yes, at the strength the woman showed by just being alive, but they were also shocked at the utter hell the woman had endured. Their silent response was very solemn and sad.


title: Words with Gomorrah as etymon

text: The name of the city of _Sodom_ is the etymon of sodomy. > **Question:** _Are there words in English for which Gomorrah is an etymon?_ According to Online Etymology Dictionary the unit _omer_ is related to _Gomorrah_. Beyond this I haven't found other words that are, at least, related. It would be interesting to know.


title: Punctuate a clause-example-clause-example in a sentence

text: I'm proofreading a colleagues work, and ran across a sentence which contains two examples with clarifications. I do not believe this should be broken out into two sentences. The original (nouns changed to protect the innocent): > In this way, all Jabberwockies have a "foo", meaning the bar associated with > that foo, and a "fizz", meaning the buzz of where the Jabberwocky is. I believe this would benefit from an em-dash, but the comma between the two "parts" of this sentence seem off: > In this way, all Jabberwockies have a "foo" - meaning the bar associated > with that foo, and a "fizz" - meaning the buzz of where the Jabberwocky is. Is this second version the best way to portray the sentence?


title: 'I thought', 'I would think', 'I would have thought'

text: I'm going to show you three examples.      1\. A - Have you got any change?       B - Do I have change? What for?       A - For the vending machine!               **I would have thought** that was pretty obvious.   : I think it's sufficient to just say,     " **I thought** that was pretty obvious."     because literally 'I' thought so in the past, which is a simple fact, but now I don't.     And " **I would think** that as pretty obvious." is possible in the context?     If so, what are the differences among them?      2\. Let's say there are two kids playing in the garden        and their mum comes out to tell them in for dinner.        But the kids have gone somewhere, so she starts going around for them.        In some minutes, she finds the two and says.        " **I would have known.** "        Why does she talk like that? What's the nuance?         I think it will do to say,       " **I knew** you would be here."         I wonder if " **I would know** " is a possible subsitute for the highlighted sentence.         If it could be, what are the differences among the three?       3\. A - Was the party great?        B - I **don't / wouldn't know**. I wasn't there.   : I think if B goes for "I don't know",      it will mean he's just saying the plain fact that he wasn't there.     What if B replies, "I wouldn't know"?     What's the difference?      And is " **I wouldn't have known** " possible here?      If so, what are the differences? I hear ' **would do / would have done** ' structure is closely related to a hypothetical if,   but I can't seem to figure it out.   I was guessing 'would have done' might mean speculating about the past,   I've come to think it can't explain 'would do' option.      Help me out with this.   Thank you all.


title: What exactly does "All Items Not On Sale" mean?

text: Here's a quote from Bill Bryson's "The Mother Tongue": > Imagine being a foreigner and having to learn ... , that a sign in the store > saying ALL ITEMS NOT ON SALE doesn't mean literally what it says (that every > item is _not_ on sale) but rather that only some of the items are on sale, > ... Is this true? Is it a common sign for indicating that not all items are on sale? Wouldn't it be more natural to write NOT ALL ITEMS ON SALE? I am asking because I don't really want to blindly believe Bill Bryson, since his books, although very interesting and entertaining to read, contain _a lot of_ factual errors (intended or not).


title: What is the difference between "I've been to China" and "I've gone to China"?

text: Both are in the present perfect, but one uses the verb 'to go' and the other 'to be'. Is there a rule for this? Is there any chance that the differences between "I have been" vs. "I have gone", are differences in English dialect (I don't know if this is the right word). **Edit** Could I say that North American English speakers use "I have gone", and maybe U.K speakers say "I've been"? Or vice versa.


title: co-living and co-evolving

text: Today I had a thought a problem I couldn't resolve it on my own. I just can't realize what people will think right after they hear others using the word "co-living" and "co-evolving". I mean a particular thought of any specific information that comes to mind once you may hear I say "they have co-lived and co-evolved since then", for example. Another example I doubt if their use is truly versatile and correct,               Your and my native languages have been co-living and co-evolving for hundreds of years


title: Words for north/south and east/west dimensions?

text: There is "length", "width", "height", "depth", etc but these words are all relative in respect to the current viewer. The width for one person could be the depth for another person (who is at a 90 degree difference). There is also "latitude" and "longitude", which describes **position** in terms of cardinal direction. This is close, but I'm wondering if there are words for describing the **length** of something in respect to a cardinal axis (north/south and east/west). Essentially "east-west-length" and "north-south- length". I've had no luck with finding this using search engines. =(


title: "crash someone's couch” vs “crash on someone's couch”

text: I am wondering which one is the exact expression. I thought that here "crash" is used in place of "occupy", which means the first one is the correct expression. On the other hand I have always heard the second expression. A "google-fight" suggests to use the second one, but I get hits for the first phrase too. Which of the two is correct?


title: What does "fine-grained" mean?

text: I always see "fine-grained" in technology articles. What does it mean?


Why do we say that an obscene joke is "off-color"? Is a G-rated joke "on- color"? What color? When and how did this idiomatic expression come from?


title: What is the meaning of the preposition "back" in the following sentence?

text: > We learned how to test-drive the repository **back** in Section x.x, > Creating and Reading Records, on page xxx.


title: What is the correct use of "even" as an adverb, with the verb "to be"?

text: http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/your-english/word-grammar/your- english-word-grammar-even/156431.article gives some examples of correct use of "even" as an adverb to indicate that something is surprising or unexpected:- > "She even forgot my birthday" > > "He can’t even spell his own name!" However, using "even" with "to be" results in some odd-sounding sentences:- > "Will you even be there?" > > "Who even is she?" And, (famously?) > "What even is that thing?" Adverbs usually come after auxiliary verbs, but in this case it doesn't seem like moving the adverb makes a more pleasing sentence:- > "What is even that thing?" > > "What is that thing even?" **Is there a correct way those sentences could even be formed, or should "even" not even be used with "to be"?** As an additional point, these formations seem very common - especially colloquially or in writing on the internet. Is there anywhere I would be able to investigate the frequency of usage and perhaps find some early examples? EDIT:- For anyone interested, I found these:-   * http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=2943   * http://www.benyagoda.com/post/what-does-what-does-even-mean-even-mean Suggesting that the use of "even" in this context is new/wrong, rather than specifically the pairing with "to be", e,g:- > "What does that even mean?" > > "How does that even work?" > > "Is that even a thing?"


title: What does "draw back a stump" mean?

text: What does it mean to "draw back a stump" in this sentence? > "Keep touching me like that, and you'll draw back a stump."


title: why "and then some" means considerably more?

text: I've googled the phrase _"and then some"_ and am told that it means _"considerably more"_. But just how to comprehend this? The phrase literally means "some more" -- how does it come to mean "much more"?


title: Can "doubt" sometimes mean "question"?

text: I often see questions on Stack Exchange sites which I presume are written by non-native English speakers who use the word "doubt" in place of the word "question". Is this a case of misunderstanding the correct meaning or are people being taught that this is correct usage?


title: Should I use "told you" or "have told you" in this example?

text: Sentence: > She obviously has a legit excuse, although she could have been more > responsible and told you in advance


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

text: > The children are eager to _start_ the novel. or > The children are eager to _begin_ the novel.


title: "Scare quotes" and placement of question mark--inside or outside?

