title: Term for words that appear to mean something that they don't?

text: Is there a name for words that appear to mean something other than their actual meaning? For example:   * A "paper boy" is not a boy made of paper.   * A "greenhouse" is not a house that is coloured green.


title: Where is the modifier in "the majority of senators", "a number of students", "the range of documents"?

text: Where is the modifier in "the majority of senators", "a number of students" and in "a range of documents" in these sentences:   1. The majority of senators will be fired tomorrow.   2. A number of students might not be able to take the test.   3. The range of documents could only increase.


title: An expression or saying meaning "don't celebrate too early"

text: I am looking for a saying or common expression to say that it is not advisable to anticipate or celebrate something before you know the actual outcome. I am thinking about political elections or football match results, but also more everyday expectations about a possible positive outcome.


title: What does 'trout-shouldered' mean?

text: In an episode of the television show Archer one character refers to another as being "trout-shouldered." _“This pathetic, trout-shouldered excuse for a boom operator is Chet Manly."_ What might this phrase mean?


title: Did "brushwoodsmen" exist?

text: While talking to someone about surnames and ties to various jobs in the past ("Coopers" worked on barrels, "Smiths" made things, etc.) I asked about "Brushwood". He said that name tied to "brushwoodsmen", English thieves. I can't find any references on the term brushwoodsmen or brushwoodsman, though...are there references that such a thing existed?


title: What's the word for having a very long scrotum?

text: I've forgotten the word for having a very long scrotum, it's like rapscallion or scallywag but I just can't remember. I've searched but the majority of references are medical conditions and it's not a medical term I'm looking for. I'm hoping someone just knows the answer. Thanks. I'm not looking for swollen testicles, it's a word that means you have a very long scrotum - like an old man. If you've seen the movie Bad Grandpa with Johnny Knoxville, the part where he does a strip in a bar on ladies night and his scrotum hangs out of his underpants, that's the look I'm thinking of. It's just one word and I'm sure it has the letters 'all' in it like the two words above (not like ball). (I keep wanting to say "It's on the tip of my tongue" but that's just wrong)


title: Much and not much

text: Why is it that **much** doesn't fit in many of the places **not much** does? Compare               "Have you got any food in the house?" "Not much."     "Would you like this old box?" "That's not much use to me."      with               "Have you got any food in the house?" "Much!"     "Would you like this old box?" "That's much use to me!"      Although **much** has the same meaning throughout, it seems we can't use it on its own much. Yet we can **make much of** something, and there can be **much ado about nothing**. What's going on here? Is this purely idiomatic, or is there some grammatical or linguistic light that can be shed?


title: "Females under the age of..." instead of "Women under the age of..." Is that offensive?

text: Is it offensive to refer to women as "females", as I've seen posted at the entrance of a night club: > "Females under the age of twenty-one will have to...."


title: "What's past is past" is a good grammar structure?

text: I'm not sure about whether “What's past is past” is well-structured or not. Please help me to find out the structure of it. (I wonder if it has double passive clauses; in other words, is _past_ here a verb or an adjective?)


title: How did "tot" come to mean a measure or ration?

text: How did tot, > A measure of spirits, especially rum. get that meaning? It seems to have come to mean a specific ration, as in the daily _tot_ of rum given to a sailor in the Royal Navy (well, no longer daily; see Black Tot Day). This is in almost complete opposition to the idea of a _total_ , though I can see how perhaps you could tot up the tots to make a whole. Other possibilities might be an association with the _small child_ meaning of _tot_ (something tiny) or totter (stumbling). (I'm also curious about _teetotal_ , but it looks as though it came later, so it's unlikely to be a source for this meaning.)


title: Alternatives to "skating on thin ice"

text: The idiom _skating on thin ice_ to express that a person is performing an action that has a great risk is commonplace. What are some good alternatives, both common and uncommon or possibly regional?


title: Apostrophe for noun modifiers

text: I would like to know which of the following is grammatically acceptable, please. The first American students' scientific conference   The first American students scientific conference   The first American student's scientific conference   The first American student scientific conference


title: What do you do when a sentence ends with a decimal?

text: In a sentence like "The answer is 0.8." the period looks awkward after "0.8". Is there a rule for a situation like this? Sometimes I put a space before the period like this: "The answer is 0.8 ." However, that looks awkward too.


title: What does formula mean here?

text: What does "liver formula" exactly mean? does it mean the same as liver supplement or liver medicine?


title: "Ashes" vs. "cinder"

text: I am a bit confused on where to use "ashes" and where "cinder". Do both of them have the same meaning?


title: pronunciation: question about dictionary phonetic symbol

text: I was looking up the word "meditative", and in one dictionary, the fourth letter "i" is pronounced "ə", but in another dictionary it is pronounced "ɪ". I don't know which phonetic symbol I should follow (for British English). I listened to the voice samples in both dictionaries, and they all sound like "ɪ". I need some guidelines.


title: Position of verb for object clause

text: Is the general word order of this sentence correct? > We investigate how strong the effect of X on Y is. Or, as an alternative, > We investigate how strong the effect of X is on Y. In a preprint for a scientific publication I came across the formulation: > We investigate how strong is the effect of XZY. and now I'm all confused.


title: "Is it" South Africa only

text: I don't know if it is still in vogue but ten years ago in South Africa the phrase "Is it?" was common. It could be used as a response to almost any statement. Is it (ha ha) unique to South Africa or of Brit origin? examples: "I'm going to the movies" - "Is it?" "Can't find my keys." -"Is it?" "He's dead you know." - "Is it?"


title: Usage of "studying books"

text: I'm not a native English speaker. I was recently chided for wrongly using _studying_ as follows: > acquiring information by **studying books** Is this really wrong?


title: What are some colloquial English phrases for 'a child acquiring its parents' characteristics or features'?

text: I am not sure if the title is clear enough to you, so let me briefly explain what I'm looking for. We sometimes see children who look very much like their father or mother, or even behave typically like either of them. I don't know if there is a formal or literary phrase to express this occurrence. But I wish to know some colloquial phrases which are used to convey the idea that I am talking about. Please bear with me if this topic sounds too mundane to you, and help me learn. **Edit:** For example, is it correct to say _'he has gone on his father?'_ This phrase, which I think is an effect of language transfer from Hindi, can be often heard in some parts of India


title: But/while/whereas/though/although/however

text: While commenting on this question, I wondered what word is most appropriate for the blank here: > Each time I do a compare, the marking method changes to highlighting the > entire line, ___ _ I prefer to mark changes with a rectangle. I thought of _but_ , _while_ , _whereas_ , _though_ , _although_ and _however_. Could someone briefly describe the implications and suitability of each of the above in this context? Is there another word which is more suitable?


title: Punctuation of direct speech, edge cases

text: I recently learned that I have developed a consistent, but entirely wrong approach to punctuating direct speech in fiction. I am in the unenviable position of trying to relearn. Previously I wrote such things as: > "I'm done." She said. when the quoted speech was definitely, absolutely the end of a sentence. So now I know I need. > "I'm done," she said. This follows the rule that a period is only allowed when the end of the spoken sentence is also the end of the sentence in the narrative. For example: > "I'm done." She slammed the door on the way out. So, it now looks odd to me when there are multiple sentences in the speech: > "I can't take her. I'm done," she said. Can you reassure me that is correct, or give the correct form? Please don't suggest rewriting the sentence to put 'she said' in the middle - I'm aware of that: I'm specifically asking about the punctuation rules. The other odd case is speech ending with an ellipsis. Do sentence terminating ellipses (four periods normally) become: > "I can't take her. You know, ...," she said, nodding towards Jane. If so, are non-terminating ellipses dealt with the same way? > "I can't take ...," she nodded towards Jane, "any more!" or can non-terminating ellipses be used unadorned? > "I can't take ..." she nodded towards Jane, "any more!" I'd be very grateful if you could point me at references as well as answers. For the record I am a British writer writing for both British and US publication, so any variation is also interesting to me!


title: Space before three dots?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the proper way of using triple dots and spaces before/after them? Should there be a space before three dots? Examples: > I don't know if this is good... > > I don't know if this is good ... Also, as a status message intended for a software user:               Writing results... Done.      or               Writing results ... Done.


title: Ellipsis at the end of a quote

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Punctuation of direct speech, edge cases   >  Space before three dots? > "I don't think so," she stated. > > "I don't think..." her voice trailed off. Is this second sentence correct from punctuation point of view (ellipsis working along with the same rule as `?`,`!` \- replacing the comma), or does it require an extra comma? (or yet something different?) I'm aware it is normally used instead of a comma or a full stop, with very rare exceptions, but the rules of using punctuation at the end of interrupted quotes still baffle me.


title: Spaces for Ellipses

text: I find some opinions about the rules for ellipses are conflicting. Here are some conflicting issues: **Q1:** Are the spaces between the dots in a ellipsis necessary, i.e. `dot- space-dot-space-dot`?   * (Yes.) Grammar Girl's article > . . . for everyday purposes, it's fine to use regular spaces between the > ellipsis points. Type period-space-period-space-period. Just make sure your > dots don’t end up on two different lines.   * (No.) Robert Bringhurst's Elements of Typographic Style, on the wiki page > Bringhurst writes that a full space between each dot is "another Victorian > eccentricity. In most contexts, the Chicago ellipsis is much too wide"—he > recommends using flush dots, or thin-spaced dots (up to one-fifth of an em), > or the prefabricated ellipsis character.   * (No.) My personal habit. I think typing `dot-dot-dot` is more convenient; though I find it looks better to use the `dot-space-dot-space-dot` style on this page :) **Q2:** Normally an ellipsis should be spaced fore-and-aft to separate it from the text. So, when should the fore space or the aft space disappear?   * Grammar Girl's article > **Ellipses at the beginning and end of quotations**   >  Aardvark said, “. . . Squiggly never caught a fish.”   >   >  **Ellipses with question marks and exclamation points**   >  “Where did he go? . . . Why did he go out again?” [Material is removed > between the two sentences]   >  “Where did he go . . . ? Why did he go out again?” [Material is removed > before the first question mark. Note the space between the last ellipsis > point and the question mark.]   >   >  **Ellipses with commas and semicolons**   >  “Aardvark went home, . . . and Squiggly decided to meet him later.”   >  “Aardvark went home . . . ; Squiggly would meet him later.” [Note the space > between the ellipsis and the semicolon.]   * Robert Bringhurst's Elements of Typographic Style, on the wiki page > . . . when it combines with other punctuation, the leading space disappears > and the other punctuation follows. > >     * i … j `i-(space)-(ellipsis)-(space)-j, the normal case.` >     * k…. `k-(ellipsis)-(dot)` >     * l…, l `l-(ellipsis)-(comma)-(space)-l` >     * l, … l `l-(comma)-(space)-(ellipsis)-(space)-l` >     * m…? `m-(ellipsis)-(question mark)` >     * n…! `n-(ellipsis)-(exclamation mark)`   * Katherine Fry & Rowena Kirton's grammar book: _Grammar for Grown-Ups_ > . . . The only time there isn't a final space is when the ellipsis comes > before a closing quote mark -- then the quote mark comes directly after dot > 3, 'like . . .' this, 'not . . . ' this. How numerous the conflicting rules are! I'm totally confused. **EDIT** To state my question more clearly -- I need to write some software manuals in plain ASCII text. Can I just type ellipses choosing any style because there's no strict rule about that?


