title: Meaning of "take over"

text: What's the meaning of _take over_ in this context? Does it mean Mexico's population is becoming bigger than the US? > P1: World population doubled in just 36 years, that is f-king unreal. The > worst part is that the bulk of the reproducing population is 3rd world > countries and the lower dregs of society (look at poor black families in > Detroit vs successful middle class households). > > Do you think that we will end up destroying our own world? How long do you > think this will take? > > P2: Mexicans are **taking over** the US. China and Japan will shrink. India > is growing.


title: "Questions like this" or "questions like these"

text: On a comment to one of my other questions on this site, a user said: > It’s much easier to answer questions like this when you specify where you've > come across the word. Is the use of the word _this_ correct in such case? I would be inclined to say “questions like _these_ ”, or if I wanted to use the singular form I would rephrase it as “ _a question_ like this”.


title: To have behavior?

text: Is the following use of _have_ and _behavior_ correct? > All programs have the expected behavior.


title: Is "if winning isn't everything then why do they keep score" a correct sentence?

text: We wanted to use this as a T-shirt quote, but I feel that "if winning isn't everything then why do they keep score" is wrong. The correct sentence should be "if winning isn't everything then why do they keep **a** score". However, a Google search shows that I may be wrong. Only one person agrees with my sentence. Is the first sentence just incorrect American grammar?


title: Could "extraordinary few exceptions" be correct?

text: In his 1991 book, historian J.B. Russel writes: > with extraordinary few exceptions no educated person ... believed that the > earth was flat Should _extraordinary_ be an adverb, or could this sentence be interpreted as if there are few exceptions, and those are extraordinary?


title: What is the meaning of "pet au pair"?

text: Granted, this looks french, I've seen this used and referenced in English. I see it used a lot with dog walking businesses or pet sitting companies, although I have no idea what it means. Google translates it to "pet au pair" in English (doesn't translate anything) and Googling the phrase only brings up more pet sitting websites.


title: Is there a word for "concerned" that does not imply "worrying"?

text: Is there a word that can be used in place of _concerned_ , but that doesn't imply that something is wrong, or that the individual is worried? For instance, the following sentence: > A **concerned** parent will ask a child what happened during school that > day. means that the parent is worrying about the child, and may be afraid something had happened at school. Is there a different adjective to describe the parent that shows that they are asking because they are _interested_ in what happened during the day, not _worried_.


title: How are certain technical words used in British English?

text: I have noticed that many terms in software come from American English, as the US was responsible for much software engineering terminology. I want to know how Britishers use these terms in these specific contexts.   1. How do Brits say "refactoring code" (which means to decompose code into more easily workable parts)? Do they say "refactorizing"? Americans use _factor_ as a verb; Britishers don't.    2. Do Brits say "Database indices" instead of "Database indexes"?    3. Is this correct British English: "We attended the entertainment _programme_ after we corrected issues with our software _program_ ?"


title: Opposite of jack of all trades master of none

text: As the title says, what is the opposite of "Jack of all trades master of none"?


title: How to use the word "wagered"

text: In a game of slot machines, can you call a payline you bet on "a wagered payline"? I am not sure if it is the payline that is wagered, or my money are wagered on (upon?) this payline.


title: Pronunciation of 'host' in Shakespeare's time

text: Listening to the recent film production of Macbeth with Patrick Stewart, I noticed that Duncan says: > Give me your hand. Conduct me to mine host. Obviously, it's in the text (Act 1, Scene 6). I'm curious as to whether in Shakespeare's time (and dialect) this would have been pronounced with an aspirated 'h', or whether the 'h' was dropped. Presumably 'honour' did not have an aspirated 'h' in the second quotation below. This seems to appear in other works: > As to take up mine honour's pawn and > Mine honour is my life; both grow in one:   >  Take honour from me, and my life is done:   >  Then, dear my liege, mine honour let me try;   >  In that I live and for that will I die. (Richard II, Act I, Scene 1) Looking further, in 'All's well that ends well' (Act IV, Scene 2) , we have this: > Here, take my ring:   >  My house, mine honour, yea, my life, be thine,   >  And I'll be bid by thee. Where we have `my house`, rather than `mine house`, which suggests to me that `mine host`, would be `mine 'ost` to modern ears. I've found various references stating that 'mine' is used when a word begins with `h`, however all the other examples I've seen are of silent `h`s and so are effectively words starting with vowels, whereas `host` is not.


title: Cold turkey as expression

text: I've discovered a expression : to go cold turkey, meaning something like feeling bad because you have taken drugs and you need to take more. I wonder if another verb rather than go can be used instead, and if there are any other expressions meaning the same. I also wonder where this expression comes from.


title: "nt" pronounced as "n" in American English (as in "Internet"): what is it called?

text: I know that pronouncing "t" as "d" is called a _flap t_ , but is there a name for pronouncing "nt" as "n" in some words, as is common in American English? Examples:   * "Internet" is pronounced as "inner net".   * "interesting" is pronounced as "inner resting". Is there an scientific name for this?


title: A far away place

text: Is there an English idiomatic expression to indicate a place which is very far away from the speaker's location? Something like > in the middle of nowhere but not necessarily implying that the place is isolated, just that it is far. EDIT: an example sentence could be > I saw a nice house for rent but it's not good for me: it's really _[too far > away]_


title: What does "I was had" mean?

text: > Maybe he would help me with Deborah's pablum, take turns pushing the > wheelchair. It's good to have someone. > > That reminded me that I had someone -- or perhaps I was had. In any case, > Rita would want to know I would be late, [...] This is the first time I see a sentence like this. What tense is that _I was had_ ? EDIT: Wider context added.


title: Should we avoid using words that have alternate offensive meaning

text: There are many English words that could be used to refer to something innocent that also has a common slang meaning, such as _pussy, ass, bitch_ , etc. For convenience' sake, should we avoid using those words altogether in formal writing? Should we perhaps use synonyms or paraphrase them, instead of using the single word?


title: Adjective for someone who is really good at cooking or baking and/or bakes frequently

text: So and so is the most "bakiest" person I know! She's so good at baking! What word could feasibly replace "bakiest" which I obviously made up. :)


title: Use of dash in a sentence

text: Is the dash an acceptable punctuation in this sentence? > Dances, parties, luncheons -- all these should be part of your senior year.


title: What is the best antonym for "Approve" in the context of approving a business-related application

text: I work a lot with business applications and traditionally I've used the word "disapprove" as the counterpart to application approvals (e.g. disapprove leave application, disapprove waiver). But I've the sudden realization that in real life, the only times I've ever used the word "disapprove" is in the context of expressing negativity towards someone's actions and in more formal applications I would use the words "deny" or "reject" instead. Which is the best fit for business applications in this case? Is this a reasonable use for the word "disapprove"?


title: Term for increasing military presence at sea

text: What term expresses an increase of troops or other military units in a standoff between two armies, when no actual fighting has yet occurred? Specifically, I'm looking for something in the context of a naval battle. For land-based tactics, I've heard _massing of troops_ , but what is a better term for a conflict at sea? **EDIT:** Ideally, I'm looking for a verb: > The warships were _VERB_ -ing


title: Is there a name for a word or term that is persistently re-coined?

text: I came across the term "sex film actress" in the Op-Ed column The Disposable Woman. I could guess what the phrase meant, as "sex worker" is a new term for "prostitute", and therefore "sex film actress" would be the equivalent for "porn star". I checked if this term had been used before, and there were a smattering of uses, but it looked so infrequent it seemed as if the term was coined each time. Is there a name for such a phenomenon?


title: What's the difference between "Kind" and "Type"

text: For example: >   1. This is some type of mushroom. > >   2. This is some kind of mushroom. > >   3. There are different types of books > >   4. There are different kinds of books > > I think that there are all valid sentences but somehow I have the impression that a type is a bigger group than a kind. Is this correct?


title: What is a "remedy" for a "pitfall"?

text: I am writing an academic thesis related to a specific topic (the actual topic is irrelevant, so let's just call it XXX). The thesis basically consists of:   1. pointing out a couple of problems in existing literature related to XXX,   2. methodology that according to my research can be used to lessen these problems, and   3. some more or less random extensions to the topics covered. My working title for the thesis is "XXX: Pitfalls, Remedies, and Extensions". I like it in the sense that it reflects the three aspects described above – without referring to "problems" too directly. However, what I do not like is my feeling that there are no "remedies" for "pitfalls", are there? I would assume that remedies exist for illnesses and such, whereas a pitfall you can for instance avoid, or circumvent – but how to express this in such a title? Alternatively, replacements for the word "pitfalls" can be suggested, even though in my opinion it fits in rather nicely regarding the specific issues that the thesis happens to address. Finally, reworking the whole title can be suggested as well, of course – I've already considered just "XXX", but I feel that it is not a very good match regarding the actual contents of the thesis. **Edit** : "XXX" is "Overfitting in Feature Selection".


title: Is "Many thanks" a proper usage?

text: I saw emails from English people with _Many Thanks_ as a signing off phrase. Is that proper usage? Or is it a phrase created by continental English speakers due to the influence of their native language? ( _Vielen Dank_ in German and _muchas gracias_ in Spanish translate to "many thanks".) I have seen several other cases where one constructs imprecise sentences due to the influence of native language. This is evident especially in India.


title: Adverb word order: "nicely shows" vs "shows nicely"

text: I have the following sentence in my dissertation: > The even-tempered STO basis for Mg shows nicely why the virial theorem > cannot be trusted as an error indicator. However, previously I had there: > ... nicely shows why the ... But I was told that the "nicely shows" word order is incorrect. So I googled around and found many pages, for example [1]. It looks like that "nicely" falls into the "Adverbs of Manner" box, but those seem to go either before or after the verb, e.g.: > I slowly opened the door. vs > We waited patiently for the play to begin. Is there some rule to determine where to put the adverb, and which of the two ("shows nicely" vs "nicely shows") is correct and why? [1] http://www.wordpower.ws/grammar/gramch24.html


title: Paradox ? I never understand this clearly

text: The sentence: I want to finish this game but wish it never ends. Also if possible can you explain what makes a sentence a paradox exactly ?