text: Consider the following sentence: > Did you know you can donate "stuff"? "Stuff" in this case means "anything besides cash." It's the lead-in to an article informing users on a charity's website that they can gift things like stocks, bonds, vehicles, real estate, commodities, jewelry, and other non-cash assets. The APA Style Guide says to put question marks:   * Inside, if question mark or exclamation point is part of quoted material   * Outside, if question mark or exclamation point is not part of quoted material What makes me uncertain about my example sentence is that I'm not sure how to properly apply the "quoted material" test. It seems to me that the quote marks are being used here as scare quotes, to signal unusual usage, or perhaps it's nonstandard usage where a typographic change, like italicizing or bolding, would be more appropriate. In any case, the bottom line is the quotes are not being used to denote "quoted material," at least in the sense of "material that is being quoted from elsewhere." This APA rule seems to be only addressing that type of quotation mark usage. So I'm not sure whether the question marks should go inside or outside the quote marks. The simplest "solution" is to interpret "quoted material" to mean _anything_ that is in quote marks, whether or not clearly a quote of content from another author or location. **Is this an appropriate interpretation?** I'm particularly interested in references to reputable sources that address this question. Thank you!


title: What is the meaning of this line of Andrew Marvell's poem?

text: > O do not run too fast, for I will but bespeak thy grave, and die – Andrew Marvell in The Nymph Complaining for the Death of her Fawn Is the Nymph addressing the fawn here, saying "I will bear witness to your grave and die along with you"? I feel like there's a few subtleties in this line I'm missing (the "but" in there for eg.), it'd be great to have them explained.


title: What's the difference between maintenance, upkeep & sustenance

text: Question: I was translating the term               Wartung, Instandhaltung und Unterhalt      in our software. I came up with               Maintenance, Upkeep & Sustenance      And I was just thinking.   Is somebody actually capable of explaining me the difference between these 3 (English) words ? ;)


title: What is meant by common terms in software company names?

text: A set of terms occurs frequently in software company names. Some are pretty obvious like "-soft," "software," and "apps/applications." However, some are not so obvious (at least to me). What is the connotative/denotative meaning of these words when they occur in a software company name? What about a company would make it more/less likely to use one of these descriptors?   1. Designs   2. Dynamics   3. Solutions   4. Systems


title: Meaning of " He still wandered on, out of the little high valley, over its edge, and down the slopes beyond"

text: What does this phrase: > "He still wandered on, out of the little high valley, over its edge, and > down the slopes beyond" mean exactly? The doubt is about the path defined. It's clear that he was walking without a defined destination, then:   * he passed the little valley? He avoided the little high valley?   * climbed to its edge?


title: The use of "actually" and "whatsoever"

text: The word, `actually` means to "emphasize a fact or a comment, or that something is really true." So why is `whatsoever` used in this sentence > You have no right whatsoever to read what is written inside. Can I use the word "actually" to replace the word "whatsoever"?


title: Word for one character explaining to another character some important points for benefit of the audience

text: This is not apostrophe (no, not that kind of apostrophe) or anagnorisis; this is when a character communicates a exposition on some aspect of the story's background or context (e.g. how FTL travel works; why the families are at war) ostensibly to another character (often a foreigner or recluse) but actually in place of simple omniscient narration. I'm not criticizing the practice; I just want a word for it. Thanks in advance


title: What does the meaning of "down to a level"?

text: I see this in here : http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/fa469462-1a32-11e3-93e8-00144feab7de.html#axzz2eXhIUa4M > “It’s very much the next frontier,” said Renée James, Intel’s president. “It > takes us down to a level we haven’t been at before.” After reacting late to > the touchscreen mobile device markets, “we are very committed to not missing > the next one,” she added. And I want to know what' the meaning. Thank you.


title: What is the opposite word to “straight man” in comedy?

text: The New York times (February 10) article titled, “Panic in the locker room!” written by co-ed columnist Frank Bruni begins with the following sentence: > “A news flash for every **straight man** out there: You’ve been naked in > front of a gay man. In fact you’ve been naked, over the course of your life, > in front of many gay men, at least if you have more than a few years on you. > http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/opinion/bruni-panic-in-the-locker- > room.html?hp&rref=opinion To be honest, I didn’t know "straight man" has another meaning related with sexual orientation until I was told by members now. But let’s forget about that usage. According to CED, the straight man is the more serious of the two men in a comedy act, who is often made to look stupid by his partner. Merriam-Webster English Dictionary defines “straight man” a member of a comedy team who says things that allow a partner to make jokes." We have a Japanese word, “ぼけ役- boke-yaku” meaning “bonehead’s role” for “straight man,” and “突っ込み役- tsukkomi-yaku” meaning “offence role” for the partner who gives a spicy joke / repartee in turn in popular popular “Manzai” – two-man comedy, or sometimes even in daily conversation. What is the English word for the counter role of “straight man” as an English translation of “突っ込み-tsukkomi-yaku”?


title: Comma or no comma before "only"?

text: Sample phrase: > Use the item for those purposes, only. vs. > Use the item for those purposes only.


title: How do you fix the passive voice in this sentence

text: I wrote this sentence: Because of his low weight, Gabe **was still being nurtured** instead of being named. And Word underlined the bold part saying I was using passive voice and I don't know how to fix it. Passive voice is not part of the assignment, but I need two prepositional phrases.


title: Word for going to ground floor

text: In a multi-story building when we go to ground floor from an upper floor, what word is used? Downstairs? Any other word? For example, when I go to the ground floor by elevator, should I say, "I am going downstairs?"


title: Correct naming form (with or without "of")

text: I have a system (software) that do topolygical analysis. How would be more correct to name it:   1. "System of topological analysis" or   2. "Topological analysis system" ? And what rules should I know to correctly speak in such situations? When better to use each form?


title: What's the etymology of "humdinger"?

text: A **_humdinger_** is a remarkable or outstanding person or thing. The OED has it as originally US dating (as _hum-dinger_ ) from 1905, but says the origin is unknown. Where does the word _humdinger_ come from? Was it used before 1905?


title: Free word list of English words of interest to children?

text: I'm developing a software application for children and it would be useful to have an English dictionary with terms/words sorted by their "interestingness" to children aged 4-8. Terms like "unicorn", "bunny", "cat", "dog" would be on top and terms like "differential equations" and "econometrics" would be at the bottom (or not present). Any ideas on where to find such a list? Are there any open source / free children's encyclopedia's or books available from which such a list could be generated?


title: What's the difference between "suasive" and "persuasive"?

text: What's the difference in usage between _suasive_ and _persuasive_? I just read the former used, here on this StackExchange, where the latter would have worked perfectly, IMO. Is there a subtle distinction between the two words? Can anyone give me an example where using _suasive_ would be compellingly better than using _persuasive_? And finally, as I'd never seen the word _suasive_ before today, does that mean _suasive_ is archaic, or just used in a particular context?


title: Alternative to "separately from"?

text: I want to say something like: > The system stores the crazygonuts data separately from the data feed. I think this is wrong (maybe I am wrong in that), but I'm not sure exactly why. One alternative I thought of: > The system stores the crazygonuts data separate from the data feed. I checked some dictionaries online, and I did not find separate listed as an adverb, so this also seems incorrect. I want to keep the verb (stores) in there. Is there any way I can keep this same sentence structure without sounding silly? If possible, I would like to use the word separate (or something sufficiently close, like distinctly); or is this formation doomed from the start?


title: One's or ones possesive noun or not?

