title: What does "pneumatic" mean when applied to a person?

text: For example, in this review of the movie Unknown, Mark Kermode refers to Liam Neeson's character's wife as being played by " _X-Men's_ **pneumatic** January Jones". I'm never quite sure whether this refers to her attitude, her physique, a particular aspect of her physique, or something else. I don't think I've ever seen the word used to describe a man. Any suggestions?


title: Is there an English idiom “in threes and fives” to describe arriving, gathering, or leaving of people in a pair, trio, or group in succession?

text: We say ‘san-san-go-go – 三三五五’ in Japanese to describe the status of people coming, arriving, gathering, going, or leaving in a pair, trio, or group in succession in such a way, People gathered in the square ‘san-san-go-go.’ ‘San’ means three in Japanese. ‘Go’ means five, and ‘san-san-go- go’ is used adverbially. I know “by ones and twos” is applied to the case more than “by one and one.” When I consulted New Japanese English Dictionary published by Japanese publisher (Kenkyusha Publishing), I found the translation – ‘in threes and fives.’ I suspect if this is a literal translation of 3-3-5-5, and not standard English phrase. Is there an idiom or phrase to express the status of people coming (arriving) and going (leaving) in the pack of three-to five individuals to a place incessantly?


title: "Droll" is to "amusing" as "sardonic" is to what?

text: Could someone solve this analogy?               droll : amusing :: sardonic : ________ P.S. the answer does not have to be a specific length.


title: I hardly/highly doubt it

text: I always thought "I hardly doubt it" was a correct sentence, but it seems that it isn't. I do find a lot of occurrences though. Should it be "I highly doubt it"? I know the difference between hardly and highly, but just wanted to know if it can be used in this context. This made me doubt it. _pun intended_


title: Is it unidiomatic to say "an Australian person" or "an Aussie person"?

text: As mentioned in For people, can you say "a British" like you can say "an Australian"?, you can use "an Australian" to talk about an Australian person. But is it also ok to use "an Australian person"? If not, is it merely too verbose, or does adding "person" make the language seem more cold and impersonal? What about "an Aussie person"? Would that be even more unidiomatic, because you've got a word that's a shortening and is slang before a redundant word? Also, is "an Australian person" being unidiomatic likely to change in the near future? How did "Jew" become pejorative? talks about how using a noun instead of an adjective is sometimes regarded as offensive nowadays. I tried looking up "Australian person" at onelook.com, but didn't get any hits. That in itself doesn't indicate anything, as onelooking "British person" only got an Urban Dictionary result.


title: Many to one or many to many

text: > Record A is linked to case 1   >  Record B is linked to case 2   >  Record C is linked to case 3 _Which of the following sentences is correct?_   * There are 3 records linked to a case   * There are 3 records linked to cases


title: How do you proceed from pronouncing "t" in the regular way to t-glottalization, as found in various English accents?

text: It's just strange to me because "t" is pronounced with the front teeth, while the glottalized "t" is produced with the back of the throat; that seems like quite a noticeable journey that couldn't have happened all at once. If I'm correct, do linguists have any clue what intermediate steps would have been taken, and can someone demonstrate a couple of those pronunciations with English words?


title: Origins of the current meaning of stick-in-the-mud

text: A quick web search shows several pertinent results for the etymology of the phrase **stick in the mud** , for example http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/stick-in-the-mud.html, which indicates early usages referring to people stuck in mud who were unable to help themselves, and thus either in trouble, or criminals. This seems to me to be a distinctly _different_ meaning from the way we use stick-in-the-mud nowadays, where it's taken to mean 'party pooper' or 'uninterested in change'. So where did the _current_ meaning come from? Also, I never realised it was unrelated to tree branches lying in the mud, 'til I started looking this up!


title: has been going to have finished

text: I came across this sentence: > For four months now John has been going to have finished his novel by today. I would like to know if " _John has been going to have finished…_ " is the structure going to (special expression to talk about the future) in present perfect progressive which I find very weird. Would it be a mistake to just use " _to finish his novel…_ " instead of " _to have finished his novel…_ "?