title: Is there a word for when an action has an effect opposite to the one intended?

text: Is there a word or phrase to express the concept of an action having the opposite effect of the expected outcome? For example, a drug taken to cure headaches that actually causes headaches, or an advertising campaign designed to deter smoking that leads to an increase in smoking.


title: The name of the type of words like "party" and "quest"

text: My company often comes up with product names such as "HatQuest" "DataParty" as a programmer I wish to make a generator for these types of names, How would I best find a list of words for things like "party" and "quest". I can't really use verbs since "DataSit" or "HatOpen" don't really work and nouns are inappropriate since there are so many of them. What kind of words am I looking for so I can obtain a list of them?


title: "I wouldn't ever" vs. "I would never"

text: The two expressions from the title, “I wouldn't ever” and “I would never”, are very similar. But are they completely equivalent or do they bear any subtle differences? If so, how do they differ in meaning, usage, maybe emotional load? Or perhaps one of them feels "more natural" than the other?


title: Describing how to value an item or thing

text: Sorry for another one word request or whatever but it isn't just one word I am looking for, and it also is a bit more of a challenge as I am not looking for a word that _best_ describes how to describe the act of placing value on an item using the English language, but yet a word or word combination that is most easily understood by a vast majority of people on how to place value on an item. The phrase I am using it in is along the lines of - 'Buy, sell, and valuate your assets' And the specific word I am looking to replace is valuate - I don't feel that the vast majority of visitors to my site will understand what it means to valuate and am looking for a great synonym **that most people feel is best understood** therefore I know the three most common synonyms (estimate, assess, and appraise) but I am looking for what the community feels is the most commonly understood answer.


title: Proper Timezone Acronym Usage - PT vs PDT or PST

text: What is the difference with using PT (Pacific Time) vs PDT (Pacific Daylight Time) or PST (Pacific Standard Time)? When you write the time, 2:00pm PT, would that be considered incorrect because it is not specific enough?


title: What does “I’ve got my fist cocked if you still want to f*** with me,” mean in reference to the comment on the hard-boiled character of Rick Perry?

text: I came across the line, _‘I’ve got my fist cocked if you still want to fuck with_ me’ in the following sentence of the article titled “A Different Kind of Texan” in August 29th New Yorker Magazine. I checked ‘cock one’s fist’ and ‘get one’s fist cocked’ on Google to find there was no entry of both phrases. I guess ‘get one’s fist cocked’ implies ‘about to punch in the other’s nose’ figuratively. But I don’t understand what the subsequent ‘if you still want to fuck with me.’ Does it mean ‘If you keep bugging me by digging into that subject,’or 'stick around me'? The text reads: “On June 17, 2001. On a day that would be known as the Father’s Day Massacre, Perry vetoed eighty-two bills. Perry had been a nonentity during the session - - “It was a power move - -,” Bill Miller, a lobbyist in Austin, told me recently. “It was a punch in the nose, and a ‘By the way, _I’ve got my fist cocked if you still want to fuck with me’_.” The reasons that Perry gave for targeting many bills were picayune, and his vetoes seemed personally directed at lawmakers, of both parties, who had fallen from his favor.


title: What is differences between "level" and "degree"?

text: When we can use _degree_? And also when we can use _level_? Are they similar or not? For example in this sentence > The way to tell a true unit from a degree of something is to look at the > zero point. Can I use _level_ instead of _degree_?


title: A "human cue tip"?

text: I am watching the excellent documentary "Nobelity" by Turk Pipkin:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobelity   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turk_Pipkin 4 minutes into the movie, there is a bit that I don't understand. Here is the transcript: > Do you ever get the feeling that everything really is broken? That no matter > who you are or where you come from, the world is somehow divided into us and > them. Here I am, Turk Pipkin, shooting my film "Nobelity" at a Shiah > festival in Kolkata. I was warned not to say that I am an American But it's > not like they couldn't tell. **My camera man said I looked like a human cue > tip.** The picture shows Turk Pipkin, a very tall caucasian man with pale skin and white hair, holding his camera and surrounded by short Indians with dark skin and dark hair. I understand that the cameraman wanted to say that he stood out in the crowd, but I don't understand the expression "human cue tip". At least that's what it sounds like: I am not sure I transcribed properly. Can you explain this expression and the metaphor? [Edit:] Oops, the movie is actually "One Peace at a time", another of Pipkin's movies:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Peace_at_a_Time   I got confused because he refers to his earlier movie in the quote. The answers make sense. I didn't know the brand "Q-tip". What's the word for brand names that are used as common nouns in every day language?


title: What do you call a person who takes interest in analyzing people's handwritings?

text: Is there any single word that is used to indicate a person who reads the psychological aspect of people's handwritings (like what they believe and what type of people they are, etc.)?


title: Causative verb using have/has

text: I can understand the causative form (quite less frequently, we simply say _causal verb_ ) with _make_ and _get_ but when used with _have/has_ , it sometimes makes me think differently. Of course, I can understand the construction like the following.   * I had a barber cut my hair yesterday. In its passive form, it can be written as   * I had my hair cut yesterday (by a barber).  I can also understand that the preceding sentence (passive construction) **cannot** be rewritten as follows.   * I had cut my hair yesterday. If it's modified in this way then both the sentences have a significant difference in meaning that I can understand. * * * The thing I don't understand properly when a bare infinitive is replaced with an infinitive in such kind of constructions, such as.   * He has his wife **cook** dinner for him. What happens, if the bare infinitive i.e _cook_ is replaced with an infinitive like the following.   * He has his wife **to cook** dinner for him. At a glance, you will be able to understand the difference between them but for me, it's not English but it's my native language in which as far as I know there is no difference between these two sentences and even the causative construction is simply made by just using some suffixes to the main verb in a sentence. So please take it easy. Could you please expose the important difference between these preceding two sentences?


title: In the sentence below is "the" required before huge and why?

text: Is it correct to write > Newcastle disease is economically significant because of the huge mortality > and morbidity associated with it.


title: How can I form a question for "It recurs every n days"?

text: > It recurs every n days. I want to form a question to which the answer is 'n'. How can I form the question?


title: Different sounds of "t"

text: Why do we sometimes pronounce t as /t/, whereas other times we pronounce it as /ʧ/ or /ʃ/?   * t in town,   * 'ʧ' in natural   * 'ʃ' in hamartia/tertiary Is there any special rule for these?


title: Which one should I use, 'are chosen' or 'have been chosen' in academic writing?

text: I was writing a report of my economic presentation. I had to mention that I chose three states for my studies in the introduction of the report. Since I can't use the active voice to mention this, which passive voice should I chose, passive of simple present or passive of present perfect? i.e 'are chosen' or 'have been chosen'?


title: What does this quote mean to you?

text: I'm assigned to read the book called _Life at the Bottom_ by Theodore Dalrymple, and I'm reading a quote in the book, but I don't really understand it. > “Such flattery is thus the death of aspiration, and lack of aspiration is, > of course, one of the causes of passivity.” What on earth does this quote mean? I'm literally confused between either the lifestyles (classes) in which people live their lives today, or how people suffer penalties from getting into things just as they’re falling apart. I could be wrong on both though. Any light?


title: It was established on a rocky foundation

text: > It was established on a _rocky_ foundation. Does it mean _steady_ or _shaky_?


title: Joke with a moral

text: Is there a particular word for a joke or a humorous story which has a moral to it? In a way, something that is similar to a fable, but with the humour implied.


title: What does "even in costume" mean here?

text: I was reading _The Invisible Man_ , here's the sentence: > The stranger did not go to church, and indeed made no difference between > Sunday and the irreligious days, even in costume. What does _even in costume_ mean here? I don't quite get it, since both Sunday and irreligious days are _days_ , unlike _costume_ which is some sort of cloth. Original Chapter


title: Why does Business read like busyness?

text: This is a bit weird, but the word `business` reads like `busy-ness`, but it sounds like `biz-ness`.   * Why is that?   * What happened to the `i`?


title: What is the origin of "newbie"?

text: Also seen as "noobie", "n00b", etc. Etymonline gives an origin by 1969, possibly in the military. Is there a more definite origin anywhere? I know it is was also common on the Usenet, but of course any such use must have been post-1979 when Usenet was invented. I know that the suffix "-bie" (as in freebie, etc.) is not uncommon, but I'm looking for specific usages of that suffix with the word "new".


title: Aviation, what is the equivalent word for ships instead of aircraft?

text: From Dictionary.com: > a·vi·a·tion noun > >   1. the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, > especially heavier-than-air aircraft. > >   2. military aircraft. > > If _aviation_ is the design, production, and use of aircraft, then what is the corresponding word for the design, production, and use of water vessels? At first I thought it's _naval_ or _navy_ , but the first is an adjective and the latter describes the military branch itself, so those are probably not the right words.


title: Does "apropos" take a preposition? How do you use this word, anyway?

text: Which is more correct: > Apropos of your earlier comment, I decided to.... or > Apropos your earlier comment, I decided to... Actually, _apropos_ is so fancy a word, even I, a word maven if I do say so myself, am not entirely sure when to use it. If I may add to my preposition question, are there any constructions where it would be appropriate to use something like _with regard to_ and not _apropos_?


title: Does the phrase "pull the chain" have some sort of significance in jails and prisons?

text: My question comes apropos a comment on an old question's of **RegDwight** 's, _"jail" vs. "prison"_. After many answers established that there was indeed a difference in usage between the two terms, **JohnFx** said, > I would argue that the difference isn't archaic. Let's just say I've known a > few people who have been to both jail and prison, and the people in them > DEFINITELY know the difference. (See ' _pull the chain_ ') Alas, the comments didn't go past that, and I didn't find any other questions on EL&U addressing what "pull the chain" means, with regard to jails and prisons. What does it mean?


title: How long have people been swearing in English?