text: It is my first question on any stackoverflow site, so sorry if I have not researched the current available questions and answers enough (I tried), but I have thoroughly searched both the internet and the english stackoverflow site as well as I could (I was not sure as to what tag I should have searched to get the correct answer to my question). That aside I am stuck as to whether I am using a possessive noun or a non possessive noun. The question is pretty simple which sentence is correct. `Many other online IQ tests rely on knowledge orientated questions to test ones IQ.` _Or_ `Many other online IQ tests rely on knowledge orientated questions to test one's IQ.` I understand one is correct and one is not, but it would be most helpful if someone could explain what is the true difference between the two and when I should use one and not the other. I am no English language expert, and I am sure this has been answered many times on this site but I could not find it, I am sure as I continue to use the stackoverflow websites I will become more efficient at finding answers to my questions. If anyone has any tips on how to do this I would be most grateful, maybe a little FAQ on how to search?


title: How can I reword "cross-gender" so it doesn't sound like I'm talking about transgenders?

text: > This research has been focused on cross-national and cross-gender > applications of such theories. The use of "cross-gender" means across genders, in the same way that "cross- national" means across nations. However, my concern is that readers will think I mean "transgender." How can I revise this sentence to avoid such confusion?


title: How is "per se" used?

text: **per se** These are the meanings I have found for _per se_ ; by itself, by himself, by herself, basically ... Does that mean the following sentences are correct? >   1. _you should not have let him go per se (by himself)_. >   2. _per se (basically) the color of it is blue._ >   3. _you will have to submit that tomorrow per se (itself)_ >


title: "Certificate of residence" vs. "certificate of residency"

text: _Certificate of residence_ vs. _certificate of residency_ — which one to use, when and why? Please quote a reputable source.


title: Is there any dictionary that decomposes an English word into prefix, root, and suffix?

text: Is there any dictionary that shows the decomposition of each word into these three parts, if application at all? For instance, "incapable" is divided into prefix "in", root "cap", and suffix "able". Thanks in advance.


title: What does the phrase "take tea" mean?

text: I've come across the phrase "take tea" in some sentences, and reckoned it is used as an idiom and not meant literally. For instance, "Children to compete for chance to take tea with the Mad Hatter." That sounds like an interesting pun. What does it mean, and what are its origins?


title: Why no article with "service" and "access"

text: Simple question, which I'd like a simple (simple enough to explain to an ESL student) answer to.* > Is there **_a_** conference room? > > Is there **_a_** non-smoking room? Okay, so I have no problems with these. But then: > Is there Internet access? > > Is there room service? Why don't we use the indefinite article with these words ( _access_ and _service_ )? I've boiled it down to "they're both kinda nebulous things you can't count", but that doesn't help me much. Is it just that they are uncountable? Because I have a feeling I'm going to have a conversation like this: > **Student:** Why is "room service" not countable? > > **Teacher:** Well, there are many services offered - food, laundry, > cleaning. The word "service" covers many individual services. > > **Student:** So why not call it "room services"? > > **Teacher:** Ah, well, you see, that's because of - Goodness me, look out > the window! Is that a tree?! Similarly, why do we say: > Is there air conditioning? I understand that some things are countable and some aren't, but in this case I'm having a hard time figuring out how to explain it to the student in a way that's vaguely logical. I don't want to have to say that it's just the way it is (like spellings and irregular verbs) unless I absolutely have to. * * * *I'm aware it almost never works this way, but I have my fingers crossed, so you never know.


title: Why is it "rough-looking" instead of "roughly looking"?

text: I’ve noticed recently that certain constructions with present active participles (meaning, _-ing_ forms acting adjectivally) prefer to be modified by adjectives rather than by adverbs. For example, it sounds better to say:   * a rough-looking neighborhood  than it does to say:   * a *roughly looking neighborhood even though _rough_ , an adjective, is clearly modifying _looking_ , another adjectival word. Is there any rule that explains this? Or is this just a strange corner case of English?


title: Negative and ironic alternative to "unbelievable."

text: I want to use a word similar to _unbelievable_ , but with a completely negative and ironic sense. What word could I use and how would I use it? Example: > The fact that you do that is _unbelievable_ for me. I feel that unbelievable sometimes carries a good and interesting image—similar to _crazy_ and _awesome_. Is it just a matter of expression and accent?


title: a word that would mean "a marriage where either of the spouse is of a higher rank or caste"

text: I was writing an essay when I used the word morganatic and I realized I don't quite know the word for a marriage between people of unequal ranks that society holds as unfair or against the norms. it can be related to a marriage or relation and mean similar to what I described.


title: Why "should be doing" and not just "should do" in the following sentences?

text: What is the difference between "should X" and "should be Xing" in the following contexts? Or are they interchangeable? >   * 10 Things you **should do** to improve the health of your hair. >   * 10 Things You **Should Be Doing** to Boost Your Immunity. > (From Google searches.) Is there any slight difference between using _should do_ and _should be doing_ there? Likewise, > I believe in making the world safe for our children, but not our children's > children, because I don't think children **should be having** sex.   >  — Jack Handey Would "I don't think children should have sex" be possible here?


title: A better word for invigilator, a person overseeing an exam

text: I'm issuing a written final exam to a student in Nepal. In setting this up I need to communicate to a non native speaking person in the abroad administration, in a clear and precise manner, that a person overseeing the examination procedure needs to be available for the duration of the exam. I (we) have previously used invigilator. I find myself very uncomfortable with this word. TFD suggests that this is a word only used in the commonwealth. Proctor (US/TFD) also seems to me rather uncommon or unclear. What would be an easy to understand phrase or word to describe this need?


title: What is the English word for "street along a river bank"?

text: A regular city street that happens to be situated along a river. (For the record, the Russian word is _набережная_ , and I can't seem to find the appropriate translation.)


title: Something between leverage and balance

text: If I'm not mistaken balancing means to distribute something (resources) equally among several options. So let's say I have options a, b and c, and 9 coins, I balance my coins and assign: a:3, b:3, c:3. Leverage means to use a little amount of resources to obtain a greater amount of those resources. Let's say I have 9 coins again and the expected profit of a, b and c is a:10/1, b:10/3, c:5/1. In this case I'll choose to put my 9 coins on a, because I can leverage up to 90 (it would be 30 for b and 45 for c). So far so good. Now there are two alternative explanations for what I'm searching for:   1. Now let's say that a, b and c have some admittance or a maximum number of coins that can be assigned before becoming ineffective. These numbers can be a:2, b:8, c:4. In this case we will obviously make the following assignment: a:2, b:3, c:4. This is not so clear when there is not a hard number where assignments become ineffective but slopes that can be more or less steep. Therefore this would require an assignment of the resources that doesn't balance among the options and does not leverage, since the multiplier factor was lost.   2. Alternatively let's say a, b and c have different risks, more profitability means a higher risk. So we want to balance profitability with exposure to risk, and we don't want to leverage or balance our investment but to do something different (that's the word I'm looking for), let's say that considering the risks (which I don't state, imagine we are making the decision right according to some rules) we assign: a:2, b:6, c:1. In this case we are not balancing and I would say we are not leveraging, but assigning the coins to resources a, b and c in a different way. I'm searching for such a word. I hope it exists. Sorry if I'm not clear, it's a quite specific concept that arises in a fairly specific context, please ask if there is something that needs clarification. Thank you very much.


title: Diaconate vs. Deacon

text: A plurality of deacons is called a diaconate. What is the reason for this vowel change ("e" to "i") for these words? Are there any other words that illustrate this?


title: Is there any difference between 'often' and 'frequently'?

text: Do both mean exactly the same or do they have slightly different meanings?


title: Why and when did "breast" become gender-specific?

text: In the past, "breast" used to be applicable to both male and female chests, but is generally only gender neutral nowadays when used in certain contexts, such as "breast meat" or "breastplate". Why and when did this change of meaning occur?