title: Is "Universityhood" a valid English word?

text: This is a theme during the foundation day of a college, "Nurturing Elders' Legacy and Aspiring for Excellent Quest as a Keystone into University". Isn't it universityhood instead of just university? Which is a better theme, "Nurturing Elders' Legacy and Aspiring for Excellent Quest as a Keystone into University(hood)" or "Nurturing Legacy, Aspiring Excellence into Universityhood"?


title: Most accurate word for coercing an action or behavior from someone?

text: Alice has a sensitive secret about Bob. She threatens Bob that if he does not act a certain way, she will reveal the secret. What is the most accurate term for Alice's coercion? _Blackmail_ is related to coercing _money_ from the victim; here Alice desires Bob to behave differently than he otherwise would, so the term doesn't seem to fit. _Extortion_ is related to coercing _personal property_ from the victim; again, the word doesn't seem to fit. So what is the right word for coercing a _behavior_ , _choice_ , or _action_ from someone? In addition, when would such coercion cross the boundary of legality? (Surely I can withhold candy from a child in order for them to clean their room without fear of arrest.)


title: Colon between "that is" and formal definition

text: Is it appropriate to use "that is" followed by a colon when defining something formally? I have the following example: > Let γ be the set of groups that hold variables accessed by C, that is: > > γ = {g : ∃v accessed by C, such that v ∈ g}. Would that be appropriate in terms of punctuation and style?


title: What is natural way of saying I am/was suffering from fever?

text: I know that the expression I have written is completely correct, but It does not feel very natural and I have never seen it being used in movies etc. Is it like I picked up fever or something like that?


title: Is there a name for the feeling "Damn, I already asked this question three years ago"?

text: I'll copy from Meta: I admit I'm sometimes too quick with the gun when firing away questions. Does the feeling "Damn, I just asked this now, and I see it's a dup of a question I asked three years ago" have a name? Preemptive word for the smart: "Lazy" is a good term for the asker, but not for the feeling.


title: what's the meaning of "likely unconstitutional"?

text: On the newspapers, they said that "NSA phone program likely unconstitutional." See the link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/16/nsa-phone- surveillance-likely-unconstitutional-judge What's the difference between "unconstitutional" and "likely unconstitutional"? May I get the source of the term of American Law?


title: What do you call someone who chooses to stay single for life?

text: Not necessarily a virgin, but someone that has consciously chosen to stay single for life (and is content with that decision). Hopefully, there is a single word for it. Example: Ralph Nader UPDATE: Apparently, there isn't a word for this. So, is anyone able to make up a word for this? Criteria:   * Not in any relationship by choice   * Not interested in ever being in a relationship   * Very happy and content with that decision   * Word should ideally be unambiguous and not have other connotations


title: Can “We would be happy if everyone is good, therefore we have no military force” and “Japan have military force” be congruent grammatically?

text: There was the two separate quotes from Shigeru Ishiba, secretary general of the LDP in the interview to TIME appearing in the article titled, “Return to the Samurai” (October 7): http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2153060,00.html > “The constitution says Japan doesn’t possess an army, navy or air force. Is > it true? **Japan does have an army, a navy, an air force.** We have lots of > warplanes and tanks. Let’s stop telling a lie." And later, he says: > “We would be happy if everyone in the world is good, and **therefore we have > no military force**.” To me it appears as if he is admitting Japan have military force in the first quote and denying it in the second quote. Though I think Ishiba is saying that we are happy not to have military force if everyone in the world is good, but we have military force as it is contrary, is the above two statements **grammatically** congruent? If no problem, the case is closed. If not, how should it be rephrased in order for avoiding a confusion that I was induced to? Please understand that I have no intent to discuss political implications of the above quotes at all. I’m only interested in the grammatical correctnessn of them.


title: Is it correct to say "which is Jay"?

text: I've been watching the movie "King Arthur", and I heard Arthur asking "Which is X?" Is it correct to say "Which is Jay?" instead of "Who is Jay?"?