text: I was looking through my old A-Level English set books from 1989 at the weekend. We had to study the Canterbury Tales and I can still remember our delight when we discovered that 'queynte' was the 13th Century form of a certain four-letter obscenity beginning with 'c', used to describe the female regenerative organs. Unlike its modern counterpart, 'queynte' was not, it seems, an obscenity back in Chaucer's time. I was wondering if anyone knew when it morphed into 'c*nt' and became a taboo word. And, by extension, the earliest usages of it and 'f*ck' as obscene, taboo and/or abusive words. Off the top of my head, I seem to recall reading somewhere that the earliest example of the eff-word is in Lady Chatterley's Lover, but I may be mistaken. Also, I know a lot of swearing in our times is based on what are referred to as 'Anglo Saxon' words/usages. Why is this? And were the Angles and Saxons a ruder lot than the Vikings? UPDATE: From the Wikipedia article The word in its modern meaning is attested in Middle English. Proverbs of Hendyng, a manuscript from some time before 1325, includes the advice:[9] > 'Ȝeue þi cunte to cunnig and craue affetir wedding.'   >  ( _Trans_ : Give your cunt wisely and make (your) demands after the > wedding." ) So it would appear it was acceptable at least around the 13th/14th century.


title: Hyphen or no hyphen when modifying an adjective with a quantity?

text: I have a sentence which has an object that is described with an adjective: > We need to inform our interested patrons of this change. If I modify _"interested"_ with _"more"_ or _"less"_ , do I connect the words with a hyphen or not? Example sentence: > We need to inform our less-interested patrons of this change. * * * Also, please let me know if I have not used the correct terms for sentence parts in this question.


title: Is “That’ll” a real word?

text: Is the contraction from _that will_ to _that’ll_ an actual word or not?


title: What's the difference between colloquial and oral English?

text: What is the difference between _colloquial_ an _oral_ in the phrases, _colloquial English_ and _oral English_?


title: Difference between "asleep" and "sleeping"

text: I know _asleep_ and _sleeping_ are interchangeable in many cases. But in these situations, I am not sure. I read stories to my son after he went to bed. After reading the stories, I stayed for some time and tucked the quilt for him. When I came out of his room and met my wife, she asked " **Is he asleep**?" or " **Has he fallen asleep**?", or " **Is he sleeping**?" In the morning, I woke my son up before he went to school. But later I found he did not get up. His eyes were closed. I asked, " **Are you still asleep**?" or " **Are you still sleeping?** " Which is better in each situation?


title: Is this correct grammar: "[...] cash can't be beat."

text: I found the following phrase in a NYTimes article and I was pretty surprised that it wasn't corrected or edited out: " _But when it comes to privacy and freedom, cash can't be beat._ ". I am under the impression that this is incorrect grammar and the sentence should actually be " _[...] cash can't be beaten._ " or " _[...] you can't beat cash_ " but definitely not the one used in the article. Am I wrong here? This sort of grammar is mostly only used in slang in England and I always thought that it was wrong but after a bit of googling, I'm not sure anymore. Is it just another difference between American and British English? I know it's really petty but I'm still interested in the answer! Article link: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/04/04/bringing- dollars-and-cents-into-this-century/a-shift-toward-digital-currency


title: Origin and meaning of "rackers"

text: I have read that Don Armado is one of those _rackers of orthography_ who distort the written language when they convert it into speech. What is the origin of the word _rackers_? What does it mean? > Holofeners: " _He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the > staple of his argument [...] such **rackers of orthography** , as to speak > dout, fine, when he should said doubt; [...]._"


title: Grammar knowledge - cause for low knowledge

text: I have to formulate this question very carefully. So I would say I have the impression that the knowledge in grammar matters of English mother-tongue speakers is as an average lower when compared to speakers of other languages. I am not quite sure whether everybody will agree. I wonder what may be the causes. One cause is obvious. As English has reduced almost all grammatical endings and has elegantly replaced the function of grammatical endings by other means such as prepositions, auxiliary verbs, modal verbs and position it is a lot more difficult to see how the grammar system of English works. I am astonished to see how many people have problems with basic grammar things such as word classes or structures of sentences. But I assume there must be other causes. I would be interested to hear opinions.


title: Difference between "safe" and "secure"

text: >   1. The birds' nests are high up, safe/secure from predators. >   2. These elephants are relatively secure/safe from poachers. >   3. Make sure you keep these documents safe/secure. >   4. Keep your credit cards in a safe/secure place. >   5. I always feel safe/secure when I'm around my big dog. > What's the difference between _safe_ and _secure_ in these examples?


title: Runners in her hose?

text: This is from a song that Johnny Cash sang. I want to know what _runners in her hose_ means: > Back when we could laugh and play   >  On family reunion day   >  Didn't we all look funny   >  In our 1950s clothes?   >  Your daddy wore that greasy stuff   >  Your brother drank more than enough   >  Your mom wore penny loafers   >  With runners in her hose   > I guess _hose_ is short for pantyhose but despite having many alternatives for _runner_ my dictionary doesn't have any that fit into this sentence.


title: Show agreement or similarity with "so could it be" or "so could it"?

text: I have this sentence: > As this problematic situation could be applied to Europe, so could the way > of dealing with it _be_ I don't know whether the last _be_ should be removed or not. Is it correct as it is written now? When writing _so do I_ or similar structures ( _so could I_ ,...), can it be followed by a sentence or does it have to stop with those three words?


title: "Czar" vs "tsar" - origins and pronunciation

text: How did the word come into English with the two variants _czar_ and _tsar_? The 'ts' spelling is a transliteration of the Russian 'царь', but the 'cz' spelling is what interests me more. To me it looks Polish, where 'cz' is common, but is pronounced as English 'ch'. Where did this second form come from?


title: (was + was) vs (was + is)

text: I was wondering what's the difference between these two sentences: >   1. The person who **was** at the head of the demonstration **is** Ms. Tan. > >   2. The person who **was** at the head of the demonstration **was** Ms. > Tan. > >


title: Difference between "one..., another" and "one..., the other"

text: I have searched on the internet but the explanations are in Chinese, which I can't understand. What is the difference between these two (pairs of) sentences?   * I have 2 pens. One is red, another is black.    * I have 2 pens. One is red, the other is black.


title: Why are names considered proper nouns?

text: Names are supposed to be proper nouns because they refer to a unique entity, right? But what about when the condition of specificity is not applicable? Take the word "Albert". It's supposed to be a proper noun. Why? There are no doubt thousands of people with that name in the world. If you know more than one Albert then just the word in not sufficient for you to know who precisely is being referred to. You'd naturally want to know the full name or any other unique identifying characteristic to pin down the person concerned. For that matter, even the full name (say "Albert West") is something the person is likely to have in common with others on this planet of seven-odd billion people. So while "Albert" (or any other name for that matter) might be a noun, why is it considered a proper noun?


title: Term for someone asking "For a friend"

text: Is there a word that describes the phenomenon, often seen on SE sites, where someone says they are asking a question "for a friend", but actually mean themselves?


title: How do I say "something contains a lot of content" using a single word?

text: How do I say that "something contains a lot of content" by a single word? Is there an English word for this statement? **UPD**   * _something_ \- may be text, article, blog post   * _contains a lot of content_ \- contains good, new information that is usable for users   * _a lot_ \- is about only **quantity** , not about "wide variety of types" or anything like that.


title: Website giving pronunciations of English words recorded in different dialects?

text: I'm aware that there are certain websites around that provide recorded examples of English words pronounced in different accents/dialects. Could anybody list some of them?


title: I don't want to be repetitive. How can I replace 'I teach English' or 'I give lessons in English'?

text: I've tried to find some more expressions in dictionaries but with little success... How many examples can you mention to express this activity? Do you know any informal expressions which can be used?


title: Student in or of a virtual school?

text: Should it be >   1. A student **of** ABC College is required to ... >   2. A student **in** ABC College is required to ... >   3. A student **from** ABC College is required to ... > In addition, if the "ABC College" is a school that offers online education, does that automatically cancel out option 2 since the student would never physically be there?


title: "Vowels have no attack"

text: What is the linguistic meaning of this sentence? > Vowels are always voiced, and have **no attack of their own.**


title: Which term is more appropriate: Rate plan, Pricing plan or Tariff plan?

text: We are the provider of certain (on-line) services and we have different pricing for different user categories, depending on their volume of operations. Currently we use "tariff plan" as a term for pricing plan, but I think this term may be less common in the US than, say, "rate plan". So, my question is: which term is more appropriate to describe a price plan for the consumer of online services, especially in American English. I personally tend to call it a "rate plan". Please advise.


title: "Soft-peddle" vs. "Soft-pedal": eggcorn blunder or sly play on words?

text: In chat the other day I asked the following question: > "Recently I've been seeing writers using "soft-peddle" in print (in > reputable publications, to boot) when I am certain the trope is "soft- > pedal": anybody have an opinion on this?" My reasoning is that the term comes from the _soft pedal_ of the piano, which the musical among you will recognize as being the pedal that composers want you to use to play a passage quietly and without force. @tchrist noted that the OED only lists "soft-pedal": "OED attests all three of soft pedal, soft-pedal, soft-pedalling, but not the other." @BarrieEngland agreed, and said he thought "soft-peddle" might be an eggcorn of "soft-pedal." Further research on my part yielded information that "soft-peddle" is even included on The Eggcorn Database, a Web site I hadn't known existed till now. The term _soft-pedal_ when spoken might be thought by the listener to be related to the "soft sell". The use of _soft-pedal_ peaked in the middle of the last century, while "soft- peddle" began around the same time and gained a bit of currency since then, though it is still seen far less often — overwhelmingly so — than its forebear. It gets down to this: Are we seeing a play on words or a blunder? Certainly someone with sufficient writing credentials could be given the benefit of the doubt. Yet it seems that even (or especially) the best writers might want to underscore such a subtle pun with quotes, or set it off some other way that makes suggests it wasn't just a typo or brain cramp. And if "soft-peddle" makes steady gains, might it not one day supplant the term that spawned it? Bonus points for anyone who can provide at least a single documented instance of "soft-peddle" being used unequivocally as a pun, not a misspelling or misapprehension.


title: Meaning of "to believe the impossible"

text: Does _to believe the impossible_ mean   * to believe that everything is possible   * to believe that something seemingly impossible is actually possible   * something else?