title: What is the proper way of using triple dots and spaces before/after them?

text: > ... part of a sentence ...   >  ...part of a sentence ...   >  ... part of a sentence... Notice the spaces before/after the dots. Which usage is the correct one ?


title: Understanding the Ellipsis

text: **Edit:** I'd like to know the specific rules for AP Style. I have a few quick questions about the ellipsis and its usage (I also understand that its rules are different depending on the style being used, so for this particular case, I'd like to know about AP & Chicago):   1. When an ellipsis appears in the middle of a sentence--in order to omit information--how many spaces, both between the words and the ellipsis and between the dots that comprise the ellipsis itself, should be used?   2. When should a four-dotted ellipsis be utilized? And when it's used, what should its spacing look like?   3. I've read that an ellipsis should never begin a sentence--is this true?


title: Using an ellipsis to show omission, when we skip complete sentences. 3 or 4 dots?

text: Imagine I want to quote this text (the parts in bold): > **If there were such a thing, I think I'd be a champion.** You know, baking > under dangerous conditions, high-speed frosting... all hypothetical > examples, obviously. **Of course assuming I don't live in a madhouse.** Should I quote it with 4 dots, because I'm skipping a full sentence? > If there were such a thing, I think I'd be a champion. . . . Of course > assuming I don't live in a madhouse.


title: Question marks in written conversation

text: Should a question mark appear at the end of question (and before the end quotation mark)? An example is "How are you feeling today," he asked. I'm getting conflicting advice.


title: "Went and got" — is it grammatically correct?

text: Trying to find out if phrases like "went and got" are correct, e.g.: > She **went and got** the book.


title: "In here" or only "here"

text: I would use _here_ with no preposition, like > I wish you are here. They are coming here. However talking to a well-educated British woman I noted she would put an _in_ before _here_. Since then I only write > I wish you are in here. They are coming in here. But I'm not sure. I never asked her why but I presumed she was right since she is native and goes to one of the best colleges in the UK. To make things trickier for me there is a song by Moby whose lyrics is something like that > I love to move here "Wooo" > > I love to move in here (2x)


title: A grammar tense question

text: Can you tell me whether the " have found " written on the fourth line (bold) of the following sentence is the correct tense to be used? Should it just be " found " instead of " have found "? Please tell me the grammatical reason for it. Or are you gonna write the sentence in an entirely different way? Are any punctuation marks missing in the sentence? Many thanks for your help. In the song, you can hear how she pours her heart out with such intense emotions in her clear, powerful voice, complaining why everything in her life has gone so wrong. Please just listen to her voice and see how she wails; the wails that were not only for her but also for all those who across generations **have found** themselves in her situation.


title: What is the difference between "nevermind" and "never mind"?

text: I never remember the appropriate use of either of _nevermind_ and _never mind_. What's the difference and how can I remember?


title: Our bodies' or our body's

text: In this context: "This [subject] [verb clause] by boosting our [body's || bodies'] immune system?" In this case the writer is using "our" as a generic substitution for "your". The argument went that "our body" is actually short for "each of our body", hence taking the singular form. I maintain that since "our" is plural, bodies must agree with the number. My recommendation was to disambiguate by changing "our" to "your". But in the example sentence above without making this substitution, which is correct?


title: Comparative or superlative to describe a quality of a member of a set of two things?

text: For example, 'he's the bigger of the two guards' or 'he's the biggest of the two guards'? The comparative indicates that something is bigger/more difficult than another member. If there's only two members of the set being described, then surely both forms are equivalent? What about when the comparative and the superlative aren't regular? e.g., 'my puzzle is the more difficult of the two' or 'my puzzle is the most difficult of the two'? I think I'd probably use the comparative, but it seems logical that the superlative would be okay too.


title: Why do we "talk turkey"?

text: Some customers and I started to _talk turkey_ over a programming requirement the other day, meaning that all parties involved were starting serious negotiations or discussions. Naturally I wondered why _talk turkey_ came to have this meaning. Does anyone know? Checking the webs turned up Michael Quinion's findings over at World Wide Words here but he remarks that none of them are wholly convincing.


title: What the round is going on?

text: This is really annoying me. All over CBS/ESPN/EVERYWHERE I am hearing that today's NCAA basketball games are round 3 of the tournament. When did the definition of a round in a tournament change? I have helped put together literally 100s of baseball, basketball, and soccer tournaments in my life and a round has always been a level in a tournament. I am sure that 10 years ago that today's games were the 2nd round because it was the 2nd level of the tournament. Please see a simple google search for 3rd round. So now they are using "round" to mean "day". Yes it is the 3rd day of the tournament but it is still only the 2nd round. Why did this change? Is this the new normal? Why is this driving me nuts? When did the meaning of a round in a tournament totally change?


title: Silly questions, like X is/are a complete waste of time?

text: I'm stumped with this one. Given the question, "What did you learn from doing this task?", which of the following answers is correct? >   1. That silly questions, like "What did you learn from doing this task?" > is a complete waste of time. >   2. That silly questions, like "What did you learn from doing this task?" > are a complete waste of time. > I know the latter is technically correct, but the first answer also "sounds right"!


title: Correct position of "only"

text: Which is grammatically correct? > I can _only_ do so much in this time. or > I can do _only_ so much in this time.


title: Use of "only" and word-order

text: I'm writing an automobile website and some of my paragraphs contain the word "only". I understand the following. As far as I'm aware, this is right: > Only the Volkswagen Polo, Golf, Passat, Passat CC and Sharan are available > in this country. This, as far as I am aware means that those Volkswagen vehicles are available, and no other. This is where I'm having my problem, in the following articles: > The Subaru Legacy was launched recently here. Sold as a sedan or wagon, it > is **only available with** 2.0-litre/148bhp and 2.5-litre/165bhp 4-cylinder > petrol engines, for now. The 3.6-litre/256bhp petrol and 2.0-litre/148bhp > turbodiesel may arrive in mid-2011. However, if I rearrange it as such: > The Subaru Legacy was launched recently here. Sold as a sedan or wagon, it > is **available only with** 2.0-litre/148bhp and 2.5-litre/165bhp 4-cylinder > petrol engines, for now. The 3.6-litre/256bhp petrol and 2.0-litre/148bhp > turbodiesel may arrive in mid-2011. or as: > The Subaru Legacy was launched recently here. Sold as a sedan or wagon, it > is **available with 2.0-litre/148bhp and 2.5-litre/165bhp 4-cylinder petrol > engines only** , for now. The 3.6-litre/256bhp petrol and 2.0-litre/148bhp > turbodiesel may arrive in mid-2011. Here's another similar article from my website I'm developing: > Toyota have facelifted the Corolla recently here. It is available in three > body styles, a five-door hatchback, a four-door sedan and a station wagon. > There are two engines available: a 1.3-litre/85bhp and a 1.6-litre/109bhp > 4-cylinder petrol.   > The hatchback model comes in four versions - GL, GLi, GLX and Executive.   > The sedan variant can be specified in GLi and GLX. **Only the sedan > version** gets the 1.6-litre/124bhp and 1.8-litre/132bhp engines.   >  The Station wagon model line-up mirrors that of the hatchback, except the > Executive version is unavailable. As I understand it, that means one version, no others. But if I changed it to these, what would it mean: > Toyota have facelifted the Corolla recently here. It is available in three > body styles, a five-door hatchback, a four-door sedan and a station wagon. > There are two engines available: a 1.3-litre/85bhp and a 1.6-litre/109bhp > 4-cylinder petrol.   > The hatchback model comes in four versions - GL, GLi, GLX and Executive.   > The sedan variant can be specified in GLi and GLX. **The sedan version gets > the 1.6-litre/124bhp and 1.8-litre/132bhp engines only**.   >  The Station wagon model line-up mirrors that of the hatchback, except the > Executive version is unavailable. If I understand it correctly, only at the end of a sentence should be used carefully. Also, the following: > Toyota have facelifted the Corolla recently here. It is available in three > body styles, a five-door hatchback, a four-door sedan and a station wagon. > There are two engines available: a 1.3-litre/85bhp and a 1.6-litre/109bhp > 4-cylinder petrol.   > The hatchback model comes in four versions - GL, GLi, GLX and Executive.   > The sedan variant can be specified in GLi and GLX. The sedan version **only > gets the 1.6-litre/124bhp and 1.8-litre/132bhp engines**.   >  The Station wagon model line-up mirrors that of the hatchback, except the > Executive version is unavailable. Apologies if this is very wordy, I'm trying to ensure factual accuracy with my grammar! The use of the word "only" and word-order sometimes proves problematic for me.


title: Where do you place the word 'only'

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Correct position of "only"   >  Use of "only" and word-order Should one say > The bidders shall not be permitted to bid for one or two tenders only. or > The bidders shall not be permitted to bid for only one or two tenders.


title: Position of only in a sentence and meaning?