title: Adjective to describe someone who is knowledgeable, resolute, and calm

text: I have a situation/feeling that occurs to me frequently and I'm not sure what the adjective is to describe it (or if there even is one). I'd love to hear your ideas on the matter. The situation is one where I feel like I have some general knowledge, typically gained through experience, that lets me look at a situation more clearly and then take some action (or at least know what action to take) in a positive direction. Here are some examples:   1. My young children frequently argue over who gets to sit in the middle seat at a three-seat table during dinner. As an adult, my viewpoint on who-sits-where is that it makes no difference in the grand scheme of things. The seat can be shared by each person over multiple nights, etc. It's a viewpoint my kids simply don't have the life experience to understand, so I usually just decide and tell them what to do. On my part it's an emotionless decision.   2. Today I have a whole lot of work ahead of me. I'd like to leave by 3pm and go enjoy the sunshine, but it just isn't going to happen. I know that to get everything done I'll probably be working until 10pm. I'm fairly emotionless about it. I could say I'm _resigned_ to the fact that I have to work, but _resigned_ implies some despondence, which I don't feel. What I really feel (based on experience) is that I just have to do it and I'm neither happy nor sad about it. I'd love to use the word _circumspect_ because it combines what feels like a circle and introspection, but of course that word means something else unrelated. _Sangfroid_ is not quite right, because there's no precondition for a difficult or dangerous situation. Other words like _stoic_ or _resolute_ have the emotional content right, but don't convey the implication of experience that underlies the decision. They also tend to convey a hard edge to a way of thinking. I want the connotation to be softer, like _chill_ or _calm_. _Guru_ might describe the type of person, but is a noun and is generally too broad. I'm thinking more of a situational word. So what do you think?


title: "Brusque" vs. "curt"

text: What is the diffence between _brusque_ and _curt_?


title: How did 'mad' come to be a determiner?

text: There's a group of words — I think they're called _determiners_ — used to indicate number in some way... like _many_ , _few_ , _most_ , etc. During a linguistics class my professor said this was a closed group of words, and that new ones couldn't really fit in it. Then someone shouted out "There's mad people in here!" and everyone laughed. ( _Mad_ meaning many, the usage I'm referring to). How did _mad_ come to fit in this supposedly closed group? Are there other words that were newly coined to fit there?


title: What does "somebody plays things close to the vest" mean?

text: I heard this phrase in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and also found it online by googling it. What does the phrase mean?


title: Why does "quadratic" describe second power while "quad" usually describes "four"?

text: In mathematics, _quadratic_ means "involving the second and no higher power of an unknown quantity or variable". But the prefix _quad-_ usually describes something that has to do with four, such as _quad-core processor_ , _quadrilateral_. Why does _quadratic_ describe the second power while _quad_ usually describes "four"?


title: Are "unestimated" and/or "non-estimated" correct English?

text: When something is not estimated, is it correct to say that it is unestimated or non-estimated? For example, in certain project management techniques, tasks can be "estimated" which means one or more humans have given an estimate on the expected cost, effort, or duration of the task. Here, "estimated" is used as an attribute of the task, so a task is either "estimated" or "not estimated". In some texts, I have seen the expression "unestimated task" (or with a hyphen, "un-estimated") or "nonestimated task" (or with a hyphen, "non- estimated"). Are any of these correct English? (The context here is software projects, so a sub-question is whether any of these expressions can be considered part of the professional English vocabulary in that field.)


title: What's the difference between after and afterwards?

text: > What are you going to do afterwards?   >  What are you going to do after? Which one is the correct one and why?


title: Difference between two question formats?

text: I have seen people using following two formats to form a question: > 1) Why _do_ people lie?   >  2) Why people lie? The difference is, in the first one, there is an explicit use of **do** whereas the second question omits _do_. Would you kindly explain the differences between these two question forms.


title: About “the level of perception”

text: If we talk about a performance that does not reconstruct historical background but is supposed to appeal to our feelings omitting all formal evidences, can we use the expression _on the level of perception_? Like _The city and village in the performance are read out on the level of perception_ (meaning that there are no houses, cars, trees and so on).


title: What is a word meaning "the pros and cons of"?