title: "Very much true": how often have you heard a native speaker say that?

text: How often have you heard a native speaker say "very much true"? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzMx1Oo7hvg&t=0m18s


title: What does “a body gets stuffed in the closet” mean?

text: There was an interesting story titled 'Want a New You? Change Your Name' written by singer and pianist, Alina Simons (Alina Vilenkin by her old name) in New York Times (December 26 issue), in which she introduces how her life changed after changing her name: “Twelve years ago, I changed my own name to Alina Simone. - - So I know that whenever someone changes her name, _a body gets stuffed in the closet_. When I think back to my old self, I think of an entirely different person, not altogether likable, whose singular distinguishing characteristic was the chronic inability to follow through with anything she said she would do.” I don’t understand the meaning of the phrase, “ _a body gets stuffed in the closet_.” What does it mean? Is it a colloquial expression? By the way, as an associated question, we have professional advisors of name change called name doctor (姓名鑑定士) in our country. They judge, diagnose, and recommend a new name to clients and their expectant children based on the number of strokes of Japanese characters of your name and the date of your birth. Is there similar profession in your country? If there is, how are they called (in English)?


title: And lead raptivity captive

text: What do _raptivity_ and "And lead raptivity captive" mean?


title: How to determine if a "[something] fighter" fights for or against [something]?

text: In _freedom fighter_ the _fighter_ supports freedom.   In _fire fighter_ the _fighter_ fights fire. How do you determine when it is the first or the second case? What is the meaning of _spam fighter_? @Hellion,   as the afterthought and in response to comments by @Kosmonaut, and as a person who has lived in a dozen of countries, in the East and the West,   **the positive connotation is highly subjective and culture-specific.** How should I use "spam fighter" to be understood:   * in negative connotation?   * in positive one? How to interpret, for example the "culture fighter", "education fighter", "religion fighter"? One could tell that this depends on context.   And if I see this as nicks on the internet?


title: Difference between waste and squander

text: What is the difference between the verbs **to squander** and **to waste**? For example:   * to squander money   * to waste money


title: "Bakeshop" vs. "bake shop" vs. "bakery" vs. "bakery shop" vs. "bakehouse" for a baker's shop, and "bakeries" for "baked goods" in AmE

text: Are all four terms in current use in AmE today to refer to a bakery's shop where bread and other baked stuff like cakes and pastries are sold? As far as I know, "bakeshop", "bakehouse", and "bakery" can designate also the workplace where the baked goods are made. But "bakery", unlike "bakeshop" and "bakehouse", can additionally refer to an industrial baking facility, i.e. a baking plant. Also, can the baked goods [bread, cakes and pastries produced in a bakery] be referred to as "bakery" or "bakeries" in AmE? Even though the latter is validated by the OED for BrE source, I can't seem to find a US dictionary online that states it as fact for AmE. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bakery http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bakery http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bakery


title: Conflict of interest

text: What's the difference between a "conflict of interest" and the "appearance of a conflict of interest"?


title: "Did you just...." present or past tense?

text: Consider the following two statements, and the tenses. >   * Did you win? >   * You just won. > But what about *Did you just ___ _ a camera*? Would it be followed by _win_ or _won_?


title: Usage of "more than" before a verb

text: In the Longman dictionary, there is an example for _Compensate_ as follows: > Her intelligence **more than compensates** for her lack of experience. I am wondering what the grammatical point of using **more than** before a verb is here. How does it modify the meaning of verb? Could somebody give another example of such usage? _**Update:_** Does the following sentence have the same meaning? > Her intelligence compensates for her lack of experience **more than > needed/required**.


title: "Ok so I know a similar(ish) question has been asked here before"

text: How far can we carry the **_-ish_** morphism? quote: > Ok so I know a similar(ish) question has been asked before. :unquote I thought that _-ish_ adds the sense of _like_ , _similar to_ , _approximately_ , etc. From which, it would seem the threshold would be the tautologies _like-ish_ / _similar-ish_. * * * The question is about the particular modification that _-ish_ makes to a word, unlike other suffixes: _like_ , _similar to_ , etc.


title: Comma confusion

text: I'm pretty sure this is a duplicate, but it's a generic case and searching brings up thousands of examples, so I'm forced to post. The question is, which of the sentences below is punctuated correctly? A. I work at Google a search company. B. I work at Google, a search company. And in that vein, as a sub-question, which of these is correct, if I am trying to say that I enjoy each of the three lunch meats individually? C. I enjoy liverwurst, bologna, and spam. D. I enjoy liverwurst, bologna and spam.


title: Step 1 or step1 when referring to a step?

text: When referring to a step, which one would be more correct between "see step 1" versus "see step1"?


title: What words do you use to describe an unmatched couple?

text: What words do we use to describe an unmatched couple, for instance, the female is much more attractive than the male, or the other way around? If we found that a girl is out of the league of her boyfriend (8 vs 5), or the other way around, how would we describe such a couple?


title: Another 'me' versus 'myself' usage question

text: I am quitting a job. I wrote a letter of resignation and have come upon the following sentence: "Moreover, I believe [name of restaurant] will be better suited to have an employee that is different than me/myself." Initially I wrote 'myself' because I am the subject and the 'myself' refers to me as an indirect object. So is it correct to use 'myself'? Or do I simply keep it as 'me'?


title: Is it "a tough row to hoe?", or "a tough road to hold?"

text: Is it an old farming metaphor, or a military saying? Where did this(these) saying(s) originate?


title: Definite article before scientific terms

text: I'm writing up my dissertation and I'm really confused where to use "the". Examples: > In this experiment, (the?) heat transfer coefficient was calculated, > allowing to estimate (the?)frost thickness. And: > Firstly, (the?) air properties are defined. And: > As (the?) crystals grow in radius, the amount of air in (the?) ice is > reduced, due to (the?) ice becoming more packed. None of the nouns mentioned above have been used for the first time, so I rule out the use of "a". Would appreciate any help.


title: Is there another way of saying "opener" as in the one who does the opening prayer in a devotion?

text: Another term for saying "Opener" in a Christian devotion.


title: How do you convert a noun into an adjective?

text: What would be the adjectives for nouns like _shopkeeper, country, wife, earring, teacher, father_ — and so on and so forth?


According to an article published on quizlet.com, titled 'The most difficult and unbelievable word of the OED' (which I dont have access to), _levament_ means "The comfort which one hath of his wife". So I wonder if there is a similar word that means "The comfort which one hath of her husband"?


title: Which are the main and subordinate clauses in this sentence?

text: Which are the main and subordinate clauses in the following sentence? > Individual components do not directly depend on other components, which > means that they can be more easily developed in isolation.


title: Omitting commas in brief statements

text: In a brief exhortation followed by the name of a sports team, such as "Let's go, Dodgers!" or "Go, Phillies!" is it ever appropriate to omit the comma?


title: What are the distinctions between property, quality, attribute, characteristic, feature, aspect and trait?

text: There may not be a right answer but hopefully there can be a best answer. Obviously we use these terms quite interchangeably (which I find annoying), and dictionaries have a lot of overlap in their definitions of these words because dictionaries often don't attempt to contrast words with each other. But if we had to give some rigorous definitions to these words what would they be? They can still have overlap, as long as the overlap is clearly explained. I prefer answers that prove themselves with examples of how your definitions already match with popular usage. These words (can) all share the same meaning of describing what something is like or what it has. But then what are their useful differences? Some details to consider: which of these are more abstract and which are more tangible? which are more tightly bound to an object and which are more alienable? which are more subjective and which are more objective? Here is some pre-research for you. (Or a source of confusion.) Pertinent definitions from dicionary.com. **property** a quality, attribute, or distinctive feature of anything, esp a characteristic attribute such as the density or strength of a material **quality** an essential or distinctive characteristic, property, or attribute: the chemical qualities of alcohol. **characteristic** a distinguishing feature or quality: Generosity is his chief characteristic. **attribute** something attributed as belonging to a person, thing, group, etc.; a quality, character, characteristic, or property: Sensitivity is one of his attributes. **feature** a prominent or conspicuous part or characteristic: Tall buildings were a new feature on the skyline. **trait** a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one's personal nature: bad traits of character. **aspect** nature; quality; character: the superficial aspect of the situation.


title: Dispensing or dosing?

text: As a non-native speaker I'm looking for the right term for a technical application/product that dispenses or doses a viscous liquid, i.e. the device will "output" a specific amount of "stuff". However, dosing/dose/dosage appear to be "medical" to me, also maybe describing a ratio of components (like controlling the amount / rate of medicine/drug added to an IV drip). On the other hand, dispenser more seems to be "outputting" or making available already discrete "entities", e.g. a tissue dispenser. I'm lacking knowledge of more elaborate uses of those words and appreciate any comments.   * http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dispense#English   * http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dose#English


title: "compared with" vs "in comparison with" vs "assessed in comparison with"

text: what would you consider more appropriate? -"She is writing her thesis under my guidance on a topic related to the Australian tax system compared with the European one", -"She is writing her thesis under my guidance on a topic related to the Australian tax system in comparison with the European one" -"She is writing her thesis under my guidance on a topic related to the Australian tax system assessed in comparison with the European one" Thanks in advance


title: Order of definitions in dictionaries

text: Are dictionary definitions for words with multiple meanings ordered based on chronology, hierarchy, or frequency of usage? Is/was there a standard format?


title: What is the difference between'time is up' and 'time is over'

text: Are the two phrases'time is up' and 'time is over' used in different contexts or can be used to convey the same meaning


title: General term for punctuation that surrounds a word or phrase?

text: Is there a general term for punctuation that surrounds a word or phrase? Something that includes brackets and quotes, but there may be other types of punctuation, formal or otherwise, that have the same appearance. Let me give some examples, and their purpose:   * Parentheses `()` to separate supplementary information from the main sentence: _Sen. John McCain (R., Arizona) spoke at length._   * Quotes `""` to indicate a group of words referring to a singular entity, such as the title of a work: _David Bowie's "Space Oddity"_   * Dashes `—` to show a break in thought, similar to parentheses: _You are the friend—the only friend—who offered to help me._   * Markup annotation used for purposes other than reading, for example as instructions for printing/presentation: _In Markdown, surrounding a phrase in asterisks renders it in italics_ What term would you use to cover these in general? I see a few possibilities:   * **Brackets** which covers most of them but I feel it doesn't include quotes   * **Bookends** since that's what they look like, but unless I use it in context it's not clear what I'm referring to


title: "People survived" vs "People were survived"

text: Is it correct to say "People were survived", or its better to say "People Survived"? For example yesterday there was a war between government & people, people were survived at last.