title: A controversial GRE question

text: The profits that the corporation earns from the exclusive-supplier agreements with the universities are_ ** ___ _**, because the terms of agreements that they are inclined to protect the universities’ interests are generally_ ** ___ __**.   1. explicable……..flouted   2. unclear……….publicized   3. predictable……….scrutinized   4. declining…….ignored   5. surprising…..enforced Many people prefer "predictable ... scrutinized", but I feel "surprising ... enforced" is more appropriate. What's your opinion?


title: Alternative to "impactful" when referring to work with meaningful effect on peoples' lives

text: I had a little bit of space left on my CV and so decided to add a very brief overview of my background and what I'm looking for. One of the sentences mentions something like, "... interesting, impactful part-time work." Now, I don't like the word "impactful" as it's too vague. I'm looking for 1 or 2 words to describe work that has a meaningful, almost measurable positive effect on the organization. Any tips or advice?


title: 'Suffer' word etymology from Arabic صفر doubt?

text: 'Suffer' word etymology from Arabic صفر (safar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safar) which is the name of a month of suffering has any relation?


title: What's the status of voiceless "t" in AmE?

text: The theory has it that in the US people tend to voice intervocalic "T" like in _writer_ sounding more or less like _rider_. My question is - how do Americans perceive voiceless pronunciation? (Not only in the word I used as an example) Does it sound how? Careful? British? Snobby? Regional?


title: Distinctive features of English diphthongs

text: I am looking for a table of distinctive features for English dipthongs along the lines of that available for other vowels here. I don't trust my purely book learned linguistic skills to produce an accurate feature matrix. A tool I wrote uses a distinctive feature table based on a very old theory and I would like to update it.


title: Is a comma necessary before "above"/"below" when these words are used as sentence terminating adverbs?

text: Is a comma necessary before “above”/“below” when these words are used as sentence-terminating adverbs? Examples with the comma: > Place the item as indicated, above. > > A correct example will be presented, below. Is the comma necessary, optional, or should it be omitted?


title: Etymology of "typeface Weight"

text: My boss stated that he noticed the word "weight" is used to refer to the boldness of a character, and stated that he felt this was a new occurrence. My gut feeling is that this is an old term, derived from the typesetting industry and made popular with the advent of personal computers, desktop and web publishing. I also suspect that the term had something to do with the physical weight of typeset letters, but this is just a supposition. While Google's n-gram viewer shows a massive increase in "font weight" usage starting around 1985 (which corresponds to the usage spike of the term "desktop publishing"), there were smaller spikes around 1830 and 1932. A search for the etymology of the use of weight in regards to the darkness of the typeface revealed nothing. Does anyone know the source of this phrase?


title: Do you "watch" a movie or "see" a movie?

text: Which of the following verbs is most commonly used with _movie_? Or are they both used, but the connotations are different? > I **watched** a good movie yesterday. > > I **saw** a good movie yesterday.


title: In the sentence "Go for a kayak" is "kayak" a verb or a noun?

text: I thought it would be a verb considering it is being used in place of "ride in a kayak". However if 'a' is a indefinite article, doesn't it have to refer to a noun? Would that make the word 'kayak' a noun or a verb in that sentence?


title: Colon for 'because' omission?

text: Colon or semicolon when _because_ is omitted from a sentence e.g., > I am sorry I disturbed you (;) (:) _(because)_ it looked like you were > having a lot of fun there. _Because_ explains and clarifies a preceding clause so would it be correct to use a colon preceding the explanatory clause if _because_ is omitted? Alternatively, _because_ can be replaced by _for_ , which is a coordinating conjunction and would correctly be punctuated with a semicolon. > I am sorry I disturbed you, for it looked like you were having a lot of fun > there. > > I am sorry I disturbed you; it looked like you were having a lot of fun > there. _For_ is of course reasonably archaic but is useful sometimes for grammatical clarity. And if anyone wants to comment on the _that_ omission and comma replacement, I'd be very happy. I am sorry _(that)_ (,) I disturbed you because it looked like you were having a lot of fun there.


title: Can you exhume anything other than a body?

text: Synonyms for exhume include unearth and disentomb. The definition says "Dig out (something buried, esp. a corpse) from the ground". I've only ever heard it in context of a body, is it possible to apply this to other contexts. For example, would it make sense to exhume a treasure buried at sea?


title: which book on english grammar is easy to comprehend and loved all over the world?

text: which book on english grammar is easy to comprehend and loved by masses ? I know one book by Thomson and Martinet.


title: Singular or plural usage for ellipsis in direct object

text: Suppose I have the following sentences:               There should be an X and a Y chromosome.     There should be an X and a Y chromosomes.      Is the second grammatically correct? If the last word had to be plural for the same meaning of the sentence and an ellipsis, would the following be correct?               There should be X and Y chromosomes.


**How to Construct an Unambiguous Joint Possessive that Follows a Verb?** I've read that when writing about multiple possessors who jointly posses a thing, the common practice is to add a Saxon-genitive ('s) to the last noun in the series. (E.g., _John and Mary's cats_ refers to cats owned by both John and Mary.) Whereas, when writing about multiple possessors who individually possess separate things, the common practice is to add a Saxon-genitive to all the nouns in the series. (E.g., _John's and Mary's cats_ refers to two sets of cats: John owns one of the sets, and Mary owns the other set.) However, joint possessives can be ambiguous when they are placed immediately after a verb. For instance, _I sang to John and Mary's daughter_ , could mean 'I sang to a guy named John and I sang to this girl who said she was the daughter of a woman named Mary', or 'I sang to a female who calls her father John, and calls her mother Mary'. Is there a solution to this problem that's recommended by grammarians or linguists? Thank you _Please don't answer with a recommendation that the construction be avoided. Whether in life or in language, I don't believe that it's helpful to tell a person that they will not be faced with a problem if they stop trying to solve it. Solving a problem (especially a novel one) does more than solve the problem at hand: Solving a problem helps the problem-solver become better at solving problems._


title: Meaning of "full of it"

text: This week's obituary in The Economist is devoted to Deate S. Gordon, a bilingual lady that helped to write the Japanese Constitution after the war. She produced Article 24, about equality of the sexes, and managed to keep that article against stern opposition, a feat only revealed by her when she wrote a memoir in 1995. And then The Economist goes: > "After that, she was full of it." I guessed that they mean she was (rightly) proud of it, but just to be sure I checked out several dictionaries. To my surprise, "full of it" means "full of shit" or "full of crap", i.e. "completely wrong, false, or worthless" (Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms). No mention of being proud of something. I'm sure The Economist didn't mean "she was full of crap". Now I'm puzzled.


title: Where can I find a list of colloquial abbreviations for cities?