text: I am trying to find a word which can be used interchangeably with the phrase "pros and cons". For example: > Because no one has tried it yet, the ___ of this new diet are unknown. The closest I can get is "characteristics", but to me, that seems not to carry the same good parts vs. bad parts meaning I'm trying to emphasize.


title: The Sand Scrunched Beneath My Feet

text: I was reading Ivan Klima's _No Saints Or Angels_ and found the highlighted part in the following sentence not quite clear: > When Karel1 left me, I tried to give her2 that love, but it’s impossible > just to go on giving; well I wasn’t able to, at least. There were moments > when my loneliness weighed heavily on me; _the sand scrunched beneath my > feet_ and I thirsted. I yearned for a loving man; I yearned for him so much > that lovers would come to me in my dreams... 1: Karel is the ex-husband of the female protagonist in the story;   2: "Her" here refers to the female protagonist's daughter. I cannot quite make out why the feeling of sand spreading and thinning (not sure if it is the right interpretation for scrunching) is associated with loneliness and yearning for love.


title: to give someone until

text: I'm reading _Women_ by Charles Bukowski and stumbled upon the following dialog: > Dee Dee was standing next to me. "Please tell her," she said, "to give me > until September." > > "Forget her," Lydia said. "To hell with her. You come up here and see me." > > "I can't drop everything just because you phone. Besides," I said, "I'm > giving Dee Dee until September." > > "September?" > > "Yes." A little bit of context: the conversation is being held over the phone between the narrator and his ex-girlfriend Lydia who's trying to get him back. Dee Dee is the narrator's current date. What do the characters exactly mean by saying to give Dee Dee until September?


title: Can 'repercuss' be used as a verb?

text: Lord Owen, the former British Foreign Secretary, in a BBC interview tonight with Jeremy Paxman used the word 'repercuss' as a verb. It was with reference to President Obama's handshake with Raul Castro at the Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela. David Owen said 'It is bound to repercuss', presumably meaning 'There are bound to be repercussions'. However, whilst 'repercussion'implies an unfavourable side effect, Owen had been at pains to stress the inevitability of America's due-course normalisation of its relations with Cuba, and other than in the use of this one word he made no suggestion that any harm would come of it. So what are we to make of 'repercuss' as a verb? The Oxford Dictionary of English doesn't recognise it.


title: Do you say "birth" when you talk about a leader?

text: Do you say, "the birth of the first black president?" This is of course not a physical birth as in coming out of a mother's womb. This is about the first black president in the history of the US.


title: disputant vs disputer

text: Any differences in meaning? The dictionary doesn't explain. Google Ngrams > This dispute between the king and the estate of William Bankes, owner of > coastal land including Corfe Castle, concerned who had the best title to > casks that had washed ashore near Poole in Dorset. The court divided the > casks between the **disputants**. Source: P186, How the Law Works, Gary Slapper


title: Meaning - lawin'

text: > As Calpurnia, one Miscellany 195 character in the story, notes, ‘First thing > you learn when you’re in a **lawin’** family is that there ain’t any > definite answers to anything.’ I hazard that this quote reflects a colloquial southern US accent, yet can't deduce the word proper. Origin: To Kill A Mockingbird (1960), by Harper Lee   Source: P195, How the Law Works, Gary Slapper


title: What's the word for withholding medicine from a sick person?

text: I've heard a single word before that means "withholding medicine from a sick person" or "withholding food from a starving person" or "refusing to alert an airplane pilot flying in the dark that he's about to crash into a mountain". The basic idea is not taking some action knowing that inaction will later lead to harm for another person. I thought for sure there was a single word for this (and it's more malicious than "negligence"). What is it?


title: "Delinquent" to describe something non-monetary

text: Can _delinquent_ be used to describe something like a school assignment? > You still have some delinquent assignments. Or does the word only apply to monetary matters?


title: expressions at bar about credit card payment

text: I went to the bar the other day and when I tried to pay for the drink by my credit card, the bartender asked me something to the effect whether I wanted to have my credit card open for further payment or close my credit card for that payment only. I did not fully catch what she said, but I heard some words like "...under the tab(?) or close...?" It would be grateful if you could let me know what are the common expressions bartenders use in this kind of situation and how I should respond in such situation.