title: Correct word for a design in progress

text: In the process of making a design, what is the design called? (Specifically in regard to graphic design) As in: > Please see first design(??) of poster attached


title: When to use ''[verb] that''

text: I would like to know when to say _think(s) that_ , _say(s) that_ and _mean(s) that_ and when to omit _that_.


title: How to pronounce "E = mc²"

text: How do we pronounce _E = mc²_? This is a physics equation.


title: Is "What is bounty?" grammatically correct?

text: Jeff Atwood argues that "What is bounty?" is correct here, but is this really the case?


title: "shyer" or "shier"

text: My Longman dictionary states that the comparative of 'shy' is 'shyer'. However, at least two online dictionaries also give the form 'shier' as being acceptable: The Free Dictionary and Merriam-Webster. On an English language forum I came across a reference to British (shyer) vs. American (shier) spelling. But an Ngram chart shows that even in American English 'shyer' is much more used. My problem is that I've been told that it is definitely wrong, but if it's in dictionaries then... has there been a change to what is wrong? P.S.: Google Ngram link


title: Timeseries or Time series?

text: This might be a simple one, but I'd like to have your opinion/authoritative statements: I write a thesis in a technical modelling context, where a mathematical model operates on a discrete set of **timesteps (or time steps?)**. Paramaters/Variables that are defined over this set are then called **timeseries (or time series?)**. A Google battle yields the one-word expressions as clear victors, but dict.leo.org does only like the two-word expressions. So which one is to be preferred? Or is there even a difference in meaning between both variants? **_Conclusion:_** after a temporary confusion from a third option "time-step", I settled for the two word versions for both words.


title: Adjectives to describe a legal system that has a number of limitations

text: Im finding an adjective describing a judicial system that has many limitations like the system has lax regulations and sanctions are not harsh enough. Looking forward to your replies.


title: Collective Term for Cardinal and Ordinal Directions

text: I'm writing a research proposal in which I frequently reference the cardinal and inter-cardinal (ordinal) directions together. Is there some term, no matter the obscurity, that refers to the eight of them? If there are any related words that come to mind that don't quite fit (like one that collectively refers to vaguely "major" directions), I would like to hear those as well.


title: What Does Strike a Chord Mean?

text: I am not a native speaker. From my reading and verbal communication, I came to believe that _striking a chord_ means connecting to someone at an emotional level. However, I recently used it somewhere and someone (an American, if relevant) told me that it actually means pissing someone off (quite the opposite of what I thought). Does it mean both or I just used the wrong expression? Or does it have different meanings in British, American and Aussie varieties?


title: "Healthy" vs "healthful"— Do fruits and veggies work out?

text: The OED doesn't say much other than the two words have long been synonyms since the 1500s. > _healthful_ \- promoting good health > > _healthy_ \- being in good health/condition Why do we say that our bananas and tomatoes are _healthy_ foods when it should be _healthful_? Is there any substantial evidence on why this widely used terminology is bungled?


title: What would be the opposite phrase for "Drawee Bank"?

text: Drawee bank is the bank, who will pay the cheque/draft. Then what would we call the bank in which the cheque/draft will be deposited? I did some search over the internet and found this link. Is it correct to call it "Payee Bank" or some other phrase is more suitable?


title: Use of "contretemps"

text: According to Oxford Dictionaries, _contretemps_ means "an unexpected and unfortunate occurrence". What is the plural of it, if it exists, and how do I use it in a sentence? Do I say "contretemps startled me"? Can the word be used with an article?


title: Which (if any) pedantically, grammatically, correct uses of the apostrophe will lead to a valid “NOUNs’s” construction?

text: The _“ **< NOUN>**s’s”_ construction comes up quite often in signs, at least in my neighbourhood. I haven’t seen a legal use of the arrangement, though — and I wonder, is it at all possible? If it is, under which circumstances?


title: What does "cyber-" actually mean?

text: I'm heading into the postgraduate phase of my Computer Science-oriented studies, and I can't put my finger on what this root means. According to Etymology Online it comes from Cybernetics, which in turn comes from the greek for "Helmsman" and is the study of governation or governing systems. But modern usage, such as cyberspace, cybercafe, cyberattack, cyberterrorism, cybermosque, cybersex, cyberbullying, and such seem to use it synonymously with "Internet" Of course, you could argue that you use a cybercafe to interact with a primitive virtual governor, a cyberspace is a place where a lot of virtual governors "reside", while cyberattacks try to disrupt these governors. But cyberbullying and "cybering" really don't fit into that scheme, unless you were to day that cyberbullying is "bullying by relaying domineering or intimidating messages with the help of a governor." but then again "physics" could be a governor. You shout mean things into the air and physics makes sure your overbearing soundwaves propagate to your target. Bo that would mean that pretty much everything is cyber-, because everything is controlled by something. The rational middle ground would be for "cyber-" to now mean "internet," unless it is followed by a greek or latin root, in which case it would mean "control systems" Is it safe to assume this?


title: what does "shout cat calls at me" mean?

text: Maybe I know nothing about english and this is too easy phrase, but can you tell me what does " _shout cat calls at me_ " mean? **In context:** > I pulled my shoulders back and tried to look confident, not letting the > nerves show on my face. As if on cue, the boys started to whistle and shout > cat calls at me, and the girls stared at me with a mixture of jealousy and > hatred. Looks like I’m not going to fit in here very well after all…


title: meaning of "head over to"

text: what is the meaning of "head over to" I was reading one blog. In that blog, they said like if you want more informatio please "head over to this link"


In "The Tale of Benjamin Bunny" Beatrix Potter writes "Old Mr. Bunny had no opinion whatever of cats." What does it mean? > The cat looked up and saw old Mr. Benjamin Bunny prancing along the top of > the wall of the upper terrace. > > He was smoking a pipe of rabbit-tobacco, and had a little switch in his > hand. > > He was looking for his son. Old Mr. Bunny **had no opinion whatever of** > **cats.** > > He took a tremendous jump off the top of the wall on to the top of the cat, > and cuffed it off the basket, and kicked it into the green-house, scratching > off a handful of fur. > > The cat was too much surprised to scratch back.


title: Order of phrases after verb:  Prefer "share with you X" or "share X with you"?

text: Which of these sentences is grammatically correct?   1. I wanted to share with you the outcomes of today's board meeting   2. I wanted to share the outcomes of today's board meeting with you


title: Is there a word that means “symbolic”, but works for sound or music?

text: Particularly in film and television, visual imagery can be used to convey additional meanings besides their literal ones. Is there a word for when the same is done using audio or musical cues? I would like to say something like this > The way the music changed key during this scene was very symbolic But I'm not sure that _symbolic_ is the correct word.


title: meaning of bare infinitivals

text: > [i] I saw her **clean** the room.   >  [ii] He helped me **do** the work.   >  [iii] She made me **clean** the room.   >          What makes you **think** so?   >          Let me **know** what he said. Bare infinitival has the meaning of ‘ _wholeness_ ’ in [i] - I saw the whole event of her cleaning the room, not a segment of it as in ‘ _I saw her **cleaning** the room_.' (CGEL, p.1237) It now in [ii] has the meaning of ‘ _actual_ ’ (direct) help - he actually did some of the work, whereas he ‘enabled me to do it myself' in ‘ _He helped me **to do** the work_.’ (CGEL, p.1244) About [iii], it's not easy to find out what their, the bare infinitivals', implications are. They seem to have the _wholeness_ as in [i], but not connected with the actuality in [ii]. Are the bare infinitivals intending to say their actions are simultaneous with the main verbs’ activities, without delay - for ‘ _to_ ’ is likely to project into the future?


title: What does “There she blows’” mean?

text: This question regards the sentence in the New Yorker’s (June 14) article “Lunch at Gitlitze” I quoted in my previous question, "Is “battled-hardened” correct, or just a typo?” > “When we walked into the restaurant, we immediately saw her – my father’s > battled-hardened nemesis; a waitress named Irene. She was standing in back > by the kitchen, a cigarette dangling from her mouth, one hand on her hip.. > She and my father locked eyes like two gunslingers stepping on to a dusty > street. “ **There she blows** ” my father muttered. “Try not to excite > yourself,” my mother said.” I’m not clear with what “blow” in “There she blows” mean. It looks like a slang usage of the verb, blow. I consulted with OALED at hand to try to find out a pertinent definition to this phrase and the situation of the story – “She was standing in back by the kitchen, a cigarette dangling from her mouth,” and found out the following definition at the top out of more than a dozen of usages.   1. to send out air from the mouth. Does “There she blows” mean “There she is smoking a cigarette,” or otherwise? Does “blow” here have a special implication? Is this a slang, or idiomatic expression? Why did the mother of the author quickly react to this phrase of her husband by saying “Try not to excite yourself.”?


title: Can I use the terms "CEO" and "Managing Director" synonymously?

text: Can you please clarify if it's acceptable to use these terms interchangebly and if not point out to significant differences between these titles. It seems to me that it may be something with scale of an organization (perhaps, small/medium businesses have managing directors, and large corporations have chief executive officers) but I'm not sure. I do understand that a person may bear one or another of these titles formally, but what about real differences?


title: The meaning of "interpret" here

text: > This moment will nap, you will have a dream; but this moment study, you will > interpret a dream What does _interpret_ mean?   * You study, then later, you will have knowledge to interpret this dream   * You will accomplish this dream


title: You are all "but" forced to do something instead of something else

text: What is the grammatical usage of " **but** " in this sentence? > You are all **but** forced to use them instead of standard C++ Could we ignore " **but** " and yet convey the same meaning? > You are all forced to use them instead of standard C++


title: newly graduate or new graduate

text: Which one is correct? > I am a _new_ graduate and have been teaching German for a few weeks now. > > I am a _newly_ graduate and ... I can't decide whether to use "new" or "newly".