text: I'm seeking a list of commonly used abbreviations for US cities (and also European cities, but let's start with the US). When I say abbreviations, that could be anything from 2 letters or more that is colloquially used to represent the city, so I would include say "LA" as an abbreviation for "Los Angeles", "NYC" for "New York City", "VEGAS" for "LAS VEGAS"...etc. It doesn't have to be restricted to 3 letters like an airport code. Explanation: In the iPhone application that I'm building, I'm wanting to create some precomposed tweet templates which the user may choose from to start with, so that they may tweet about a certain thing that has just happened in the app. I want to combine a word representing the main subject of the app or what they've just done (e.g. "fitness") with an abbreviation for the city they're in or their nearest city, and possibly have this term as a twitter hashtag. So, for example, if they're in New York, the precomposed tweet template might contain the hashtag #nycfitness, or #fitnessnyc .... and I need to come up with the "nyc" part for whichever city they're in. Thus far, Google has found me lots of state abbreviations, and even city airport codes...but I don't think airport codes are commonly used to represent the city in many cases, e.g. people don't use LAX to mean Los Angeles...LAX is the airport and LA is the city. I'm not from the US, so while I can come up with a few of the big ones (LA, NYC, DC, VEGAS), I don't have enough local knowledge to compile the list myself. Any ideas? **Edit (provided here as edit rather than reply to reply because of letter count):** Ok, I understand perfectly the need to maintain the credibility of individual stackexchange forums as a source of truth on their particular subject. And whilst I provided some context for my question by explaining to you the _reason_ for my requirement, this explanation was more for folks to get a sense of what sort of suggestions might be appropriate in response; it certainly isn't your place to use that context as reasoning for your condemnation - it's kind of none of your business _what_ I do with the information I glean from this answer, and I've only given you that information because I thought it might get me more appropriate responses. An example of an intelligent and helpful responder who took the information provided in the question and suggested an idea I hadn't thought of (the very _purpose_ of these forums, one might think) was that provided by @J.R. regarding colloquialisms. If folks are likely to use the hashtag #beantownfitness, then clearly ( _because I've told you why I need this information_ ) I'm as interested in colloquialisms as I am in abbreviations. Striking the discussion off on the basis that "This is a question about standard abbreviations..." is being a bit lazy, in my opinion.


title: Indefinite article and people's names

text: Sometimes, on the internet, particularly in online games, I see people using the indefinite article before someone's name: "I see a Joey" or "I hug a Polly". I know some of these people and I'm positive that they are from English-speaking countries, which means it is not a mistake, they do it intentionally. I was always taught that articles are not used in front of people's names. Maybe it is some sort of slang? What does it mean, when the indefinite article is put in front of someone's name? Edit: There is a group of people standing somewhere. And somebody, named Joey, appears. They all know Joey. And someone in this group says "I see a Joey". So it is used when someone sees his or her friend. But I don't understand why they use the indefinite article here.


title: Does "you're" also qualify as a valid contraction for "you were"?

text: If not, is there a way to write "you were" in a short form?


title: Is it correct to say "I kindly request you to..."?

text: Isn't kindness already implied when you say "I request you to..."? When I say "I humbly request you to...", the word _humbly_ helps me to label the state of my behavior during the request. On the other hand, what value does the word _kindly_ add to the request?


title: login and payoff are nouns. But can they be used as verbs?

text: I know that words like _login_ and _payoff_ are properly nouns but I increasingly notice many (not at all uneducated) people use them as verbs: > Will you payoff your credit card this month? and > Please check this when you login. To me (a non-native English user), that seems incorrect because separating the core noun from a preposition is what I was taught: _Please check this when you **log in**._ (My emphasis) Is this use proper or not?


title: Logical Argument

text: Is the conclusion true here? Either Peter did not know it or Sarah did know it. But Peter did know it. Therefore, Sarah did know it.


title: A word that means "to become one's name"

text: I'm looking for a word which indicates that a person has adopted a quality suggested by their name, e.g. a person named Grace who is indeed graceful, or perhaps someone named Shepherd who has become a shepherd. I have a strong notion that I once learned such a word, but I have forgotten it and have never re-discovered it.


title: What is the equivalent of "dead tree copy" for CDs?

text: The expression "dead tree copy" is a slightly pejorative way of referring to a (physical) printed book, as opposed to an ebook. I was wondering if there is a similar expression that could be applied to CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs and other physical media for music, movies or games.


title: Does 'which' refer to the noun immediately preceding it?

text: Is the 'which' in > Proposition 25 suggests a better definition of m-reducibility than given in > Definition 23, which is also the one typically given in texts ambiguous? It is a line from an article I've written, and the anonymous referee claims that > the reader has to guess to which of the two definitions the "which" at the > beginning of the line refers. It seems to me, however, that the which should refer to the definition immediately preceding it, since if I'd wanted it to refer to the other, I'd have written something like > Proposition 25 suggests a better definition of m-reducibility, which is also > the one typically given in texts, than given in Definition 23. As the title indicates, this is essentially a question about whether 'which' by default refers to the noun closest to it.


title: "Serenity" vs. "sereneness"

text: Are these interchangeable, or is there a semantic difference between them? When should I use _serenity_ vs. _sereneness?_


title: Em dash or colon in formal writing

text: In formal writing, should I use an **em dash** > The Earth consists of three layers -- crust, mantle, and core. or a **colon** > The Earth consists of three layers: crust, mantle, and core. ?


title: Word for a phase of a project after the implementation

text: I am working on an assessment plan for a project. The project is divided into three phases, and each is to be assessed separately. The first two phases are called **pilot** and **implementation.** The third phase is called **continuation** , but I feel there is a better word for this. I want to capture in a single word the essence of this phase - that we will reassess and refine the project periodically after implementation and that this phase is entirely in the future. I have not liked any of the thesaurus suggestions for continuous, continuation, or future.


title: What are the implicit rules for creating new portmanteaux in English?

text: Wikipedia defines a _portmanteau_ 1 as: > “Portmanteau word” is used to describe a linguistic blend, namely “a word > formed by blending sounds from two or more distinct words and combining > their meanings.” Wikepedia further provides a list of common English portmanteaux, such _gaydar, guyliner, liger, tigon, turducken, queef, Oxbridge, Spanglish,_ and even _Wikipedia_ itself. There seem of to be some sort of implicit rules operative here which are quite regular in some ineffable way, but I cannot quite work out what those are, because I think I see several different, potentially conflicting patterns at work. My question is:   * What is the internalized rule or rules that native English speakers seem to automatically use to create these?  For extra credit, albeit perhaps pertaining more to the Linguistics SE:   * Are these implicit rules unique to English, or are they fairly constant across other languages in which such blends occur? * * *   1. Which the French would call a _mot-valise_ and the Germans a _Kofferwort_.


title: Strange usage of dependent clauses

text: Before asking my question, I would like to point out that English is not my mother tongue, and that consequently, my choice of terminology might be inappropriate. I have noticed that in many cases, there is a very strange combination of dependent (sub?) clauses in the English language.To be more specific, consider the following quote from wikipedia's artcile on Barack Obama: > Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and > Harvard Law School, where he was president of the Harvard Law Review. What does, apart from any weak and uncited statistical correlation there might be, the fact that Barack Obama was born in Honolulu have to with the fact that he is a graduate of Columbia and Harvard? To me this is a very bizarre way of writing a sentence, and it makes just as much sense as saying "Born in Honolulu, Obama ate an apple on the 4th of july 1990" (no idea if he actually _did_ ). Has anybody else noticed this absurdity? Does anybody have an explanation for it? Is it merely a failed attempt at giving the text a good "flow"?


title: "Back then" or "back there"

text: When referring to someone from a different geographical area and a different time, what is the proper phrase to refer to them? "Back then" or "back there"? Does it depend on if your intended meaning is to highlight the time difference, or if you are highlighting a geographical difference? **Example:** referring to first century Roman attire > "Back then, men wore togas" vs "Back there, men wore togas" **Example:** referring to 19th century British fashion > "Back then, men sported long side-whiskers" vs "Back there, men sported long > side-whiskers"


title: AmE Phonetics: < I don't n-> /aʊn/

text: Cut to the chase: While listening to the record _2.0 Boys_ by Slaughterhouse I've noticed that Joell Ortiz and Joe Budden pronounce such sequence of sounds — namely "I don't know" around 1:55 and "I don't need" in 3:21, respectively — as indicated. Could somebody clarify the issue technically, in phonetic terms? You can hear the song here.