title: Use of "and" with multiple verbs

text: Which one is correct? > He was carrying two ice cream cones and **talked** to a little boy. or > He was carrying two ice cream cones and **talking** to a little boy.


title: What does "uncancellable" mean? / What is a word for "not able to be uncancelled"?

text: What does "uncancellable" mean? Does it mean that something may be uncancelled, or that something may not be cancelled? [Edit:] How would one express each of those ideas? For bonus points, is there a way to be indicate that something may be not uncancelled? In-uncancellable?


title: Is the expression "before the afternoon" technically correct?

text: I know it is better to just say before noon, but if you wanted to say "before the afternoon arrives" or "before the afternoon ends" would it be correct?


title: What is the synonym/antonym for "feminist"/"feminism"?

text: I am looking for a word or phrase that are to men's rights as the words _feminist/feminism_ are to women rights. And will the word or phrase be called a synonym or antonym?


title: Cromogenism, Chromudgeonism?

text: In one of the commentary tracks for Hellsing Ultimate OVA, English dub director Tallison Jaffe boasts using a few rare words now and then, so the fans have something to look for in their dictionaries. I couldn't find the word he was talking about, and in the context in doesn't really make much sense to me. > —Growing old seems so awful. > > —Nonsense. _Cromogenism_ is a traditional pleasure for English gentlemen. The context implies this word is related to aging.


title: How did the word "lid" come to mean "poor operator" (in the context of telegraphy and amateur radio)?

text: This sense of _lid_ is still common today in Amateur ("Ham") Radio (in the United States, at least), usually as "they're a lid", meaning "they're being a rude or unobservant person." It doesn't refer to new operators, usually, as much as someone who is willfully ignoring convention. I can't really see how this originates from any meaning of lid; the most plausible origin to me seems the phrase "put a lid on", because as an operator, a lid "silences" others or "puts a crimp" in their operating. Boys' Life, Feb 1932 is one of the earliest mentions I can find of a _lid_ in radio: > "...taking care not to play the lid—"   >  "Lid?" questioned Soc.   >  "A **lid** is a radio operator who is either fresh from school or hasn't > taken the trouble to learn to use his head and his fist at the same time." Popular Science, Feb 1933 also shows _lid_ used around the same time for the telegraph: > He uses a bug, but it runs away with him. As a sender he's a **lid**. He > can't read ahead and has combinations. This discussion about "lid" in amateur radio references some of the popular origin theories, such as the idea that > operators would put the lid of a tobacco can on the mechanical sounder to > make it easier to hear and also references a 1919 letter published in QST, from W. L. Matteson. Multiplex Plant Dept. W. U. Tel. Co., that suggests _lid_ came into the amateur radio vocabulary from telegraphy. So, then, it makes sense for the meaning to carry over from telegraph to ham radio. But how on earth does a "lid" come to refer to a person in the first place?


title: Is there a difference between "brainstorming" and "mindstorming"?

text: Some people use _brainstorming_ , others use _mindstorming_. I could not find the difference between the two words.


title: What is meaning of "Sulking though"?

text: The background story is as follows. Author flunked engineering entrance exam. He took tuitions by paying hefty fee from his father pockets in order to crack the exam. How ever he flunked again. After results he had scolded and reprimanded by his father. Then author went out from home to take a break. And now he is returning to home. > I walk back home. The one-hour walk in the fresh air made me feel better > temporarily. I should not talk to Baba(Father) about expensive private > colleges, I thought. May be I should talk him about me making money in a job > rather than spending more. First, I would have to end his **sulking > though**. What is the meaning of **Sulking though** here? I know the meaning of **though** is _despite the fact that_. But the literal meaning (' _First, I would have to end his bad tempered silence despite the fact that_ ') seems to be meaningless.