text: OK, so I fall down on this one sometimes, but here goes, what sentence means which? from my geography paragraph; Only East Anglia was voted the most coastal part in the North London commuter belt. East Anglia was only voted the most coastal part in the North London commuter belt. East Anglia only was voted the most coastal part in the North London commuter belt. East Anglia was voted only the most coastal part in the North London commuter belt. East Anglia was voted the only most coastal part in the North London commuter belt. East Anglia was voted the most coastal part in only the North London commuter belt. East Anglia was voted the most coastal part in the only North London commuter belt. East Anglia was voted the most coastal part in the North London commuter belt only. and from my car paragraph - two separate sentences; Only Renault sold 1,450 vehicles of MPV and 8,000 of commercial vehicles in total last year. Renault only sold 1,450 vehicles of MPV and 8,000 of commercial vehicles in total last year. Renault sold only 1,450 vehicles of MPV and 8,000 of commercial vehicles in total last year. Renault sold 1,450 vehicles of MPV and 8,000 of commercial vehicles only in total last year. Renault sold 1,450 vehicles of MPV and 8,000 of commercial vehicles in total only last year. Renault sold 1,450 vehicles of MPV and 8,000 of commercial vehicles in total last year only. Another paragraph. Only in Europe, Toyota offers the Camry as the 2.5 GL or 3.5 V6 GLX sedan. In Europe only, Toyota offers the Camry as the 2.5 GL or 3.5 V6 GLX sedan. In Europe, Toyota only offers the Camry as the 2.5 GL or 3.5 V6 GLX sedan. In Europe, Toyota offers the Camry only as the 2.5 GL or 3.5 V6 GLX sedan. In Europe, Toyota offers only the Camry as the 2.5 GL or 3.5 V6 GLX sedan. In Europe, Toyota offers the Camry as only the 2.5 GL or 3.5 V6 GLX sedan. In Europe, Toyota offers the Camry as the 2.5 GL or 3.5 V6 GLX sedan. And finally, my fourth sentence, which is: Only John worked with Jane on a Monday when he went off-site. John only worked with Jane on a Monday when he went off-site. John worked only with Jane on a Monday when he went off-site. John worked with only Jane on a Monday when he went off-site. John worked with Jane on only a Monday when he went off-site. John worked with Jane on a Monday when only he went off-site. John worked with Jane on a Monday when he went off-site only. John worked with Jane on a Monday when he went only off-site. I'd appreciate any help in ensuring that my sentences read the way I intended, thanks! ;)


title: "If only I" or "If I only"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Correct position of "only" Should I use _only_ before or after the pronoun? > If only I had a chance > > If I only had a chance Both sentences bring a lot of results and both seem to be the name of songs. Are both correct? Is there a rule for similar sentences?


title: Positioning "only" in "I have worked with X"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Correct position of “only” Which of the following sentences are correct? >   1. I have worked with only Mr. X. >   2. I have worked only with Mr. X. >   3. I have only worked with Mr. X. >   4. I have worked with Mr. X only. > Are all of the above correct? If so, how they differ in meaning?


title: Does it matter where you put “only”?

text: Could you please tell me which one of these sentences is correct, or are they both grammatically correct? > This will only happen if you go with me. > > This will happen only if you go with me.


title: Adjective meaning "nothing can be added to it"

text: I'm looking for an adjective, and thesauri have failed me. I'm trying to create the sense of "nothing can be added to this thing", which the words "complete" and "incorrigible" don't capture. Like if I was talking about two people who were in a "happy, complete and __ relationship", if I wanted to describe the relationship as so perfect that it needed no improvement. I thought I was onto something with "unameliorable", but I haven't been able to find any dictionary entries for it, nor on wiktionary.


title: The usage of en dash between two complete dates

text: Is it necessary to put a space before and after the symbol en dash (–) put between two complete dates? Example: > January 1, 2013 – January 1, 2014


title: Question on hyphenated words

text: My niece and I do the layout and editing for books. Lately, she has started letting her program hyphenate words at the ends of sentences to avoid the rivers of white you see otherwise. This has created lots of problems for hyphenation. Sure, I can look them up in the dictionary, but the dictionary is not always clear about the endings of other forms of the words. For example, is it attend-ed or should it be atten-ded? It just isn't always clear on these other forms of the words. And it doesn't always seem to follow the same rules when you can find examples.


title: Use of "afraid not"

text: Is this sentence correct? > I am **afraid not of** preparing for the exam **but of the result.** Or is there some other way to write that sentence?


title: Help with finding/coining an appropriate word

text: I've been at this for literally weeks. I'm trying to make up, by combining other words cleverly or even coining my own, a word to describe a service or network that links up professionals/students from all over the world together. I've tried so many things, but I think my creative juice has run out. If you have any cool suggestions, please share. I'd share what I came up with, but I dont want to expose you to my way of thinking so that you dont come up with similar results. But for example, many of them used words like link and mesh and tree. So like Meshtree would have been a decent one.


title: What's a "labour of love"?

text: I found that phrase applied a lot to women but then also to men (so that's probably not [only] related to being "in labour"). At first I thought it had to do with motherly/parenthood chores. But now I understand it's also applied to various unrelated activities. And do we know the origin of the expression ?


title: Word for "official school interest group"

text: Is there a word that refers to an official interest group held in school where registration is totally optional but members once registered are expected to come? _Official_ means the school keeps records and members who do not reach a certain attendance threshold would be kicked out. I was thinking of _school club_ but that seems to suggest that attendance is totally optional since clubs have the notion of come-and-go-whenever-you-like. On the other hand, the word _association_ or _organization_ sound too business-like. Besides _school club_ , is there a better word that has a closer meaning to _official school interest group_?


title: Conversions between "though" and "however", both used at the beginning of the sentence

text: I've come across a sentence conversion question of the following type and am getting stumped. We need to change the following sentence to a construction **_starting_** with "However...". > _Though she is eccentric, she deserves to be respected._ Using "however" in the middle of the conversion would be straightforward, as in: > _She is eccentric; however, she deserves to be respected._ The only option starting with "However" I can think of, is: > _However eccentric she may be, she deserves to be respected._ But I can't help but feel that my construction introduces an element of 'degree' to the quality in question (ie. eccentricity) that is not present in the original sentence - the original sentence talks about respect when we're talking about the specific eccentricity present in the person in question, while my conversion is about respect no matter how much the eccentricity (all degrees of eccentricity). Am I just overthinking this? Is the conversion wrong because of some other reason? Or is it just fine? Any help?


title: Proper use of "out to lunch", "out for lunch" and "out at lunch"

text: Recently a co-worker and I debated the proper use of "out to lunch". The argument stemmed from conversation over the appropriate preposition to use, and became particularly heated when we tried to determine if lunch was a verb, or was short for "luncheon" — or some other, older word. (Yes, he referenced "lunchentach".) Convention aside, what is the proper usage of the phrase?


title: Where does the term "cold calling" originate from?

text: Did it exist before The Telephone - has it always been associated with 'sales'? Here is an example.


title: Grammaticality of "I am worrying" and how it compares to "I am worried" and "I worry"

text: This question is about _worried about_ vs. _worrying about_. I think "being worried about someone/something" is more usual than "worry about", isn't it? Can I use the progressive aspect for ongoing worriedness? For example: >   * I am worrying about their expectations about me. >   * I'm worrying about next. >


title: "Pomp" without "circumstance"

text: Is the word _pomp_ ever used without being followed by _circumstance_? It seems as though the word is only ever used to denote _pomp and circumstance_. Are there other uses?


title: Why is a woman's purse called a "pocketbook"?

text: It's not a book, and it doesn't fit in anyone's pocket. Why does my brother- in-law insist on calling his wife's purse a _pocketbook_? I'm interested in the etymology, and in the chronological and geographical distribution of this expression. My sister & I (raised in southern California, can't get used to such an obvious misnomer) vs. bro-in-law (raised in New England, doesn't understand why we're bothered) are only one data point, and only on the geographical scale.


title: Is "two-thirds" or "two thirds" correct?

text: I just recently answered a question related to how much water was filled in a glass. I answered "two thirds" but the answer was wrong because in the key answer book it was "two-thirds". Please tell me if my answer is wrong and why?


title: How to name something that has sub-categories

text: So I have this database of my categories. And every category can have sub- categories, except for the prime-level ones. In my database I designate a row that is pointing to the category which will contain this category as its sub- category. How do I call that? _Mother Category_? Maybe there is more "technical" word for that? _P.S. Sorry, English is not my native language so I don't know many words_.


title: How common is "fugly"?

text: "Fugly" is a vulgar slang adjective as far as I know, and I wonder how common it is, and how do people react when they hear that word. Native speakers are appreciated if they share their opinions.


title: How and why to conjugate verb with and/or subject

text: Which of the following statements is correctly conjugated? Is there a rule or explanation for conjugating verbs with **_and/or_** subjects? > The X and/or Y **is** true. or > The X and/or Y **are** true. Does the plurality of `X` and `Y` matter?


title: What's the more appropriate substitution for "give a f**k/d**n/s**t"

text: I want a more appropriate phrase that has the same form ("give a **") and meaning as the offensive "give a f**k/d**n/s**t". Is there any?


title: Is there a pejorative alternative to "improvise"?

text: I'm looking for a word or phrase that implies _improvisation_ in a negative context. "Jury rigging" comes to mind, but I'm in need of a term that can't be mistaken as anything but pejorative. The context would be someone remarking at improvisation in annoyance or contempt.


title: Usage of in spite of

text: He escaped several times but was finally caught. If the sentence has to be started with 'In spite of', which of the following will be correct? 1\. In spite of his escaping several times, he has finally been caught. Or, 2\. In spite of escaping several times, he was finally caught. Similarly, which is grammatically more correct? 'In spite of his being poor, he was happy.' or 'In spite of being poor, he was happy.'


title: "Despite" vs "In spite of"

text: Are _despite_ and _in spite of_ interchangeable? I prefer _despite_ but the alternative sometimes scans better.