title: What is the story behind the word "Mahjong"?

text: What is the story behind the word **Mahjong**? Google says "sparrows", but is that accurate and why sparrows? Other results seem to be vague or non-descriptive at best. It boggles my mind that the word "Chess" has a vast amount of information regarding the origin, history and etymology available, while "Mahjong" leaves us grasping at straws. Perhaps I'm not looking in the right places?


title: Pronunciation 'heroin' vs. 'heroine'

text: Is there a difference in how you pronounce the drug and the female hero? Like, for instance, if I see a movie with a great actress and I want to say to my friend > That was the best **heroine** I have ever seen. Can it be confused with > That was the best **heroin** I have ever seen. ? Or will my friend consider me a junkie?


title: "The punch card was data processing back then"

text: I find it difficult to understand the sentence as shown in the title.   1. Is the card data?    2. Is the card processing?    3. Is the card a method (or style) to process data? I'm Chinese. If I express the sentence with Chinese I'll say _The punch card was the main method of data processing back then_. * * * **NOTE** : I'm a programmer and I know what a punch card is. So please don't waste you precious time to explain the punch card.


title: Is it incorrect to use "hard" when I mean "difficult"?

text: My late grandfather had several word-choice peeves for which he would gently interrupt a speaker, especially a grandchild, in order to correct. The one I remember most was his dislike for the use of "hard" as a synonym for "difficult," as in the statement: > This homework is really hard. I read and hear "hard" used this way all the time and often wonder if there is something incorrect about it. Is there, or has there ever been, any basis for this quibble?


title: What is the verb that means to capitalize the first letter of a word?

text: The word I'm looking for means to capitalize the first letter of some words, but I want to use a single verb since I need to say this many times, as in "*** all the words that appear in the table headers". Is there such a verb?


title: go there vs go up there

text: What is the difference between 'go up there' and 'go there'? Examples: >   * The boys want to go up there. >   * He didn't want to go there. > Are they interchangeable in the above examples?


title: Meaning of "Of all" at the beginning of a paragraph

text: I want to know the exact meaning of "Of all". For example, in a paper the author in the first paragraph explained some methods and at the beginning of paragraph 2, he started with: > "Of all the above methods, ... " and explains another method. My questions: > 1: What is the exact meaning of "Of all" at the beginning of the paragraph?   >  2: Is it suitable for use in scientific papers?


title: Difference in the implied meaning when different words for "cheating" used?

text: Please consider the sentences below: > He **chiseled** me out of my dues.   >  He **swindled** me out of dues.   >  He **cheated** me out of my dues. Below are the definitions given by Dictionary > **Chisel** = cheat or swindle (someone) out of something.   >  **Swindle** = use deception to deprive (someone) of money or possessions. I learn that any of the two words in any language doesn't implies same meanings all the time. What is the difference in the meaning if I use above three words individually in the given sentence?


title: Conversion into passive voice and order of the words

text: This is a sentence in active voice: He cannot rear any cattle on his farm. Its passive would be: Any cattle cannot be reared by him on his farm? OR On his farm, any cattle cannot be reared by him? OR Any cattle cannot be reared on his farm by him? Do all the three conversions mean the same thing, does order of words have any effect on the meaning?


title: Do dietitians 'teach'? And confusion between present perfect vs past simple

text: Is the given sentence correct grammatically and semantically? > _A consulting dietitian by profession, Tina has enjoyed teaching young > children about healthy eating habits for over a decade._ I feel the use of present perfect tense with the phrase 'for over a decade' in the same sentence is not justified. I feel the correct verb form to be used is 'enjoyed'. Is the use of the noun, 'teaching' correct there? Does a dietitian teach? And can the use of the present perfect form of the verb be justified?


title: For what verbs is there no difference between 'has ...' and 'has been ...ing'?

text: For some verbs like 'live', where if you say "have lived" it means you lived somewhere for a period of time but that is not true anymore, and if you say "have been living" it means you still live in that place. I know there are some verbs for which there is no difference in meaning when using the two tenses. What verbs are these?


title: The meaning of “like fire hardened”

text: > He barely noticed when he ran out of the woods onto the bare red road. It > streaked beneath him like fire hardened and only gradually as his breath > choked him did he slow down and begin to take his bearings. The sky, the > woods on either side, the ground beneath him, came to a halt and the road > assumed direction.   1. What does the writer mean by 'fire hardened'?   2. Is 'hardened' here an adjective for 'fire'?


title: Should it be folk or folks?

text: As a British native English speaker I have only ever used the word "folk" as an adjective in phrases such as "folk music" or "folk tales". My unscientific impression is that its use as a synonym for people is increasing in the British media, which prompts the question: _How can I decide whether it should be folk or folks?_   * We should do more for our old folk. or   * We should do more for our old folks. ..   * Some folk never listen. or   * Some folks never listen. Are the two words interchangeable, or are there some clear usage patterns?


title: what would be a concept in which "marriage" is one of its instances?

text: I'm trying to refer to a marriage but I've used the word too much already in my paragraph so I need to find another word which I could use in a sentence like: "I had the pleasure to attend to the -------" In Spanish, I could say something like "tuve el placer the estar presente para tan feliz ocasión¨ but that´s really hard to translate with a dictionary. Many things could constitute a ¨feliz ocasión" (~ happy occurrence), but it's clear from the context I'm referring to the marriage. Any ideas? Thanks! Edit: Some clarification that I wrote below. Imagine we are discussing the concept of "tragedy". Many things can be an instance of a tragedy, for example death, a certain illness, a certain outcome of some situation, they all can be referred to as "tragedy" with the appropriate context. I'm looking for the same thing for marriage, something in which marriage is one of the possibilities


title: Proverb for Someone will work, but another will get the benefit

text: Can you suggest what would be a good proverb for "Someone will work, but another will get the result"? Like for the situation when one person does the hard work, but some other reaps the benefits. EDIT: Just wanted to mention that I just meant a single line proverb that is commonly used for the above situation in English speaking countries. For example a proverb like: "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings."


title: Use Schedule and Timetable together

text: The context is a course scheduling and the process in creating one: course scheduling. I have looked up, that **schedule** is typically used American English and **timetable** is typically used in British English, is that correct? Then my question would be, how would a native speaker experience it when both terms are used in the same context? Because currently I have the feeling, that I could express myself better when using both. Schedule seems to be the overall structure, the whole course schedule of the university for example and timetable, more as the timetable for this week: Monday to Friday.


title: What's the correct preposition to complete "to be baffled ... why"?

text: I've found a lot of versions, like:   * baffled why   * baffled about why   * baffled at why   * baffled by why   * baffled as to why   * baffled on why   * baffled over why Is there a _correct_ form? Is any of the above wrong?


title: The usage of quotation marks

text: I'm discussing and comparing two books and I want to know if I'm using quotation marks correctly: > Both books are known for being existential and the reader is bombarded with > questions throughout the books. ‘Whose fault is this? Who did this? Why did > it happen this way? Did it even happen this way?’ I'm having **a lot** of doubts over the punctuation in this small piece of text:   * Should there be a colon after _throughout the books_?   * Should there be individual quotation marks for every question, or is this right?   * If every question must have individual quotation marks, how would you correctly separate the questions? Using dots after the right quotation mark? Using commas? EDIT: I must write the final version using a pen and paper.


title: Does the professor think that I'm pregnant?

text: Yesterday, I handed my assignment to the professor as I was reaching the deadline. For some reason it took a while for her to check my paper, which made me uneasy, but eventually she looked at me in awe, mouth agape, and said: > Wow! You really surprised me! Now I think I don't know you at all. Who are > you? Seriously! Startled by her question, I blurted out: > Just an ordinary person?! She nodded in disbelief and said: > No, you're more than one ordinary person! Now I wonder what she really meant by that. Did she mean I'm better than an ordinary person, or she was teasing me as if I'm pregnant? After all, she could use "an" instead of "one"?


title: What is the word to describe someone whom you are gossiping about

text: I was writing another question on Workplace Interview when i realised that I did not know a term / word to describe someone whom you are gossiping about What is a word / term to describe someone whom you are gossiping about ???


title: Origin of "a head of steam"

text: I'm aware of the general origin of "a head of steam" being from old steam- powered trains, but how does it break down? I'm guessing that the "head" is the surplus of motive force necessary to break free from a standstill; does some older definition better meet that meaning? The closest seems to be > a body of water kept in reserve at a height; also : the containing bank, > dam, or wall Is there a more direct fit or does it rely on analogy?


title: What does "trouble at pit" mean?

text: I saw this in an article about which British accents sound more intelligent, apparently Yorkshire was once deemed as a place with "trouble at pit". It probably has an origin related to auto racing, but I would like to know the exact meaning and how to use the phrase.


title: Go on/to the web page

text: Which is the correct way to say this? "Please go on the home page to register" or "Please go to the home page to register"?


title: Word for someone who goes in a specific direction

text: What is the word for someone who follows specific instructions or does what he is told? And is there a word for the person who makes someone like this? The maker could be a tyrant or some sort of instructor.


title: Do Americans say "don't" as often as the British?

text: this is really a question for Americans. When watching US TV or films, it's often my impression that, while using all the other contractions, Americans don't seem so keen on 'don't', but use 'do not' rather more often than we Brits. And I don't think it's only when it is stressed. Any comments?


title: Inquire if position is still open

text: I am lost on the usage of inquire. Are any of the following sentences acceptable? If so, which is the most appropriate? >   1. I'd like to inquire if you are still accepting applications? >   2. I'd like to inquire as to if you are still accepting applications or > not? >   3. I'd like to inquire whether you are currently accepting applications. > This is part of a formal letter and I am held up on how to correctly write this sentence. This question is is similar to this question.


title: Help me with punctuation english language

text: when writing a company name in a letter are you suppose to do it this way? Company., Inc., or is it Company., Inc.