title: Another way of saying "being judged"

text: What is another way of saying "being judged?" The context is: >   1. Being judged gave me an open mind about the different ways other > cultures are judged and treated as well. >   2. Being criticized gave me an open mind about the different ways other > cultures are judged and treated as well. > Does my revision make sense?


title: When do I use a comma in this sentence?

text: Would I use a comma as follows or not: `The challenging, technical race` or `The challenging technical race`


title: Name for that sound you make with pursed lips

text: I tried searching, but couldn't find anything. What's that sound called, the one you make when you purse your lips and make that kissing kind of sound? I guess people make the sound in different contexts, but for example: Person 1 does all sorts of complicated things to accomplish a task, Person 2 does it easily. Upon seeing Person 2's method, Person 1 may make this sound. If there are any Kannadigas, in Kannada it's called _lochhguttodu_.


title: Why "the" in "Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)"?

text: When reading the title of the book, we don't know what three men it is talking about so there is no/indefinite article (the same with "a boat"). But why is there "the Dog" instead of "a Dog"? We don't know anything about the dog either. **Update:** _Thanks for the answers. However, I'm not sure why the question got down-voted. I'm not a native speaker and my language has no articles, so using them properly and knowing different corner cases in English poses a problem for me. Honestly, I'd like to know the reasons for down-votes so that I could ask better/more qualified questions in the future. So I kindly ask people who down-voted to explain the reasons._


title: Dangling Participial Phrase

text: Here’s the original: > The veterinarian was caught off guard when, regaining consciousness, we were > again attacked by the cat. My rewrite of this sentence is either: > The veterinarian was caught off guard when we were again attacked by the cat > regaining consciousness. or else: > The veterinarian was caught off guard when, regaining consciousness, the cat > attacked us. Is either of these rewrites satisfactory?


title: Need clarify the use of word "locates" in the sentence

text: My English teacher asked a quiz question: > _**The dancing club_** ___ __ **_north of this district_** > > a. lays > > b. lies > > c. locates > > d. lain The answer was given as **c. locates**. I feel something is wrong with this answer, because I usually read sentences like _"[Something] **is located** in/at [somewhere]"_, so I think **_locate_** should be used in passive form. In my opinion, **_lies_** may be able to be put here, or **_lays_** if **_in_** were added. Please clarify what the correct answer is.


title: Capitalization of software terms--design pattern

text: I'm editing a software blog, and the author is describing a design pattern called the "abstract factory pattern." He capitalizes the 'A' and the 'F' in some places and not in others. The Wikipedia article is guilty of doing the same thing, and other software blogs are not proving to be reliable sources of grammatical correctness. I simply can't figure out if this is a proper noun or not. Can anyone help?


title: Latin abbreviation to use in English to replace "as such"

text: I was wondering if I can use "et al." in order to say "as such" after a list of elements in a sentence given as example. If not:   * What can be the correct Latin abbreviation to use to replace "as such"? Thank you


title: How would you group the terms "Single" and "Pair"?

text: I am working on a website at the moment and I am trying to perfect the User Experience. The products on the store are either sold on their own, or as pairs. What I want is a word or phrase to put in place followed by a colon, and then either the term "Single" or "Pair". So to spell it out (pardon the pun) it would be: _word_ : Single or _word_ : Pair Can anyone come up with a good suggestion?


title: "Show," "shown," and "showed"

text: I need advice on the best use of the verb _show_. When do you use _showed_? I find myself substituting _has shown_ , even when I meant to use the preterit in my sentence. I prefer "she has shown" over "she has showed"; are there differences in phrasal verbs, such as "show _up_ " or "show _out_ "? Do you ever use "shew" and its family?


title: "Critical in" vs. "critical for" vs. "critical to"

text: I am confused about the correct preposition to use before _achieving_ in this sentence: > Tracking service delivery is critical in achieving the goals of the health > program. I feel "critical for achieving" or "cricial to achieving" sounds better.


title: Use of "save this day" instead of "save the date"

text: Can we use the phrase _save this day_ instead of _save the date_? The intention is to emphasize an event happening on a special date. For example, a soccer match is going to happen next Friday and I want to say _Save this day!_ Is it correct?