title: The relation between "substitute" and

text: ..."prostitute". Both words are suffixed by "-stitute", but obviously the meaning are quite different. "Substitute" is a conceptual, mental and intelligent activity, whilst "prostitute" is a profitable, body (mostly) and sensual activity. In my opinion, they don't have any reasonable relationships! So why do they spell so similar?


title: Word that means "recognizing that something is 'a thing'"

text: I once read a story about a Navy man who, due to a bad childhood, never learned what emotions were. To him, there was no "angry", "happy", or "sad" — it was just "intense" and "not intense". Although most of us can differentiate between our feelings, there are many other such events in our daily lives that we experience, but don't necessarily have the language to talk or think about. For example:   * Someone who doesn't know much about cooking might not know that their food is undersalted. To them, it would simply taste "bland". Or, for a more frequent example, someone who doesn't know about the taste of astringency might find that some cups of tea taste worse than others, but not be able to describe why. One more: how about beer? I only started drinking beer recently, and it used to all taste the same to me. Now I can differentiate between vastly different styles (IPA and hefeweizen, for example), but all IPAs still taste almost identical. Over time, I'm sure I'll be able to differentiate between even those.   * Someone who's never encountered a discussion of framerate might not know why some TV shows look like soap operas and others don't.   * Someone who never bothered to learn the rules of grammar might not be able to explain them, even though they'd still be able to use them in everyday speech. (Same with math.) I constantly surprise myself by becoming conscious of weird grammar rules in Russian, such as the fact that the words in a sentence can be rearranged without changing the meaning.   * Someone who doesn't know music theory might not be able to explain why they have an emotional response to part of a song. A musician, on the other hand, can talk about chord progressions, tonality, melodic lines, voice leading, and various other techniques used to increase and decrease the tension. In each of these cases, once you know the trick, the explanation seems obvious in retrospect. How could you not know what "happy" feels like? How do you not recognize saltiness? But when you're in a position where you don't even know that you don't know something, it's easy to miss patterns among the noise. There's simply no conceptual foundation for you to grab onto. Is there a word that means, roughly, "taking something that was once understood in only a nebulous, ill-defined way, and acquiring the core concepts and vocabulary required to understand and talk about it specifically"? Or, more simply put, "recognizing that something is 'a thing'"?


title: Is a comma necessary before "for which"?

text: Is a comma needed in this sentence?   Is _for which_ used correctly in this sentence? > We define message codes **for which** security is well defined.


title: Are "kinda", "sorta", "oughta" and "sposta" acceptable in formal writing?

text: I get that _sorta_ , _kinda_ , _sorta-kinda_ (this one I quite like though) _oughta_ and _sposta_ imitate speech but it still annoys me to find them "in print", especially when the overall tone is formal. Occasionally, I have read detailed answers on EL&U in otherwise impeccable, faultless English, containing any one or more of these expressions. I have asked myself what was the aim of the writer, when the rest of ( _resta_?) the answer is formal and technical in style. Outside of EL&U are there examples of formal and technical texts which contain any of the above expressions? And ironically, are these forms considered ungrammatical/non-standard when used in informal writing but perfectly acceptable in formal?


title: In "set of reasons that" what does *that* modify?

text: Suppose that there is a survey of people asking them their reasons for thinking or behaving a certain way. While analyzing the survey results, a researcher may discuss all the different reasons the respondents put forth, and compare reasons that were shared by multiple people. The researcher then writes: > There is a common set of reasons that are compelling. But I have a quibble with this: the sentence starts out with the singular subject _set_ (thus the matching _there is_ ), but surprises the reader by making _that_ modify _reasons_ instead of _set_ , as clearly indicated through the use of _are_ instead of _is_ that would match the singular _set_. Are my instincts correct? If so, what rule of grammar is this violating? _Bonus: please suggest a good title. It's hard to come up with a title when I don't know the answer, yet. I realized that "Sentence grammaticality" is not a good title, but I don't know if the current one is an improvement._


title: How do you say "three times a month" in one word?

text: We say _semimonthly_ when we describe something happening twice a month. for example "a semimonthly publication", "a semimonthly meeting", etc. Is there any word we can use to describe something that happens three times a month; preferably one word?


title: How to say "generating errors" in one word?

text: Erroneous means containing errors. I wanted to say about files that generate errors in a computer program, so I posted on a public mailing list: _errogenous files_. Could it be better? By better I don't mean more amusing. Maybe the construct I used is correct, but unfortunate. Is it? Actually you won't find any "errogenous files" on the net except those of mine :) > The program scans files, and the files in question contain characters which > trigger error messages in the scanning program.


title: Why is it “A first,” not “The first” for U.S Ice Dancing team taking the top spot in Sochi”?

text: I heard that the announcer, Tim McGuire reported that; > “ **A first** for U.S. Ice Dancing team, Gold. Meryl Davis, Charlie White > taking the top spot in Sochi.” in February 17 AP Radio News. I also found ”a fifth / sixth term” in Jeffery Archer’s fiction, “Prodigal Daughter”： > “It was from George that he learned that Henry Osborne had been re-elected > to Congress **a fifth term**. - P57 > > At least he had been right in stating that Henry Osborne was returned to > Congress for **a sixth term**. - P89 I wonder why it is “ **a** first” instead of “ **the** first” for U.S. Ice Dancing team, Gold. and “ **a** fifth / sixth term” instead of “ **the** fifth / sixth term” for Congressman, Osborne. I’m under impression that the ordinal number usually takes “the” like “the first time,” “Elizabeth the Second,” and “The Third man.” Is ‘the’ and “a” interchangeable for the ordinal number? If not, what is the difference between “A first” and “The first” in the context of U.S. Ice Dancing team winning Gold medal in Sochi?


title: Is saying 'Good Noon' valid?

text: How should I greet between 12pm and 2pm? Should I say 'Good Afternoon' or 'Good Noon'? Is Good Noon commonly used or not?


title: Is 'couple' ever used in the sense of 'some'?

text: Is the usage of the word _couple_ (as in, _"I want to ask a couple of questions..."_ ) to mean 'some' or 'few' correct (as in, interpreting given example to mean _"I want to ask a few questions"_ )? As a follow-up on the example, when someone says _"I want to ask a couple of questions..."_ , does the usage of 'couple' necessarily mean the two questions have to be related to each other, or can couple just mean 'two' in that context?


title: Has or Had / Past and Past Perfect

text: I'm polishing and redrafting my novel. But grammar is not my strong suit. I need help with tenses, specifically. As you may already know, stories are usually told in the past tense. But it's not always simple past. There's past perfect, as well. Could you please help me with this particular sentence: > Megan couldn't remember how long she has been sitting in her armchair, > staring at the empty wine glass in her hand. Should it be "she has been sitting" or "she had been sitting"?


title: Sharing a devotion?

text: Someone told me that this phrase is grammatically incorrect, but I do not understand why? > XYZ is a fellowship of adults sharing a devotion to encourage students.


An old fashioned word or phrase that describes a meditative walk. It's not a constitutional but it's something that Ben Franklin, or Thomas Edison would do to clear their mind, rejuvenate, reconnect, invigorate, rebalance etc. I think there is a noun for this activity. They might say "I am going to take my ...."


title: Pronouns: a word class or a subclass of nouns?

text: In the recently published ‘Oxford Modern English Grammar’, Bas Aarts classifies pronouns with nouns and not as a separate word class. In this, he follows the authors of ‘The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language’. Is this now a widely accepted practice in pedagogic circles on both sides of the Atlantic?


title: What does "over" mean in this sentence?

text: We are specialized in packing, and I have a client Email to me as below: > . . . do you over shrink-wrap service or is it included in the price? He uses _over_ here, what does he mean?


title: Referring to wild animals as "game"

text: I am reading stories by Jack London, and I have noticed that often wild animals are referred to as _game_. It sounds funny to my non-English-native speaker ear. Is there some reason why the word _game_ is used? Or did the word have a different meaning 100 years ago?


title: Value (in cents) of big words

text: I found the answer to this question interesting in that he referred to a "75 cent word". I would have called it a _50_ -cent word, not because I undervalued his answer but because that is how I have heard the phrase. I thought at first that am old enough that inflation caused the difference, but I found a 1976 reference to 75-cent word from 1976, the earliest reference to the phrase I found in a quick ngrams search. What is the "right" value to use in the phrase "?-cent word" (or, what was the original)? Has it changed over time? Do non-American English speakers have alternative expressions in local currency?


title: Should I use 10 cent words or $2 words?

text: In school, I learned to use 10 cent words, so instead of saying: (updated: from a paper that says a scientist doing experiment with fish would make it complicated to say:) > All biota exhibited 100% mortality rate. just say: > All fish died. which is plain and simple, and gets the idea across, so that people understand what you are saying. But in the real world, time and time again, verbally or written, I see people higher up purposefully using $2 words, to convey that they are educated, and to convey they can use difficult words that you don't understand, and suggest possibly they can do things that other people cannot, so they have power over you (maybe to write something like that to the CEO or board of directors, and if you are against him, the board of director probably won't believe you or not on your side when you write something all with 10 cents words versus his $2 words every where). So, was I too naive to believe "use 10 cent words"? The world may not be simply about "getting ideas across"? What might be an more accurate descriptions of the use of 10 cent words versus $2 words?


title: Origin/Usage of "[word] is a [number] dollar word"

text: I've often been wondering where the phrase in the title comes from - I always picture it as coming from an early television era game show, but more likely it has to do with pricing of telegrams or news paper advertisements? In particular, I'd like to know if there is a more subtle meaning to the numerical value being used; at least, moreso than "higher value means more sophisticated." From memory, I've seen it used (at least) with 0.10$, 2$, 3$, 4$, 5$ and 10$. Which values are commonly used to indicate what? Would a native speaker intuitively spot someone who's just making up numbers (e.g. "8$ word")? I've searched ELU and found a few usages, but no discussion about it: Should I use 10 cent words or $2 words? Is "autodidact" too obscure to use in a resume? Numbers and units Are these phrases too posh-sounding for conversational English?


title: Word for "best known function"

text: What is a single word for _best known function_? I'm trying to say, for example, that lumber has been the best known function of timber?