title: Meaning of "garnish"

text: What's the meaning of _garnish_ in this context? > What's the point of a bank account when you're constantly behind on every > bill you owe? > > Creditors can't garnish what's not on paper. From Thefreedictionary.com: > _Law_ > > a. to serve with notice of proceedings; warn > > b. _Obsolete_ to summon to proceedings already in progress > > c. to attach (a debt) > > _Slang_ > > a. to extort money from Which definition is more appropriate?


title: Etymology of "come up with"

text: Does anyone know the exact origin and date of use of the English tri-part phrasal verb, "come up with"? It was started to be used around the early 1900s in the States, but what is the origin of its current use; that is, "to think up," "produce," "invent," etc.?


title: What word would be a good replacement for the use of "licensee"

text: A lot of my clients do not natively speak English. Because of this, confusion has arisen over what is meant by the term _licensee_. Each product requires its own unique license key and the licensee's name entered. The non-natively English speaking clients tend to enter another license key which they purchased from us — which means the product cannot be activated. I need a different word to refer to the name of the license holder (the licensee's name) to avoid the confusion that arises.


title: What is the origin of the phrase "Crazier than a sh*thouse rat!"?

text: I can't seem to find an origin to this particular phrase. Can anyone shed some light on what makes sh*thouse rats particularly crazy? I also wonder about the origin of the similar *Bat-shit crazy". My suspicion is that someone coined them both because they sounded funny, but I was wondering if there was a better explanation?


title: Where would the commas go in a sentence like this?

text: That was especially detrimental to me, who desiring to become a professional athlete, always avoided eating those types of foods. When I try to look at what the main sentence is, it seems like it would be "That was especially detrimental to me." since you couldn't say "That was especially detrimental to me always avoided eating those types of foods." If that's the case, then the second comma would need to be removed. But the sentence just sounds awkward to we without the second comma. I'm kind of making the sentence up, so I changed it a bit, and let's say the person is referring to a quota he was given of having to eat at Mc Donalds every day.


title: Feel confused about to-infinitive in a sentence

text: In order to understand the English grammar, I have to read the Grammar Section in OALD. I don't understand the grammar constituents of to-infinitives in these sentences. How can I understand them? OALD said   1. > **Eat** and **to eat** are both the infinitive form of the verb. **Eat** is called a BARE INFINITIVE and **to eat** is called a TO-INFINITIVE. Most verbs that take an infinitive are used with the to-infinitive.      * _the goldfish need **to be fed**._     * _she never learned **to read**._   2. > Some verbs can be used with both a noun phrase and a to-infinitive. The noun can be the object of the main verb.     * _Can you persuade **Sheila** to chair the meeting?_ > or the noun phrase and infinitive phrase together can be the object.     * _I expected **her to pass** the driving test first time._     * _We'd love **you to come** and visit us._ **My question is that** in 1, can I think of the to-infinitive ( _to be fed_ and _to read_ ) is the object of _need_ and _learn_ , respectively？ And in 2, why can **_her to pass_** or **_you to come_** be bound together to be the object of _expect_ or _love_? At the same time, why I can't think of **_Sheila to chair_** in this way? I love our language, but can't understand its grammar :-( * * * _Edit: What role is the to-infinitive playing in these sentences?_


title: Why is poker a "sport" and not just a "game?"

text: So, first off, as tempting as it might be to do so, this is not an invitation to wax poetic on poker. I actually don't play it, but I know how it works. The question really is one of etymology. Poker is often referred to as a sport nowadays. A quick google search will reveal over 87 million hits to the query "poker as a sport". It is covered on ESPN, and in the last few days I have heard both NPR and seen USA Today refer to it as such. Full disclosure, I work for Gannett, the parent company of USA Today. What I would like to know is, "Why?" To be clear, I find the claim dubious, but if it is being referred to as a sport, there should be some rationality behind it. If not, then is it merely an idiom in the making? I understand what a game is - it is a test of skill in some fashion. I understand what a sport is, at least in the abstract. Football is a sport and has games. Monopoly is a game, but rarely a sport. Hiking is a sport, though, one rarely hears of "hiking games." So, while clearly there is an overlap between the two, there is also a set of attributes that differentiates the two. So, ultimately, what are those factors that adhere to the words "Sport" and "Game," that are common to both and those that differentiate the two. Ideally, I'd love a Venn Diagram of sorts that defines the relationship of these words. But most importantly, I'd like to understand the reasons for putting poker in the "Sports" circle.


title: Why does this sound wrong: "This is my car that is broken."?

text: I know that you can say "This is the one that is broken," or "This is my car, which is broken," but as written it seems odd. Is it wrong? My theory is that a restrictive clause cannot be used in combination with a possessive adjective unless you're referring to a person (E.g., "This is my nephew who is sick," would be okay.)


title: Pluralizing "personnel"?

text: I came accross the following sentence: > There will be 110 personnel in the store on launch. Is it better to phrase it like so: > There will be 110 persons in the store on launch. Which of the two is correct?


title: Is the expression 'half a percent' acceptable in formal English?

text: When central banks raise or lower interest rates the radio announcer will say for example: > an increase of one half of one percent Informally people use _half a percent_ instead, which is less wordy, but is it also incorrect? Ngrams analysis shows publishers favour the longer version, although the short form seems to be gaining some traction. Thinking about it, I'd never offer someone _one half of one pizza_ ; that sounds weird. However, I believe _of_ is necessary here, in combination with an article, quantifier or pronoun. Is this correct?


title: Is a text is composed of the following elements?: header, body, footer, insert

text: I'm creating software where users can build a textfile by inserting small snippets of text into one file. the user interface currently contains the following four buttons: Add a header Add a footer Add a body add an insert I'm worried about the use of the word "body". What do you think of the alternative "Add a main part"? In general, **how do you call the portion of a text that is NOT a header,footer or attachment**? I'm finding that the word body translates very poorly to dutch, as we only use the word body in the literal sense of "the body of an organism", not the abstract meaning of "content of a text" My second issue is with "insert". In our software we already use the word attachment, as in an e-mail attachment, so we needed to use a word that kind of means the same but sounds really distinct from the word "attachment". Are there better alternatives? Perhaps an addendum or appendix?


title: Mashing parts together to form Philanthropomath

text: I've always been unskilled with prefixes, suffixes, roots, etc. I was wondering if I combined philanthrope(ic) and philomath to form Philanthropomath Does this turn into nonsense? Or through the structures and formulas does it come to mean something similar to a combination of the two original words? Essentially what would be the literal translation of this word using phil, anthrop, and omath Another option is Philomathrope - but this is more focused on recreating the sounds than using the proper latin pieces, thus I assume this is even more nonsensical. To be clear, I don't have an intended meaning, but am curious what someone with linguistics knowledge might get out of it, if anything but nonsense. The short story is that in a certain system the title of _Philanthrope_ and _Philomath_ were taken, **Philanthropomath** reads and sounds like a real word, so could it be? In the way that I might read a code block in a function of a program and interpret it's possible outcomes, how would you interpret the meaning of this word based on the parts and rules of our language.


title: Word to describe pets that can be uncomfortable to live with?

text: I cannot figure out how to word this. I'm creating a rental system and have a question with regard to pets contained within a residence. But there are different types of pets. For example, a dog who eats everything and 'litters' the backyard is very different from a turtle in a glass box. Is there a way to differentiate between the two? I can only think of _Uncaged pets_ but it's not really the right way to explain it.


title: Can I switch from "man's" to "yours" in this paragraph?