title: Non gender oriented way to replace husband/wife

text: I’m creating a list of families that lists both partners’ names, ages, wedding date, and divorce date if there is one. To do this I have been using:               Husband    Age    Wife    Age    Marriage Date    Divorce Date      My cousin got married, and because he is gay _Husband_ and _Wife_ no longer apply as appropriate titles for the list of families. I’m not sure how to replace _Husband_ and _Wife_. I could use _Husband_ and _Spouse_ but that won’t work where the couple are both female. Using _Partner A_ and _Partner B_ would seem to negate the “family” aspect of the relationship, considering that you can have a partner and not be married. Also, _partner_ seems very business-like to me — as in _law partners_ , _business partners_ , etc. Is there a way to replace husband and wife in a family relationship that still carries the family connotation but is gender neutral? Spouse seems to fit one half the couple, but I’m not sure what then to title the other half.


title: Is it technically incorrect to speak English using speech sounds of native language(which is not English)?

text: Consonants "t" and "p" are not unvoiced in my native language, which is Hindi. So I pronounce "Paint" with voiced "p" and "t", is it technically correct? It is acceptable, I know. But is it correct?


title: What term means "the sum of a person"?

text: Some will say that "the sum of a person" includes:   * Actions.   * Character, virtues.   * Experiences, memories.   * Abilities. Is there a single term to mean this?


title: date has already passed OR date has already past?

text: Which is correct : date has already passed , or date has already past ? Thanks


title: Agreement of subject and predicate

text: can someone explain this rule to me, please? > A few collective nouns (public,infantry etc) occur in the singular, but are > followed as a rule by a plural verb, though a singular verb is also > possible. This is about agreement of subject and predicate


title: Difference between "pangalactic" and "transgalactic"?

text: I am building a game and trying to give some fancy names to some objectives in my game. So, I was wondering about the difference between the words _pangalactic_ and _transgalactic_? Does any of them mean something that is spawning across multiple galaxies? I am looking for a set of 3 words that go together in the following context, like : > a.  Planetary   > b.  Galactic   > c.  Inter-Galactic Can I use "pan-galactic" or "trans-galactic" in place for "inter-galactic"? [P.S: I tried searching online for the prefixes pan- and tran- but was still not really clear about the usage.]


title: Origin of "idiocracy"

text: Did the word "idiocracy" exist prior to the release of the movie of the same title, or is it a neologism coined by its screenwriters?


title: Does "nattering" have a negative connotation?

text: I hear people saying that they're "having a natter" with their friends, or 'If you want to have a natter about starting a project, give me a call!'. On different websites there are different definition: The Free Dictionary \- to talk idly and at length; chatter or gossip   Wiktionary \- To talk without purpose.   Merriam Webster \- to talk about unimportant things for a long time   Dictionary.com \- to talk incessantly; chatter.   Oxford Dictionaries \- talk casually, especially on unimportant matters; chat   Cambridge Dictionaries \- to talk continuously for a long time without any particular purpose These sounds quite negative to my ears, even rude, but whenever I hear it get used, it's rarely for negative reasons. Also, is it informal? Some clarification would be nice, examples would be awesome!


title: Meaning of "don't ask don't tell"

text: Are there other usages of the expression "don't ask don't tell" besides the one from its Wikipedia page? > Don't ask, don't tell (DADT) is the term commonly used for the policy > restricting United States military personnel from efforts to discriminate or > harass closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while > barring those who are openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual from military > service. Or is the expression also used in contexts not related to homosexualism in the military?


title: What are the distinctions between "authoritarian", "totalitarian", and "dictatorial"?

text: I'm giving a talk about technology (specifically the Internet) in various governments where freedoms are strongly constrained. I'm a technologist, and I have little experience with words used to described the governments of places like Cuba, China, Iran, N. Korea, Libya, etc. I've learned from reading new articles that these governments are variously described as "totalitarian," "authoritarian," "autocractic," "despotic," "dictatorial," and so forth, and I've inferred that these are all essentially equivalent. Of course I'm anxious at the prospect of using them as synonyms if there are well-agreed-upon differences that I should be aware of. My web searches haven't really helped in my quest to answer this question and so I thought I'd ask you folks if you feel there are strong differences. In particular, are there any terms in my list above you feel have strong differential meanings? **Note** : A search here on English.SE shows two related questions both closed without an answer, so I'm hoping that my question is clear (and polite) enough to avoid this fate.


title: What would you call someone who needs to watch the news every day?

text: My friend claims there are people who have or are perceived to have some disorder where they must watch the news every day or they feel very agitated. Disregarding the truth of such a claim, what would you call such people? He suggested "newsivore" and I would just say "news obsessed." Is there a proper term?


title: "The place where we promised to meet"

text: This is talking about a promise to meet at a certain place. However, is it grammatically correct? Is it badly phrased? It seems that it can be misinterpreted to mean that at a certain place a promise was made to meet, rather than promising to meet at a certain place later.


title: "make it to there"

text: Consider the following two phrases which are both about going to some place: > If I can't make it there > > If I can't make it _to_ there Isn't the second phrase grammatically correct, whereas the first is not? If they are both correct and both mean the same thing, then what's the difference, if anything?


title: What's a phrase used to describe a "user defined" dream?

text: I have this strange ability to be able to control the events and environment in my dream. I know the term lucid dreaming means that you are aware of being in a dream, but this goes a step further. Is there a phrase to describe this kind of dreams?


title: How do I pluralize the coffee drink "shot in the dark"?

text: For those that do not know, there is a coffee drink that it sometimes called a shot in the dark. It consists of an espresso shot poured in a regular cup of Joe. Suppose that I would like to order two of these drinks, for myself and a friend. The problem crops up when you consider that "2 shots in the dark" may refer to either **two shots of espresso in a single cup of coffee** or **two cups of coffee each with a shot of espresso**. There are alternate names for the drink, but they don't provide any relief. For example, a "shot in the dark" may be referred to as a black eye, and a "double shot in the dark" a red eye, but I have also heard these reversed (black eye for 2 and red eye for 1). Wikipedia lists several other names as "regional variants" but I was not familiar with any others. Am I stuck doing a long manual disambiguation every time I present this order? ### Current Options   * I would like two shots in the dark. (ambiguous, requires disclaimer)   * I would like two black eyes. (possibly dangerous)   * I would like two shots in two different darks. (what I used this AM)   * ? ? ?


title: Who are “them” in the sentence “Awards honorees were a group of upending types who took expectations, and showed them the door.”

text: I’m a bit perplexed with the interpretation of the ending line of the following sentence in the December 3rd Time magazine’s article dealing with this year’s Kennedy Center Honors award winners under the title, “Kennedy Center Honors Letterman, Led Zeppelin, Dustin Hoffman” > “The Kennedy Center Honors, in their 35th year, are lifetime achievement > awards for those who have upended or embodied culture as we know it. - - > Past honorees range from Fred Astaire to Johnny Cash to Yo-Yo Ma. This > year’s pack of legends was an especially eclectic group of upending types > who took expectations and spectacularly **_showed them the door_**.” What does “an especially eclectic group of upending types who took expectations and spectacularly showed them the door” mean? Who or What does “ **them** ” here represent for? Is it “eclectic group of upending types who took expectations” or “expectations”? If it is the latter, can we show "expectation” which is an impersonal entity to door? According to en.wikitionary, “show someone the door” means either (1) To **_escort_** someone to the exit of the premises, which I take a cordial manner, or (2) To **_expel_** (kick off) someone from a room, gathering, etc., which I take a cold-hearted manner. Which of (1) and (2) is applicable to the above ending line? I’m curious of if this is good writing I should emulate or not.


title: "Green-eyed monster" before Shakespeare

text: I've been looking for the origins of green as the colour of envy. So far all I can get is "green-eyed monster" from Othello and vague, hand- wavey remarks about ancient Green ideas about bile. The Othello line strikes me as being a bit too specific (in "green-eyed") to be an entirely original thought. If green _skin_ had been the prevailing association until then, then why not "green-skinned monster"? To put it another way, could Shakespeare have expected his audience to connect green _eyes_ with envy? The green of eyes is far more _literal_ than the "green" of skin, which is more grey/pallid. I suspect there's something in between, perhaps a myth or fable which isn't ranked highly in Google results. Anyone know what it might be?


title: Where does the word "trivial" come from?

text: I have read many dictionary definitions and there seems to be two possible sources of the word _trivial_. Online dictionaries say it's from latin _tri_ and _via_ , "three ways" or "crossroad", basically meaning "street talk" or "corner talk", however this Q&A site states it more likely from _trivium_ , which means "first three of the seven liberal arts", and strongly influenced by the former. I am not quite sure how to interpret the etymonline.com explanation.


How do you read section 20.1234 in a regulation by a government agency? For example, the law is 38 C.F.R. section 20.1234. How do you read 20.1234? Do you read it as "twenty one two three four" or "twenty point one two three four? Thanks!


title: A comical/informal synonym for "big"/"large" but not inappropriate

text: I'm looking for a comical word that has a meaning like big, humongous, etc. but nothing inappropriate that would contain swear words. For example, I could say:               Whoa! That's a ______ spider!      Slangs are acceptable, but not necessary. I'm looking for a word that might make a reader giggle at the type of adjective used to describe it.


title: "Dear Sir" or "Dear John" if you are addressing the VP of a company

text: How to address the VP of a company or department? I have been told that addressing by name was not polite. Any clues?


title: Definition of "Degree Objective" in Personal Statement

text: I am writing my Personal Statement for my graduate school application right now. Coming to the Degree Objective section, I became a little dizzy. Does it require me to write which program degree I want to pursue? Or my goals in achieving graduate degree, like serve the community, self-fulfillment. Can anyone explain what I should write about?


title: What does "like being drowned in Skittles" mean?

text: From here: http://www.loper-os.org/?p=568 > Using Squeak is “like being drowned in Skittles.” I understand that it is a > monumentally great thing if one is able to see past that, but I suspect that > most prospective users cannot do so. I searched for an explanation, but I can't seem to find one. Does it mean that you're getting "too much" good stuff? So much that it's actually a disadvantage?


title: Meaning and origin of "if you catch my drift"

text: What does the expression _if you catch my drift_ mean? Where does it originate? I've heard it in the context to signify something like _if you know what I mean_.


title: What is the proper term to describe the levels of experience for a trade?

text: For the life of me I can't recall or even Google the proper term to describe the levels of experience for a given trade. For example let's say there are 5 levels of experience to trade x:   * Rookie   * Journeyman   * Veteran   * Craftsman   * Luminary What hypernym would describe these levels of experience?


title: Meaning and origin of "dressed like a slob"

text: What does the expression "dressed like a slob" mean? Where does it come from?