title: Confusing mealtimes

text: In "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens, when Pip returns after his meeting with the escaped convict, how come it says that he had dinner right afterwards? Did he skip lunch? Or did his meeting take all day? Can someone explain this for me?


title: Word to describe someone who doesn't appreciate what another person has done for them

text: What is the single word to describe someone who doesn't appreciate what another person has done for them? For example, let's say someone has sacrificed a lot of things and gone through a very hard life to make their spouse happy but the spouse leaves the person for very minor selfish reasons. In other words, someone who is not appreciative of what the other person has done for them and never thinks twice to hurt the other person in exchange for the smallest benefit.


title: Contrator, contractee... and disease?

text: On my security card at work is written "Contractor" in big, bold, capital letters. A thought just crossed my mind (as I work for a medical company): If I am the contractor, am I the one passing the disease to others? Is it correct to call the other side of the contract the Contractee? And what does it say about our work relations, if this is how they see me? :-)


title: Should I hyphenate "up-to-the-minute" in this case?

text: I have had a look at some examples on here, but I am still not sure. Should I hyphenate "up-to-the-minute" in this sentence? > We can supply you with up-to-the-minute intelligence on distributors, > companies and geographical locations, allowing you to make an informed > decision. OR > We can supply you with up to the minute intelligence on distributors, > companies and geographical locations, allowing you to make an informed > decision. I am leaning toward hyphenating as it is an adjective for _intelligence_ , and also a longer sentence so possibly misread, but I am not sure.


title: Adjective for thing you do for others

text: I sometimes write university projects for students and fix friends' computers, sometimes for money. I call things I do for myself _personal projects_ , _personal work_ , _personal act_ , etc. What adjective should I use to call those things I do for others? _Impersonal_ and _nonpersonal_ do not sound good.


title: Etymology and pronunciation of arch-, archi-

text: The prefix _arch-, archi-_ “chief, principal; extreme, ultra; early, primitive,” derives from Latinized Greek _arkh-, arkhi-,_ the combining form of _arkhos_ “chief.” Usually, _arch-_ is pronounced like “arch” (ɑrtʃ), and _archi-_ sounds like “ark” (ɑrkɪ), although _archangel_ (ɑrkeɪndʒəl) is a notable exception. Is there an etymological or other reason for pronouncing the two prefixes differently? Did they perhaps enter English at different times? Likewise, is there any pattern to which nouns use _arch-_ (e.g., _archenemy, archfiend_ ) versus _archi-_ ( _archiepiscopal, architect_ )? Why is _archangel_ an exception to the pronunciation rule?


title: Should I use either or any in this sentence?

text: So, I want to ask the students to contact me if they are interested in topics A and B. Which one is better? Please contact me if you are interested in any of the following topics: ... or Please contact me if you are interested in either of the following topics: ... Or, do you think there is a better way to put that?


title: 'installed' or 'isntalled'?

text: I've seen in an online shop the following sentence "Windows is isntalled by default.". I'm not a native speaker and was wondering, is "isntalled" correct or it's a mistake and they wanted to say 'installed'? Thanks!


title: Single word meaning either "liked" or "disliked"

text: I have a forum where you can Like a reply. After you press that button it changes from Like to Liked. Now I want to add a Dislike button so I would like to replace the "Liked" text for something that would also include "Disliked". I think the word should be close to something like "Done", "Voted", or "Pressed" but also related with the original text. Do you have any suggestions?


title: "Anything" vs. "any thing"

text: This is not a duplicate of "anymore" vs. "any more". I made sure. In that case, the two terms being compared were noun phrase (any more) vs. adverb (anymore). In this case, the two are both noun terms. I know which is more often used, but is "any thing" incorrect? The question was raised in my mind when I saw "any thing" on a post, and wondered whether to edit it to "anything".


title: Who were the 'pros from Dover'?

text: I was reading Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy this morning, and he compares his characters to the 'pros from Dover'. This was a phrase that I also remember hearing in the movie M*A*S*H - so it seems to be a phrase in use in 1970 (and possibly 1950s, although the historical accuracy of the movie could be put into question). So - where is this Dover? And who are the pros and why are they held in such regard?


title: "Prove me" / "prove to me" / "confirm one's belief"

text: Which sentence do you find more natural? > Your last actions only prove me that you're not worth my trust. > > Your last actions only prove **to** me that you're not worth my trust. or maybe some other form like > Your last actions only confirm (my belief / me in the belief) that you're > not worth my trust. ?


title: Does one run or stand for election?

text: Does a person run or stand for election? I have a sentence that reads: "Now is the time to start thinking of standing for election to a lodge office." I have been told that it should read: "...run for lodge office." Is that true?


title: What does "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" mean?

text: This song by The Rolling Stones, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".   As a non-native speaker, I always wondered what's the exact meaning of this phrase?   * **Is it "I'm not getting any satisfaction"** (this seems to be the most widely met translation; double negation used where single negation should have been used).   * **Or is it "I want my satisfaction, I cannot leave without getting some"** (makes much more sense to me). Or is it something else?   I've always had troubles understanding double negation as applied to English. First I was taught it's a mistake to use double negation at all, and then I see it everywhere.


title: "Don't go nowhere", what is this?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the difference between "I can't get any sleep" and "I can/'t get no > sleep"? Some people, who have little knowledge of grammatical correctness, would say _Don't go nowhere_ , telling the person to stay where they are. Of course, literally and technically, _Don't go nowhere_ is telling someone to go somewhere, as you are telling them to not go nowhere, which means they should go somewhere. Is there a technical word for this way of saying something? (Bear in mind that I am very aware that this is grammatically incorrect, considering the meaning of the statement that I have stated).


title: I can't get no satisfaction? really?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" -- what's the correct meaning? I know this is a popular song and they might have twisted it a bit. but is it the legal use? I mean we see so many places where these things are used like "I don't have no words", "There ain't no use"


title: ''don't/can't [verb] no...''

text: I have seen the following sentence: _I can't get no satisfaction_. Can we say _''don't/can't [verb] no...''_? I would like an explanation about this _expression_.


title: Understanding sentences with double-negation

text: How should the following sentence be understood? > "There isn't no happiness". > > a) meaning: There IS some happiness . (Because the two negations cancel each > other out) > > b) meaning: There is NO happiness. In daily-life conversations, which of the two would most likely be meant by the speaker? (Why would one want to use a double-negation anyway?)


title: "Is you is or is you ain't my baby?"

text: Is this phrase grammatically correct? > Is you is or is you ain't my baby? It's from a Tom and Jerry cartoon: http://vimeo.com/40283242 (at 1:30, 2:00 and 3:00).


title: The position of "strong enough" in "there is no headache strong enough"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  There is no headache strong enough, that a good coffee won't relieve > There is no headache strong enough, that a good coffee won't relieve. I know that this sentence is grammatically correct, but I still can't find a suitable grammar rule that would explain why _strong enough_ is used after the noun in this sentence. Why don't we say "There's no strong enough headache, that a good coffee won't relieve"? It doesn't look like a reduced relative clause that usually occur with past participles, such as "the people skilled in design" ("the people which are skilled in design"). We usually place such adjectives like _possible_ , _available_ , and few others after the noun. This is not the case. Can anybody explain the word order to me? It would be even better if someone provides a proof from a grammar book.


title: Can two prepositions be used one after the other?

text: I am in doubt about my sentence. I am trying to describe around 73% accuracy that can be obtained using a mentioned method. So, I have written: > The study of Sen et al (2012) has shown that a tree canopy can be detected > **with about** 73% overall accuracy. Can I use _with about_ together, one after the other?


title: comma vs semicolon preceding a list

text: Are lists preceded by a colon, semi-colon or something else? >   * Today, I'm grateful for a few things: family, health, and work. > >   * Today, I'm grateful for a few things, specifically; family, health, and > work. > >


title: Should a colon be used in this sentence?

text: I hope that I gain skills in three areas: critical thinking, writing, and collaboration. I am looking to see if the colon should be used in this sentence at all.


title: meaning and use of "gotta"

text: I often heard people say the word "gotta". I have read in this web site that gotta is a contraction of "I have got to" and that that phrase means "must", is my understanding correct? Regarding the use of "gotta", what does the following phrase mean:   1. I gotta get something  thanks.


title: how can the word forlorn be used

text: How can the word _forlorn_ be used in a sentence? i know it is an adjective but i hardly see it being used in a passage and really do not how to use it. How can it be used correctly in a sentence to depict its meaning?


title: Why do I not hear /k/ in sanctuary?

text: > sanctuary (Oxford) /ˈsæŋktʃuəri ; ˈsæŋktʃueri/ It is /k/ that I don’t hear in the website’s pronunciation. Do they drop /k/ under some pronunciation rule? - it happens that /ŋ/ and /k/ all are velar sounds.


title: Is there a word for a pie chart that is in the shape of a rectangle?

text: Normally, pie charts are circular and each piece of data is shown as a slice of a whole. However, for some purposes, it makes more sense to display the same kind of data as a rectangle divided up with vertical lines, with each horizontal "slice" of the rectangle representing a piece of the data. It would look like **one** rectangle cut into multiple slices along **one** dimension. For example, suppose my data was different types of transportation used in the United States, and the data was the following, then the plot might look like the ASCII depiction below the data.               Bicycle,25%     Plane,25%     Car,50%               ________________________________________________     |_Bicycle__|____Plane___|_________Car___________|      Note that the intent of the above depiction is to have one long rectangle cut into 3 pieces. Two are `25%` of the total rectangle and one is `50%` of the rectangle. Is there a word for this kind of "rectangular" pie chart?


title: What is the difference between "aged" and "age"?

text: I've seen a few ways of discussing the age of a person. For example: > aged 11 > > age 11 As well as: > college aged students > > college age students When should I use "age" and when should I use "aged"? What is the difference between the two?


title: “At this section...” vs. “in this section...”

text: > **At/in** this section, you must enter your shipping details. Should I use _at_ or _in_?


title: Travel by my car or travel with my car?

text: What is the correct form of this question ? I travel by my car Vs I travel with my car ? Is it correct to say I drive to office in my car ?