text: > Locke thinks that property right is naturally attached to man's labor. That > is, the products of your interaction with the natural world naturally > belongs to you.(self-made) In the first sentence I use "man's", in the second I switch to "your" and "you", I doubt that "you" may make the sentence a particular statement pointing to one particular subject, thus making the whole paragraph sound like not a theoritical writing, but a cathartic expression.


title: AAC submits report to VC

text: "Academic Audit Committee submits report to the Vice Chancellor" - What does it convey? Does it mean the committee has submitted its report or will submit its report?


title: a / the balcony

text: > -How did you spend your last summer?   >  -We rented a house in Finland. I went out a lot but my parents spent half > of the time on **a/the balcony** sunbathing. If the house has got 2 balconies, then I use a balcony If the house has got 1 balcony, then I use the balcony is that right?


title: "to further assist [you]" -- Split infinitive or fixed VP?

text: From a descriptive standpoint (and the problem that English has at least two words in an infinitive), I understand why the split infinitive is becoming more acceptable, but is there any other excuse for this phrasing used by phone CSRs?   * "I'd be happy to direct you to the bank to further assist you."   * "I'd like to transfer you to the sales department to further assist   you."   * "I have Diana on the line, and she'll be happy to further assist you." Is it simply the case that Star Trek syntax triumphs again, or does it somehow sound funny to say "to assist you further?" (I would not consider "further to assist you" an acceptable solution.) To clarify, is there a fixed syntagm of a VP "to further assist" versus an issue of split infinitive? Is "further" bound in the domain of "to assist?"


title: What does the word "no" mean before a noun-adjective word?

text: I see some examples : **\- No cheese** **\- No errors** **\- No good** I understand how to use " **any** ", but " **no** " before a noun is weird (especially **"no"** before an adjective). Can anyone explain them?


title: When discussing non sequiturs, is a non sequitur made by a participant considered as a non sequitur?

text: Let's take this conversation: > Alice: What is a non sequitur? > > Bob: A non sequitur is something said that, because of its apparent lack of > meaning relative to what preceded it, seems absurd to the point of being > humorous or confusing1. In Latin, it means "does not follow". > > Alice: Oh, I get it, so if I said "It is lovely weather we are having." in a > discussion about the thermodynamic properties of iron, that would count as a > non sequitur, right? > > Bob: Yes, because cake is very tasty. Is the last sentence a non sequitur? After all, this is a discussion about non sequiturs, it _does_ "follow" that someone will probably make one -- which makes it not really a non sequitur. Or is it a matter of point of view? (To Alice, it is a non sequitur, but to me, a spectator, it isn't) 1 Copied from the Wikipedia page since I'm too lazy to write my own dialogue


title: "Orthotopic" or "orthotopal"

text: An _n-orthotope_ is a fancy name for an n-dimensional cube. I'd like to describe an object that has this quality. Which is the correct adjective: _orthotopic_ or _orthotopal_?


title: Talking in a "football voice"

text: English is not my native language, but normally when I listen to the radio I have no problem understanding what's being said. That's different when I listen to sports commentary, I really have to concentrate then. I just watched an episode of The IT Crowd where Maurice Moss talks in a "football voice"(1:10). Where does that way of speaking originate? Why do you usually hear it in sports commentary?


title: Usage of "the more you squeeze, the more sand disappears between your fingers"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Could you help me to do a syntax analysis of this sentence? When would one use the expression _the more you squeeze, the more sand trickles through your fingers_? I just heard it on Washington Journal used to describe a political strategy, but I would like to know if it can be used for more day-to-day situations.


title: What is the origin of "right as rain"?

text: I looked this up, and came up with:. > It makes no more sense than the variants it has usurped and is clearly just > a play on words (though perhaps there’s a lurking idea that rain often comes > straight down, in a right line, to use the old sense). The author here doesn't seem to know very clearly what its origin is. He is speculating it's just a play on words. Does anyone have any definitive answer or evidence?


title: Past participle equivalent of "absurd"

text: Is there a past participle equivalent of _absurd_? More specifically, is there a verb meaning _to make absurd_ that has a past participle form ( _made absurd_ )? This is similar to how the word _inverted_ operates in the phrase _the inverted world_ : covering not just the description of the world as currently being inverted, but also the implication that in the past the world was not inverted, but was made to be at some point.


title: Is the term "antagonym" widely used to describe a word that is its own antonym?

text: There are several words which have contradictory meanings. They may have one meaning now, and have had a different meaning in the past. For example, the current definition of _peruse_ is: > to look over or through in a casual or cursory manner However, the older definition (which is still included in the Merriam Webster entry) is: > to examine or consider with attention and in detail Is there a name for these pairs of words which have contradictory meanings? One site names them antagonyms, but is this widely known and used? Or is there another term?


title: How to refer to "earlier" letters in the alphabet?

text: Concerning the order of letters in the alphabet, how does one refer to "earlier" letters? For example, "Names starting with "earlier" letters come first in lists." Would that be "earlier," "higher," "greater," or what? Adding a tad bit more context, I am actually looking for the most proper way to write the sentence I used as an example. If I'm being confusing, I'll try to better explain myself after some sleep.


title: What is the meaning and structure of the following sentence?

text: RLIMIT_NOFILE **Specifies one greater than the maximum number of file descriptors** that a process may hold open.


title: What does "very approximate" mean?

text: An _approximate_ answer is one which is close to the correct answer. Likewise, we can talk of an approximate model, or approximate methods in mathematics. The etymology is from the Latin _ad_ , "to" and _proximus_ , "closest", see e.g. here. I don't think this can be disputed. Occasionally _proximate_ is used as a synonym, though that word has a different meaning in legal English. So if an _approximate_ answer is close, a _very approximate_ answer should be very close. In practice, "very approximate" or "very approximately" is overwhelmingly used with the opposite meaning of "roughly", indicating that an answer or estimate is not necessarily accurate. For examples, search Google. Is there any justification for this use? Is there any justification for my suggested use? Should we avoid the phrase altogether?


title: "Took the Russia out of Vodka" or definitive articles with country names

text: I'm trying to better understand the meaning of the phrase in the Skyy Vodka ad ("Vodka so filtered we even took the Russia out of it"). AFAIK the name Russia is never used with a definitive article, but I also doubt that Skyy promoters are uneducated. Can someone please explain why "the Russia"? ![Vodka so filtered we even took the Russia out of it](http://i.stack.imgur.com/MvzxH.jpg)


title: What is the difference when we change the position of adverbs?

text: Would you possibly readily elaborate the reason why you do not say > A book is there on the table. instead of > There is a book on the table. ?


title: Root + "-ophone" construction to describe speakers of a language

text: I've long used the terms anglophone and francophone to describe English and French speakers respectively, but I recently found myself about halfway through a sentence where I needed a similar term for Spanish speakers before I realized I actually had no idea what it was or how they're created. A quick search turned up the following list of "established" terms.   * anglophone (English-speaking)   * arabophone (Arab-speaking)   * francophone (French-speaking)   * germanophone or teutophone (German-speaking)   * hellenophone (Greek-speaking)   * hispanophone (Spanish-speaking)   * italophone (Italian-speaking)   * lusophone (Portugese-speaking)   * russophone (Russian-speaking)   * sinophone (Chinese-speaking) Are there additional commonly used terms? Is the construction still productive?


title: Which is the correct idiom – When worst comes to worst OR When worse comes to worst?

text: Which is the correct idiom?   1. When worst comes to worst   2. When worse comes to worst Thanks.


title: Does English have words to describe the lowest rank member of society?