Why don't we use the indefinite article in "what hassle"? I think _hassle_ is used as noun here which means "Irritating or inconvenience". What exactly is the problem with "what a hassle" (as hassle is third-person singular)?


title: all days vs ever day and all persons vs everyone

text: Can I say "all days" instead of "every day"? And "all persons have the right to live" instead of "everyone" so as to emphasize in the first case and to refer to every single individual?


title: Finding a suitable English translation of "An old donkey pulls all the weight all alone"

text: A Hungarian colleague of mine just impressed upon me the idiom > An old donkey pulls all the weight all alone. The phrase itself isn't a common English idiom (not to my knowledge, anyway). I think in the translation from Hungarian it has become... well, not less eloquent, but perhaps less English. Though hearing it in context I felt it was an apt metaphor. To provide some context, my colleague is talking about the fact that as the senior member of the team he feels like he expected to cover for the less senior members' mistakes. In this sense, he is the old donkey pulling the weight of the others. I was trying to come up with a similar phrase in English which describes the same situation that would be more familiar to English speakers, but I am at a loss. Is there a widely recognised idiom that represents the struggle of feeling ~~all alone~~ unable to rely on the people around you, even with a team/family/group who should be helping or supporting you?


title: What does "ﬂy by the seat of one's pants" mean?

text: Reading a book, I came across an expression I really can't parse. > For some developers, the invocation of the word plan is cause for alarm. > Endless meetings with pointy-haired bosses creating reams of printed > Microsoft Project plans that nobody understands or uses are a valid cause > for alarm. So, techies often overcompensate in our rebellion against > perceived overplanning by constantly _ﬂying by the seat of our pants_. I understand what he's saying with that last sentence—that sometimes developers go too far in avoiding planning—but can't make head nor tail of how he puts it. Can anyone explain the logic (if any) behind this phrase?


title: "I am starting learning xyz"

text: Is this sentence correct? > I am starting learning xyz.


title: What does "cat in the hat" mean?

text: I have seen this idiom recently. _Cat in the hat_. What does it mean?


title: "At a hotel" or "in a hotel"

text: What is the difference between _at a hotel_ and _in a hotel_? The NYTimes seems to be using both of them. I looked up the ngram on google and it seems _in a hotel_ is used more often than _at a hotel_ , which is kind of surprising to me. ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/KE0Tz.png)


title: "Increasingly XXX" or "increasingly more XXX"

text: Which is correct: _increasingly XXX_ or _increasingly more XXX_ , where _XXX_ is an adjective? A colleague and I are disagreeing. I think the use of _more_ is redundant.


title: substantial vs. numerous

text: these two words seem very similar, 'substantial' says in the dic.that 'large in amount or number', numerous says that 'many'. Do they have differences in contexts?


title: Must a non-proper noun that starts a sentence be preceded with an article?

text: I'm doing some research in NLP, and thought you guys would be the best to ask this. When looking at an English sentence, it is sometimes hard for a computer to distinguish between proper nouns, such as _Bill_ , and common (non-proper) nouns, such as _bill_ as in _He gave me a bill_. At first I thought, 'Oh, I'll just see if it's capitalized.' I'm wary to do this though, since I'm not sure if that pattern will hold as a rule. Then, I noticed that every time a common noun begins a sentence (and almost always when it is used in a sentence), it is preceded by one of the articles _a_ , _an_ , or _the_. Is this a rule I can count on? Can anyone think of counterexamples?


title: Accent Marks in English

text: Why doesn't the English language have accent marks? I have been trying to understand the critical differences that are present between the English and Spanish language, however I just can not wrap my head around the concept that some languages have accent marks while others don't. Why can't we all be equal?


title: Is “Hers was a good point” grammatical?

text: Would it be grammatical to say: > **Hers** was also a good point to include a header specifying the contact > person. as opposed to: > It was also a good point she made to include a header specifying the contact > person.


title: What does a "visiting writer" mean?

text: From wiki page about Michael Crichton": > In 1988, Crichton was a visiting writer at the Massachusetts Institute of > Technology What does exactly the term **visiting writer** mean? Does it mean he was there on a visit once or twice? Or does it mean that he was there a permanent visitor for the whole year(1988)? Or is it the some kind of a contract with the MIT? E.g. to give lectures on writing for the whole year 1988 to the students? Thanks for the clarification.


title: What is the difference between “Gay” and “Homosexual"? Is it only by gender?

text: I was interested in the line “...most Americans use the word 'gay' now instead of 'homosexual'” in Maureen Dowd’s article titled “Happily Never After?” in today’s (April 2) New York Times: > I’m worried about how the justices can properly debate same-sex marriage > when some don’t even seem to realize that **most Americans use the word > "gay" now instead of "homosexual";** when Chief Justice John Roberts thinks > gays are merely concerned with marriage as a desirable "label," and when > Justice Samuel Alito compares gay marriage to cellphones. When you say “instead of,” it gives me an impression that they are different things, for examples, “I use margarine instead of butter,” “They use acrylic panels instead of plate glass for windows” and "The new car uses aluminum instead of steel plate for the body." However, when I checked Oxford English Dictionary, it renders “gay” as: > a.1 (of a person, especially a man) homosexual. > >   1. relating to or used by homosexuals: > > > n. a homosexual, especially a man. Also OALD defines Gay as: > a. (of people, especially men) sexually attracted to people of the same sex. > [Syn.] HOMOSEXUAL Aren’t “gay” and “homosexual” the same thing except “gay” being applied to men? What’s the difference between “gay” and “homosexual” other than gender attributes?


title: Etymology Moderne of ... "sick", "bad", and words we hardly consider being the opposite any more

text: Somewhat prosaically, it was stated that the origin (or at least the coining practice likely used) of the word "sick" to mean "awesome", or "cool", or "astounding" ... itself used the word "cool", which by itself is hardly a positive absolute connotation. In fact, "hot" would be the positive connotation. Hot chick, hot rod, hot dinner, hot venue. Which lead me to wonder, of all the various "social adjectives", how many relatively negative ones have become so mainstream, that they're now positive? Like "cool" Like "incredible" (without credibility, false, a farce) Like "amazing" (early 13c., amasian "stupefy, make crazy) Like "wicked" (late 13c., earlier wick (12c.)/wicca - wretched) Couldn't find any useful lists online. Bob


title: Hyphens when using "something + style" to describe something?

text: > _He lit the fire Cherokee style._ or: > _He lit the fire Cherokee-style._ I have seen both. Which is correct? And, if it's the second option, then what about "multiple words + style"? E.g.: > _She organized the view spiral staircase style._ versus: > _She organized the view spiral-staircase-style._ (which looks very wrong)


title: Closed-toe, close-toe, or closed-toed shoes?

text: I've always used closed-toe (as in: "the toe of the shoe is closed"), but apparently, the different variations are fairly common. I suppose I could see how "closed-toed" would make sense in terms of a type of shoe ("the shoe has closed toes; it is closed-toed"), but it doesn't sound right to me. Which is commonly accepted as "correct"? Is there any language rule that would determine which is correct?


title: Examples that actually mean the opposite of their original meanings

text: I have learned that in English, some words have been used to mean the opposite of their original meanings, for the purpose of often negative intensions such as sarcasm, irony, ... For example I would think most use of 'way to' these days is used in this ironic way. In English, single-word replies often denote sarcasm. A common example you might often see in movies and TV is: if someone says a lame joke and someone else replies in an unenthusiastic tone of voice, "Hilarious," it implies that the person thinks that the joke was not funny at all. In order not to be easily fooled, I wonder if we can provide more examples that are often used by native speakers to actually mean the opposite?


title: Origin of "no such thing" idiomatic phrase

text: The risk of asking this question could be like asking the question > What is the origin of the phrase "I love you", or "I need a shower", etc which grew out of spontaneous language use. Anyway, I am willing to take that risk because I have a strong feeling that its origins could be traced to a few or a singular event. Examples of usage:   * There is no such thing as a free lunch.   * There is no such thing as Truth.   * There is no such thing as real democracy.   * There is no such thing as blah .. blah ...


title: Interpreting "not bad"

text: In conversations people often use "not bad". How to interpret this? Are they feeling good or just not bad or somewhere in the middle?   Does it depend on the context? E.g.: > X: How are you doing today?   >  Y: Not bad. You? Does "not bad" mean "good"? E.g.: > X: How was the food in that new restaurant?   >  Y: Not bad. Are there examples showing "not bad" doesn't mean "good" either?


title: What does “pace and poise” mean?

text: The phrase “pace and poise” seems to be a sort of idiom, albeit I can’t find any reference of it being one in the dictionaries I can avail myself of. I have come upon the phrase in the following passage taken from the New Yorker (emphasis added): > But something happens to the **pace and the poise** of “Django Unchained” as > the hunters head South and the screen fills with the word “Mississippi.” While I perfectly know the meaning of each word this phrase is constituted of, I think that there is something more to the mere addition of each meaning which I cannot grasp at the moment. Is this an idiom?


title: People referring to themselves with verbs with "-s"

text: Sometimes I see people on the internet saying something like "Me has a box" "Me does the job", or "I has a box" (or even "I haz a box"). And I'm sure they do it intentionally. Why do people refer to themselves using verbs in 3rd person while using "I" or "me" in front of them? And is there any difference between that and using it in a "correct" way (like "I have a box")?


title: "Come of a royal family" vs. "comes from a royal family"

text: Is it correct to say "She comes of a royal family"? Or should it be "She comes from a royal family"? Both sound correct to me. Could someone explain?