"And so is everyone else." What is this kind of sentence called in English? For example: > Man 1: “You are human.”   >  Man 2: “and so is everyone else.” Is there any specific name for the kind of sentence Man 2 is saying?


title: One word for "putting it together"

text: I am starting a blog focused on software development and trying to come up with some catchy name for it. The theme of the blog should be "putting things together", or to "connect all dots of complex programming problems". Is there a one word or a simple phrase that would mean the same thing? I was thinking about words like "fusion" or "link", but the resulting names (codefusion, codelinking, codelinker) don't feel right somehow.


title: Should a company be referred to as “he/she” or as “it”?

text: When a customer represents a company, not a person, and a pronoun is needed to refer back to that customer, should one use _he/she_ , or should one use _it_?


title: Is it OK to drop the periods in abbreviations?

text: When I was in school, strictly every abbreviation had a period after each (capitalized) letter, as in U.S.A. These days, it seems ok just to capitalise, as in USA. Is this a new rule? It does look jarring to have those periods everywhere, and it's annoying to type. Related: Omitting periods after title abbreviations (Mr, Mrs, Dr).


title: AVC or A.V.C or A.V.C

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Is it OK to drop the periods in abbreviations? Okay, so in School I was always tought that when we want to abbreviate, we must use a full stop "." inbetween each letter, and if it's at the end of a sentence, a full stop at the end also (duh). But, everywhere I go now, I am faced with having to put up with bad grammar, incorrectly-spelled words, and just total rubish. And I believe marketing is to blame! Think about it... When was the last time you saw a major company with a nice looking logo like AVC use dots inbetween each letter? It's become so widely accepted that everybody does it now - all the time. Now I'm getting confused because all I've seen for a long time is just total rubbish, and now I don't remember which way is correct or not. Say for example the following letters stand for "Another" "Silly" "Word", which version of abbreviation is correct? > A.S.W   >  A.S.W.   >  ASW Or are they all correct?


title: What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?

text: For example, if I wanted to write the equivalent of > There are many automated teller machines in this city. Would it be > There are many ATMs in this city. or > There are many ATM's in this city.   >  (could get confused with possessive form or contraction). or just > There are many ATM in this city.   >  (assuming the final s is included in Machines represented by M). Maybe something else?


title: Plural form of the acronym LASER

text: I'm writing a technical report and must use the plural form of LASER. Seeing as it is an acronym, how does one add the 's'?


> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? I am helping a former intern ready their resume for distribution. The candidate used an abbreviation I was unfamiliar with: > B.S.s in Physics, Computer Science, and Mathematics I am familiar with the student's educational background so after a moment of thought realized "B.S.s" was their attempt to indicate multiple bachelor of science degrees. That said I can see those unfamiliar with the student's background being confused. Unfortunately, I do not know how to provide the correct punctuation to indicate the correct grammatical number for multiple degrees in the same discipline. What is the correct plural form for multiple bachelor degrees? Additionally, are there variations for other degree levels: associates, masters, Ph.D, etc.? In addition to the abbreviation what's the correct way to indicate plurality for the unabbreviated form?


title: Is there any plural for the acronym "POC"?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? What's the plural form of the acronym POC, short for _proof of concept_? > ...for his contributions to many POCs or > ...for his contributions to many POC


title: How do I correctly pluralize acronyms?

text: > **Possible Duplicates:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?   >  Plural form of the acronym LASER I was just writing an email asking a supervisor about downloading multiple Dynamic-link library files. The acronym for these is dll, and the full spelling, _Dynamic-link library_ , is never used. How would this be pluralized, because normally I would just add an s, but _dlls_ is difficult to understand. Sometimes I add an apostrophe to make it _dll's_ , but I know this isn't grammatically correct. So my question is, how do I make the acronym _dll_ (and acronyms in general) plural?


title: Should the plural of "PC" have an apostrophe before the "s"?

text: Every time I see "PC" (as in personal computer) written as "PC's", I feel like the comma should not be there (as it is simply plural rather than possessive). What is the technically correct way to write this, and why? (Incidentally, it seems the _most common_ way this is written is "PC's".) Any advice would be much appreciated!


title: Plural of an initialism that ends with the letter S

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? I was answering something on Super User and wrote `OSes` as part of my normal flow without really thinking about it. On a re-read I decided that it didn't look right, so I changed it to `OSs`, which still felt incorrect. I also considered `OS's`, but that didn't feel right either, so I thought I'd ask on here. In this specific case, what is the written plural form for `OS`?   The intention is to mean multiple `Operating Systems`. And, is there a general rule for the plural form of an initialism that ends with the letter S?


title: Defining an acronym when using the plural of the term?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? I am defining an acronym which will be substituted for some unwieldy term in a document. > One thing Gary has talked extensively about is his inclination towards > extracting domain objects into Plain Ruby Objects (PRO). The trouble is that the first time I use the unwieldy term (Plain Ruby Object), it is plural. However, the acronym is more useful in the singular. Should I just hold off defining the acronym until I use its singular form further down the page?


title: How to pluralise an acronym?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? How would you make the plural form of an acronym? For example, if you have two of Nintendo's game console, the DS. Would you say, "I have two DSes," "I have two DSs," or something else?


title: Do you put an 's' at the end of acronym?

text: For example, is it FAQs or just FAQ? I guess it's either: > Frequently Asked Questions or > "Frequently Asked Question"s


title: How come abbreviations acquired the apostrophe when referring to plurality?

text: > **Possible Duplicates:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?   >  What is the proper way to indicate possession when using an abbreviation > such as Dr.? An example: > Most DD's have good packaging skills. How did things come to that instead of: > Most DDs have good packaging skills. Compare that to: > Most Debian Developers have good packaging skills. [ **update** ] This question was asked with the presumption that the first example is correct, so I was surprised to find that it isn't the case.


title: Pluralizing a plural acronym

text: We use the acronym "CERT" to represent "Critical Error Reduction Techniques" quite frequently, but when we use CERT in a sentence should it be CERT or CERTs? For example, "Using CERT to Prevent Sprains & Strains" is the title of one of our training modules. Because there are four critical error reduction techniques, does the acronym, CERT, automatically identify it as plural or should we add the "s" to make it CERTs?


title: Apostrophe and plurals of abbreviations

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? I was in Middlesbrough yesterday and spotted: **CJ’s Cafe** So far, so good, I thought. A selection of the delights within were listed: > Pizzas Parmo’s Breakfasts The second, on the face of it, looks like a standard greengrocer’s apostrophe, surprising in a sign where everything else is correct. But _parmo_ is an abbreviation for _parmesan_. Is it correct to use an apostrophe there to indicate missing letters? Or would one normally expect to see _parmos_? When forming other words from _parmesan_ one would write _parmesanish_ or _parmesany_. Would one then write _parmoish_ and _parmoey_ or _parmo’ish_ and _parmo’y_?


title: What is the correct plural form of an abbreviation whose last word starts with 'S'?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?   >  Plural of an initialism that ends with the letter S What is the correct plural form of an abbreviation whose last word starts with 'S' (thus making the last letter in the abbreviation an 'S')? The example I keep running into is "CMS", an abbreviation of "Content Management System". How would I refer to a group of these beasts?


title: Pluralizing acronyms: how to?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? Let's say we're talking about PLCs (programmable logic controllers)? Or are they "PLC's"? I've seen it both ways!


title: How to indicate possession when using abbreviation "Dr."

text: I often run into a case where I need to say I have a doctor's appointment, but how would I properly punctuate it if I wanted to use the abbreviation _Dr._ instead of the word _doctor_? _Dr.'s appointment_ looks strange to me.


title: Proper Apostrophe Usage with Initialisms: CCS' or CCS's?

text: I work with a company whose name is frequently reduced to an initialism (acronym). Let's say the name is "Cool Computer Systems" (CCS). I am engaged in an ongoing, bloody battle with the marketing department, wherein they insist the following apostrophe use is correct: > Buy CCS' New Product. Reading that line brings visions of crying 4th grade teachers and librarians to mind. I am quite certain that it should be written: > Buy CCS's New Product. * * * UPDATE: The examples are in title case because the sentence is the subject line of an e-mail. * * * UPDATE: Their argument is that "Systems" is plural. I say that plurality doesn't matter, because "Systems" is part of the name. The name as a whole should be handled as a singular entity, because the company is, in fact, a single, legal entity. Thus, the possessive form should be written: > The Emperor's clothes > > Cool Computer Systems's clothes > > CSS's clothes


title: acronym/initialism ending in an S

text: The initialism is 'MSS' (meaning Market Sector Specialist). At present our house style guide does not specify that there should be full stops between each letter. List of problems:   1. Should I insert full stops between each letter (as it is an initialism) - even though it's less 'natural' to read this way?   2. How to refer to a group of Market Sector Specialists?   3. How to articulate when a group of market sector specialists collectively own something?


title: Pluralization of acronyms ending in 'S'

text: What is the proper way to pluralize acronyms ending in the letter 'S'? The particular acronym under study in this case is T.A.R.D.I.S. The various forms I believe are correct are:   * TARDISes   * T.A.R.D.I.S.es (is it even correct to pluralize this)


title: what is the plural of "GPS"

text: Do I have several GPSs, or several GPSes, or something completely different? What is the rule to remember (will be useful later when I can have a GPS2, a GPST and maybe a GPSX too).


title: What is the plural form of "SMS"?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? What's the plural form of "SMS" (if X), like: > I'm concerned, I sent him over a million X but got no response. I usually use text message to get rid of that situation.


title: Plural form of Abbreviation Ending in O

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym? My company deals in Purchase Orders. For years they have referred to multiple purchase orders as POs. It seems, the proper spelling would be POes, because a P-O is referred to as a noun by everyone in the company, even though it is an abbreviated form of Purchase Order. Which is correct? POs or POes ?


title: I want to know which is the correct use of apostrophe s?

text: I want to know the correct use of apostrophe s? Is the 's' used either in small or capital letter. Which is right format either Ram's or Ram'S? Please answer me soon.


title: Use of Apostrophes - FAQs vs FAQ's

text: Is it also correct to say FAQ's as some sites like http://transition.fcc.gov/oet/rfsafety/rf-faqs.html refer? Or is FAQs the right and correct way to say it?