text: For example, in Indonesia we have "rakyat". In English we may have citizen but the word actually has power connotation rather than powerless connotation. Another word is peasant. But that seems to mean those living in village rather than the lowest ranking people in society. Here, when I say _lowest rank_ , I mean lowest rank in political power. Most of us, for example, are just "people" no matter how rich we are. So what's the word for the lowest rank member in English?


title: Where does the Irish idiom "at all at all" come from?

text: It's a common stereotype of Irish-English speakers that they end sentences with "at all, at all" as in > You want a drink at all, at all? > > You have any money at all, at all? My question is twofold -   1. Do Irish-English speakers actually say this, or if they don't say it now, did they say it in the past?   2. Where does the idiom come from?


title: What is the verb form of "quilt"?

text: I was asked by my teacher to turn _quilt_ into a verb. I don't see the corresponding verb in the Oxford Dictionary.


title: Which word is technically correct in English: debrick or unbrick?

text: With certain electronic devices if you make a mistake you can **brick** (used as a verb) the device, so it ends up in a defunct state. So the device ends up being **bricked**. What is the correct term to recover from this bricked state? On the web one can find the terms **debrick** and **unbrick** , but which one is correct according to English language rules?


Did I use "albeit" correctly in this sentence? > Here is the essay (which is word-for-word, albeit some segments I took out).


title: Can you "escalate down" on an escalator?

text: In a recent article in _New York_ magazine, a reporter described an entourage of politicians preparing to leave a building > " . . . we headed for the exits, and as we were all _escalating down_ to the > lobby . . ." A survey of definitions for the verb _escalate_ on onelook.com all reveal meanings such as > to make or become greater or more serious Cambridge and several other dictionaries note that the verb is derived from the noun _escalator_ , (which began as a coined trademark word that has now become the generic term for moving staircase). A few dictionaries, such as this one suggest that the original meaning of _escalate_ was just that -- to ride an escalator, and list a definition > to raise, lower, rise, or descend on or as if on an escalator. All of these _ride-the-escalator_ definitions seem to be based on one listing in Random House Dictionary. Is an acceptance of the original meaning re-emerging? And if so, can one _escalate down_ , which ironically seems to fly in the face of the more common usage of escalate (up)?


title: Can the word “encore” be used to refer to a context outside the entertainment sector ? Is it perfectly correct to be used in academia for example?

text: e.g. The lecturer gave an encore presentation.


title: Origin of phrase "no shit"

text: So today I was having a conversation with one of my friends and he used the term " _no shit_ " to mean that I was stating the obvious. Now I am interested to know the origin of such a phrase. Is it particular to Australia? **Edit:** I have looked on wikipedia and urban dictionary but both sources only give the meaning/use of the word and not its genealogy.


title: Set of desiderata or set of desiderate?

text: Desideratum is a desired feature. Which form is right? Google search shows that "set of desiderata" is more common. But is it correct? e.g., a sentence In this paper, a set of desiderate for memory systems of companions will be presented, together with case studies of the memory subsystems of two existing or We formulate a set of desirable characteristics, or “desiderata” for a generic IDR.


title: Is the expression 'too much, too young' grammatically acceptable?

text: I'm happy to see that grammar is being seen as important enough to be taught in English schools ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22403731 ) again. I think. At least it might improve some people's dating prospects, according to the article. In the above article appears: > The Idler magazine's Bad Grammar Awards recently named and shamed a letter > by academics for saying that the national curriculum demanded "too much, too > young" - thus confusing an adjective and an adverb. There is a reasonable amount of evidence online that the expression is acceptable, however, and one could argue that "too much, too young" could be considered a shortened (and punchier) form of "[they are (being) expected to do] too much [(-/,) while they are still] too young". 'They married young' is quite widely used and sounds acceptable to me - of course, this expression can fairly be analysed as 'link-like verb + adjective' without having to consider _young_ as a flat adverb. When expressions achieve idiomatic status, of course, traditional grammar is no longer a controlling factor - _by and large_ coordinates a preposition and an adjective. Is the _Idler_ 's criticism justified here?


title: the position of "of which"

text: **The car, the wheel of which was broken, crashed into a tree. The car of which the wheel broken crashed into a street The bungalows of which the roofs are leaking ought to... The bungalows the roofs of which are leaking ought to..** = The bungalows ought to be sold, the roofs of which are leaking. = The bungalows, the roofs of which are leaking, ought to be sold Are these the same? are my sentences correct? And, would you please give me a more simpler pattern, as to how to use the following? of which Finally, when whose and when of which? I am very confused. Would you tell me more simple? I am learning English I am wondering the reason why the position of ****of which**** has been changed. enter link description here Considering your explanations, what about these? I think both of these are correct, aren't they? The car, the wheel of which was broken, crashed into a tree. correct The car, of which the wheel was broken, crashed into a tree. wrong


title: Is "regardless of whether or not" proper grammar?

text: I have a sentence like this: > I will go to the store regardless of whether or not it's raining Meaning that the weather has no bearing on my intent to go to the store. The "regardless of whether or not" is awkward, and it feels like bad grammar, but I can't think of a better way to say it. What would the proper grammar be in this case?


title: How to use commas around the word "both"?

text: In the following sentence, how should I place commas around the word "both"? Should there be a comma before AND after "both", or ONLY after it? Should there be commas at all?: "This includes strengthening my knowledge in the fundamental subjects of this field, and gaining more experience in, both, robotics research, as well as the implementation of developed theory on physical robotic systems." The above sentence is trying to say that I wish to do two things: 1) strengthen my knowledge in the fundamental subjects of an aforementioned field of study (namely, robotics), 2) gain experience in two types of tasks: (a) conducting research in robotics; and (b) implementing theory (developed through research) on physical robotic systems.


title: Starting a quote with a number

text: I know you cannot start a sentence with a number written _digitally_ (how do I say this?). For example I could not write: > 2013 is almost over! Can a quotation begin with a number, though? For example, could I write > The man said, "2013 was the worst!" or would I need to spell the year out?


title: Origin of "on the up-and-up"

text: The phrase "on the up-and-up" means "legitimate" or "legal" or "reputable" or, to use another idiom, "above-board". For instance: > Although Pete didn't look like a city official, Joe assumed his offer to > sell the Brooklyn Bridge was totally **on the up-and-up**. Where does this expression come from? Related: What does “We don’t do anything that’s not completely up and up” mean?


title: What does "If women were a country..." mean?

text: > If women were a country, the Japanese World Cup champion soccer team > wouldn’t have flown coach The Washington Post’s (August 13) article titled “The Women’s Olympic success: a flood that began as a trickle” begins with the following lines: “The phrase running around the Olympic Village on the last day of the London Games was, “If women were a country. . .” The phrase will be one of the legacies of the fortnight, more lasting than the British afterglow or the disposable-kit stadiums.” Then, “If women were a country, the Japanese World Cup champion soccer team wouldn’t have flown coach, while their far-less-successful male teammates flew first class. If women were a country, we would all understand how hard it was for Candace Parker to win a basketball gold medal with a 3-year-old on her hip.” I’m not clear with the logic of “If women were a country” – “Japanese WC champion soccer team wouldn’t have flown coach / we would all understand how hard it was for Candace Parker to win a basketball gold medal with a 3-year- old on her hip.” Did “If women were a country,” actually become the buzz word of London Olympic Games? What is the analogy of “If women were a country, Japanese women soccer team wouldn’t fly in coach / we would understand how hard for Parker to win.”? What will follow if we say “If men were the country,” as a counterpart thesis to “If women were a country”? I can’t establish the link of logic.