title: How to modify "one-third" by an adverb?

text: Would it be correct to merge with hyphens _one-third-contiguously_ in the following phrase? > I propose to elect by 3 quotas, each per one-thirds-contiguously of time- > zones.


title: Is the word "unsetup" valid in English?

text: I'm a software developer, and making a peer code review, I've encountered with the word **unsetup** used in the context to uninitialize some stuff. I was wondering if this is an actual word in English, or it is just an invention. Thanks.


title: Does the term "Postal Authority" Make sense?

text: I have received a parcel today, from Israel, and the box is branded "Israel Postal Authority". In Hebrew the same body has the word "Reshut" in its name, a term I believe originated from the Hebrew word for "permission" (the postal authority is a governmental body, thus it got a permission from the government to do what it does). So I can see why "authority" was picked as a direct translation (it is a government authorised body). Similarly, Israel has "The Broadcast Authority". I live in the UK, where we have the Royal Mail, or the British Broadcast Association, but I fail to think of a single business or body that has "authority" in its name. I can't help feeling "postal authority" being somewhat of totalitarian nature. Is it just a bad translation, or is it common and sensible for bodies as such to carry "authority" in their name?


title: Indirectly saying "I love you"

text: I want tell to someone "I love you", but not in that manner (indirectly but to get that idea). How can I do it in a modern way?


title: When telling a story and describing objects in the story, should the objects be referred to in past tense or present tense?

text: When describing objects in telling a story, should the objects be referred to in past tense or present tense, if the effects of the story still hold true on them? Since it is a story it should be in past tense but if the objects remain the same to the present time from the story it should be present tense. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it poor grammar to mix past and present tense in a sentence? I thought of this when writing the following: _I just bought something from the deli at the grocery store and was surprised my receipt had one number._ Should it be _had_ or _has_? I still have the receipt and it still has one number. A simpler example is "The man walked into a room that had red walls." vs "The man walked into a room with red walls". Assuming the walls are still red upon the telling of this story, which is correct? Furthermore, I notice when people are unsure if something is untrue they tend to use the past tense. For example if there had been a car crash and someone observed the backed up traffic but left the scene before they saw the traffic resume to normal flow, they would say _There was a car crash and traffic was backed up. I'm not sure if it is flowing again._ Is common to speak of things in the past tense when unsure, for example why not replace _was_ with _is_ or is either acceptable?


title: Do people perceive a difference between "phantasy" and "fantasy"?

text: When I started to learn English, I was used to write _phantasy_ instead of _fantasy_ , and I was always corrected. I recently noticed that _phantasy_ is an English word too.   Do people give to those words a different meaning?


title: Does any of English dialects engage non-English foreign letters in their alphabets?

text: For example, In 1990 Portuguese alphabet was extended by 3 foreign letters which are K (capa, pronounced as "kappa"), Y (pronounced as "ípsilon or "ipsilão" or "i greg"), W (pronounced as "diáblio"). Hmmm, Portugueses certainly hate W. There are many English dialects. For example, I know about existence of British English, American English and I guess there are a couple of hundreds more dialects. Does any of them include or plan to include foreign letters?


title: Why "go off", as in "alarm went off"?

text: I was wondering why does something _goes off_ , when it in fact does the opposite   * _bomb goes off_ \- it blows up   * _alarm goes off_ \- it turns on Why not _goes on_?


title: "Tom is the strongest of them"

text: So there is a picture of three boys lifting weights. Tom is lifting the heaviest one. > "Tom is the strongest boy of them." Is this sentence correct in describing the picture? And if not what exactly is the reason it is not? How about > "Tom is the strongest of them." Adding the word 'all' to the end of the sentence seems to fix the problem to my ear but I'm not sure the grammatical reason of why that is.


title: Up or down a notch?

text: _(I apologize for the silly question ahead)_ I've lost some weight recently, and I was able, for the first time today, to close my belt buckle using a notch higher than usual... For the life of me I can't figure out if I "went up a notch" or "down a notch"? Is this phrase even applicable for an actual belt?


title: Is there any dictionary to look up for words that have similar vowel pronunciation?

text: I would like to make smooth-sounding sentences and slogans, so it is important to me to find words with similar pronunciations. Is there any dictionary that can help me find words like that?


title: which could have or which could have had?

text: I saw the following sentence from Time, and have been wondering whether 'which could have had an impact' is the correct choice rather than 'which could have an impact'. > The first study did not control the intake of the participants, which could > have an impact on their findings... http://time.com/2838453/everything-you-know-about-breakfast-is-wrong/


title: "There do not appear to be any comments to delete."

text: In a CMS I am using, when a user with the right permission tries to delete a comment that is not found, the CMS outputs the following warning message: > There do not appear to be any comments to delete, or your selected comment > was deleted by another administrator. Is the sentence correct?   Is it the accepted way to write such sentences? What is the difference with _it seems there are no comments to delete_ , or _there are no comments to delete_?


title: I was able to hear the sound/noise from here?

text: Given this question: > Dude the rock band was awesome.   > Which one of _sound_ or _noise_ is correct here? >   1. Yes, I know — I was able to hear the concert’s **noise** from my > balcony. >   2. Yes, I know — I was able to hear the concert’s **sound** from my > balcony. >


title: "circa" vs "around"

text: Consider this sentence: > Who founded the Academy circa/around 387 BC? Is "circa" the best word to write, or is it "around"? Or does there exist another word that is more appropriate?


title: Usage of the word "sensual" with music

text: Is it right to say **sensual music**? What is its meaning when used like this?


title: Usage of "sitting still", "standing still" etc

text: I'm occasionaly came across the phrases:   * "sitting still";   * "standing still";   * "lying still";   * etc. For most cases the usage is clear (humans for example). But sometimes it is not clear what verb to use with "still":   * for an spherical objects - I have no idea;   * birds - I think they are "standing";   * fish - again, no idea;   * and so on. Is there any advice on how to choose an appropriate answer?


title: Is there a polite way of saying "I **** you not" in a formal essay?

text: I am writing an essay on nature and I need to somehow slip in the phrase "I shit you not" Not to seem vulgar or anything, it just seems like the most appropriate thing to add in that context. If this is off-topic or anything of that sort I can easily delete this question. Edit: It needs to be somewhat offensive.


title: Can I say get someone rid of something?

text: Sometimes I want to tell someone stop from doing something, can I just say: > I want to get Jack rid from smoking.


title: To worry about vs To be worried about - difference

text: Which one of the following is recommended to be used, and what is the difference between both of them? > You do not have to worry about anything. Or > You do not have to be worried about anything.


title: Are there any indications that English is going to split into different languages in the next hundred years?

text: Are there any indications that (global) English is going to split into different languages in the next hundred years?


title: Is the usage of 'personally' in 'I personally don't like something' redundant?

text: What is the difference between the following? >   * I personally don't like wax museums. >   * I don't like wax museums. > The adverb _personally_ does not seem to emphasize anything here. Is it redundant?


title: Differences between "propensity", "predilection" and "proclivity"

text: _Propensity_ , _predilection_ and _proclivity_ all have the meaning of _tendency_ , so what's the difference? Are they interchangeable?


title: Why "interesting" is sometimes pronounced as "intra-sting"

text: Why is _interesting_ sometimes pronounced as _intra-sting_? The same goes for _interest_ sometimes being pronounced without the first _e_.


title: Single word for "hospital woman worker"

text: I have been looking for a single word for "hospital woman worker". She will not do any medical related work. She will be doing cleaning, newborn care, and she will also support all the work of hospital employees. Can anyone tell me the single word for "hospital woman worker"?


title: Meaning of "On that note" and how do you use it?

text: What is the meaning of "On that note" and how do you use it? Does it mean "while we are talking about the same subject?"


title: Good book on English grammar from the very beginning

text: My wife is fairly new in US and her native language is Ukrainian. Though she is not afraid of speaking english, she does it with lots of grammar mistakes, starting from wrong sequence of words in a sentence to wrong times used to wrong sequence in a question. I was trying to find a thorough book on beginner grammar, but found that most books lack consistency, jump form subject to subject, don't go into deep details explaining rules and don't really start from the very basics. She will need to take ACCUPLACER exam for nursing program and I'm afraid she doesn't have necessary knowledge to pass the english grammar part of it. Any recommendations on a good grammar book for a ESL person in need of building a decent grammar base? P.S. English is not my first language either, so don't pick on my grammar here :)


title: I grew up IN the east coast vs ON the east coast

text: I cannot understand why there is "in" in the sentence "I grew up in the east coast..." - why it is not "on"? Google search provides results for both with quite high number of hits.


title: What does 'measurable life' mean?

text: what does 'measurable life' mean? I found this usage in the end of a sentence that criticized the youth of today. Update I saw its usage in this comment: Insensibility is wide spread today. Market economy sets an unfortunate culture, 'it's me only.'Unfortunately, our youth is succumbed to it .. measurable life !


title: Meaning of “x is 35 times less than y"

text: I’m not sure of whether this is grammatically correct, although I've encountered the same expression many times before. > Most Google searches show it produces **35 times less** carbon than the > report suggested. Does _35 times less_ have a precise meaning in this context, or is it ambiguous here? Does either of these two possibities apply?   1. the original amount minus 35 times the original amount (35 times less than 100 units would be −3400 units)   2. ¹⁄₃₅ of the original amount (35 times less than 100 units would be 2 ⁶⁄₇ units)


title: to choose a name: "a colorful land" or "the colorful land"

text: I purchased colorful.land domain name to host my family's blog, because my new-born daughter is instinctively attracted to colorful objects. What should the website be? ttp://a.colourful.land or ttp://the.colourful.land? (not using http because site doesn't exist yet) To me, "The Wonder Land" and "A Wonderful Land" feels natural; "A wonder land" and "The Wonderful Land" feels awkward. Hence, either "The Land of Colors" or "A Colorful Land", thus ridding "The.Colorful.Land". But I use English as my second language. Thanks.


title: Difference between “Class ” and “Classes”

text: Is this statement true?   "Parents send their children to English class"   Or should I use "classes"?


title: What is the meaning of "all zero at the bone"? I can't make it out

text: From _The Shining_ , by Stephen King: > Jack turned back, **_all zero at the bone.**_ What is the meaning of this expression?


title: If I were not made a man of at once

text: If I were not made a man of at once. I don't know what it's meaning is. 'a man of at once' means a man who can act boldly and quickly? Please help me.


title: concentration usage

text: Are the following sentences acceptable?   * In country X, wealth is _concentrated_ in the low density rural areas.    * In country X, the blue people are _concentrated_ in the low   density rural areas, while the green people are _concentrated_ in the   cities. To be clear, my goal is not to find a word to replace "concentrated", but to figure out how broadly this word can be applied.


title: Is "so-so" correct usage for "more or less"?

text: I took a trip down to Mexico last week and I heard "so-so" in response to "Do you speak English?" Now, I'm used to hearing "so-so" more in the context of "all right" or "OK", but not as in "more or less". Is this usage correct or is it a lack of good teaching?


title: Is there a name for the red circle and slash in a No Smoking sign?

text: When my daughter asked me and my husband about a No Smoking sign, we explained that it means no cigarettes are allowed. (We had to explain cigarettes to her too.) ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/g8zDc.png) Unfortunately, she now thinks that the red circle and diagonal line are called a "cigarette", so she'll talk about the cigarette in the No Parking sign: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/LJgSc.png) Is there a name we can teach her for the red circle and slash? ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/ymxcL.png)


title: What is the term that represents knowing, and not knowing what it is like not to know?

text: I am seeking the word that means something similar to "when you know something (such as knowing how to ride a bicycle) and you do not know what it is (or what it _feels_ ) like to not know it." Examples may be: 0) When one has learned about a topic so extensively that explaining it to another person and not knowing what another person knows about that topic can be difficult. If this topic was programming, the person who learned so much about it may see many things on the computer in a completely different way than someone who knows very little about programming. Topics that could produce similar situations that can occur in every day life could be art, aviation, physics, and philosophy. 1) When one performs an activity so frequently or in such a way that attempting to understand why a person at a lower skill level doing it in a different way (for whatever reason) or explaining how to do what the performer is doing can be difficult. @ermanen's answer. 2) ~If a person was doing something (gaming, working out, eating with certain rules) so often, and that person expected others to do the same and could not understand why others do not do the same. 3) ~The state of nature. 4) "It’s not really possible to know how to ride a bicycle and not know what it is like not to know this, since nobody is born knowing how to ride a bicycle. If anything, you don’t remember what being unable to ride a bicycle is like. Seeing or hearing would be better examples: those of us who are born seeing/hearing simply do not know what it feels like to be blind/deaf. I don’t think there is a specific word for this state, though; ‘presupposition’ is one (well, several) practical outcomes of one aspect of this, but it doesn’t really fit as a description of the state itself." - @Janus Bahs Jacquet's comment. 5) "If it's a learned behavior, you've absorbed it, it's become instinctive, it's in your bones. If it's a part of you anyway, could you say you're consciously unconscious of it or even unconsciously conscious of it?" - @Leon Conrad's comment. ~ = maybe or similar, it may not be in the same exact term, however, adding in more examples may make it easier for some to connect the dots so to speak.


title: Is the phrase "I feel you" too colloquial?

text: Does the phrase "I feel you" sound too slangy and somewhat horrible to a British person? Is it ok to use it as a synonym of "I understand what you feel/say" in an informal, casual conversation?


title: The "Oh to have…" expression

text: What does "Oh to have..." mean, as in "Oh to have a song in a national campaign" in Jon Lajoie's song "Please Use This Song"? Can somebody explain the origin and meaning of this expression? In what contexts can it be used?


title: 'receptionist' & 'deceptionist'

text: If a _receptionist_ is a person who greets and deals with visitors to a office, can _deceptionist_ be an acceptable English word to describe a person who delays and blocks visitors to a office, especially one who impedes visitors meeting the boss? Or is there a better word?


title: Is there words that mean "meet the criteria"?

text: I'm making a comic strip and looking for a funny word in the theme of hair, maybe something that means "make it meet the criteria". Thanks in advance It is hard for me to explain, as my first language isn't english don't be shy of asking questions about my question :P


title: conversion of "in order to" to a "because" subclause

text: Clauses with "in order to" can be converted to clauses with "because" by adding a verb that indicates necessity or desire. Does this statement always hold? (if not please provide a counter example, if yes please provide a reference) Examples: "I wake up at 6, in order to catch the 7AM bus" -> "I wake up at 6, **because** I **want/need** to catch the 7AM bus" "In order to make tea, I need water" -> " **Because** I **want** to make tea, I need water" "In order to succeed, you must work hard" -> " **Because** you **must** succeed, you must work hard"


title: Is there a difference between "being selected" and "being pre-selected"?

text: I am reviewing a document where it is stated that something is part of a set of pre-selected items. To me that doesn't make sense. Isn't everything selected also pre-selected by definition? I mean being selected, means it happened in the passed, so what does "pre" adds to its meaning?


title: Is there any difference between "word-for-word translation" and "word-by-word translation" and is the latter actually valid?

text: First off, some data: According to COCA "word-for-word" has 60 usages, 3 of them are "word-for-word translation". "Word-by-word" has 26 usages, none of them are "word-by-word" (but some with "transcription"). The definition of "word-for-word" (Oxford, Merriam-Webster): > 1 in exactly the same words; verbatim Only _The free dictionary_ contains a definition for "word-by-word" > one word at a time And this dictionary also lists a second definition for "word-for-word" > 2 one word at a time, without regard for the sense of the whole This second definition is, obviously, identical to the definition for "word- by-word". Google hits:   Word-for-word ~21m   Word-for-word translation ~318k   Word-by-word ~3.8m   Word-by-word translation ~95k According to usages and dictionaries "word-by-word" is, at least, less popular. And assuming that there may be a lot of usages from non-natives among the Google hits, this could be an indicator for "word-by-word" being even utterly wrong. In another forum I found the following statement: > When I translate something "literally," (wörtlich) it still follows the main > rules of the language I'm translating into. What you mean is "word-by-word" > (wortwörtlich) to me. I assume that this was written by a German but I don't know it. However, if this would be true a "word-by-word translation" would be a translation where I keep, for instance, the order of the words, disregarding if it makes sense in the target language. Some examples: > Original: word-by-word   >  Word-by-word translation: Wort bei Wort (That's a terrible translation!) > > Original: It is critical to know...   >  Word-by-word translation: Es ist kritisch zu wissen... (That's a terrible > translation!) > > Original: Ich glaub, ich spinne.   >  Word-by-word translation: I think I spider. (I guess only Germans > understand this.) A "word-for-word translation", however, would be an attempt to keep the word- choice as close as possible but following the rules of the target language (e.g. order of words) and also considering if the statement still makes sense in the other language. Here are better translations for the examples above: > Wort für Wort   >  Es ist wichtig zu wissen...   >  I think, I'm going nuts. (Actually, this is not a word-for-word translation > but rather a sense-for-sense translation.) So, my questions again:   1. As neither Oxford nor Merriam-Webster have any entries for "word-by-word" in their dictionaries: is "word-by-word" actually valid?   2. If yes, is there any difference between "word-by-word translation" and "word-for-word translation"? If yes again, what is it specifically?


title: Do these sentences contain comma splices?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is a comma splice? My girlfriend wants me to correct her fan-fiction, and to me it looks fine stylistically, but I wonder if some of the sentences are technically comma splices. > They climbed out the carriage, and Gabriel was silent, taking in all this > new information. Is it okay to use a comma after _silent_? Or should she rephrase the sentence as, for example, "They climbed out the carriage, and Gabriel silently took in all this new information"? I'm guessing from my limited understanding that the sentence doesn't contain a comma splice because the second clause is not independent. Or is it? Another example: > At first they didn't kiss; they just stood and stroked each other's faces, > living in their joy and happiness of having finally found each other. Is it okay to follow on with _living_ here?


title: Difference between "Past Progressive" and "Past Perfect Progressive"

text: From this resource I find two situational explanations of Past Progressive: "Interrupted action in the past." with an example > She **was reading** a book when the light went off, had a shower and left. And for Past Perfect Progressive: "To show that something started in the past and continued up until another action stopped it." with an example: > They **had been playing** soccer when the accident occurred For me both are kind of interruption. And both were continued up until another action stopped it. Is those are bad examples? Or Am I missing something? Or second part of Past Progressive ("had a shower and left.") is crucial?


title: Term for albums named after lyrics

text: Is there a specific word (or words) for albums which are named after lyrics of a song on that album? **Self-titled** or **eponymous** albums are named after the artist, while albums with a song of the same name have a **title track.** However, is there a particular term for an album that is named after lyrics? Examples include: > U2 - _All That You Can't Leave Behind_ \- lyrics from 'Walk On' > > Pink Floyd - _Dark Side of the Moon_ \- lyrics from 'Brain Damage' > > Beastie Boys - _Licence to Ill_ \- lyrics from 'Paul Revere' Note: there's a similar question here, but it's the inverse to my question.


title: "Whenever you arrive/are arrived/were arrived"

text: Which one of these sentences is grammatically correct? Would it be alright if the other sentences were being used in daily conversations? > Let me know whenever **you arrive**. > > Let me know whenever **you're arrived**. > > Let me know whenever **you were arrived**.


title: Use of "respectively"

text: > He has two sisters who live in southern and northern California, > respectively. I saw this on IMDB and I was wondering if the _respectively_ was grammatically correct. Since nothing is being listed off, is it even needed? Edit: Josh Radnor, 7th in the list If you were wondering, lol


title: Did English ever have a formal version of "you"?

text: From the top of my head, Danish " _De_ " (practically never used), German " _Sie_ ", Chinese " _您_ ", French " _vous_ ", Spanish " _usted_ " are a formal way of addressing someone, especially if one isn't familiar with the addressee. Did English ever have this? It sounds as though Proto-Indo-European might have had this (based on my 4 examples), but perhaps someone can enlighten me?