title: Meaning of the sentence from the song "Powerless"

text: As I am not a native English speaker, I am a bit curious to know the meaning of this sentence which I heard in Nelly Furtado's song "Powerless": > 'Cause this life is too short to live it just for you. What does it mean?   1. Life is too short to spend it with you, meaning that I don't want to waste time on you.   2. Life seems too short and I want some more to spend it with you. I know it is a bit of an awkward question but I thought this was the best place to ask it.


title: Meaning of "desk warrior"

text: I'm not sure about the meaning of _desk warrior_ , as it appears in this passage taken from The Economist (my boldface emphasis): > Those [South Korean students, my note] who score well can enter one of > Korea’s best universities, which has traditionally guaranteed them a job- > for-life as a high-flying bureaucrat or **desk warrior** at a _chaebol_ > (conglomerate). I cannot find it in the dictionaries at my disposal. It seems to me that it is a sort of ironic or even disapproving epithet for a particular kind of white collar employees who hold a position of some responsibility.


title: Ibid source citing source

text: I have a source (source A) citing source B and source C in the next citation number. I want to cite both B and C. So obviously, I should cite A, B, and C. how should I do this? >   1. Source B (citing Source A pp. 334) > >   2. Source C (citing Source A pp. 345) > > OR >   1. Source B (citing Source A pp. 334) >   2. Source C (citing Ibid. at pp. 345) >


title: "I read the To Kill a Mockingbird book" vs. "I read the book To Kill a Mockingbird"

text: Which one is correct?   1. I read the _To Kill a Mockingbird_ book.   2. I read the book _To Kill a Mockingbird_. More complicated example:   1. I think you should read the _No Silver Bullet - Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering_ paper.   2. I think you should read the paper _No Silver Bullet - Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering_.


title: Why PBS is called Big Bird as its byname?

text: I found “ _Big Bird_ ” being used as the byname of public broad services in the article titled,“The Red and Blue Fantasies behind the Big Bird War” appearing in Time magazine’s October 9 issue which begins with the following sentence: > "There is a reason conservative’s dream of cutting funding for Big Bird, but > it has nothing to do with Sesame Street. Behind the big yellow fowl is a > fantasy: the idea that the federal budget can be balanced by doing away with > wasteful ephemera that no one really needs. “I like PBS. I love Big Bird. I > actually like you too,” Romney said at the first debate to Jim Lehrer, the > moderator. “But I’m not gonna keep on spending money on things to borrow > money from China to pay for it.” From the context of the above sentence, I surmise that Big Bird appearing in the popular children’s TV show, “Sesame Street” became the nickname of PBS. If I am right, I wonder why just one of 1,000 Sesame Street characters comes to represent for PBS. Why PBS is called "Big Bird"? The article says “There is a reason conservative’s dream of cutting funding for Big Bird, but _it has nothing to do with Sesame Street.”_ Why don’t you say simply “PBS,” which I think is short enough word that doesn’t need to take a bother of inventing an alias?


title: "The author is by Katherine Patterson" — what is the term for the error in this sentence?

text: I am marking some student work and one of the sentences was > The author is by Katherine Patterson. What is the term for the error in this sentence?


title: Meaning of "phoenix" in "Japan was a phoenix destroyed by the war"

text: An excerpt from the transcript of a lecture: > And after that MacArthur stayed in Japan for six years working with the > Emperor Hirohito and the new Japanese government, building its government > and rebuilding the country. And as we know, Japan was a **phoenix** > destroyed by the war and now, 70 years later, one of the most economically > powerful countries in the world. I can't understand what the word _phoenix_ means in this context.


title: "Which we discussed" vs. "about which we discussed"

text: Which one is correct? > I’ve added changes/fixes which we discussed yesterday. or > I’ve added changes/fixes about which we discussed yesterday.


title: What's the difference between a proverb and an idiom?

text: I think I have a notion what is what but maybe you know a good definition what is what? For example "Hindsight is always 20:20" — is that a proverb or an idiom?


title: What does "do a take 5" mean?

text: The context is “We will always _do a TAKE 5_ prior to undertaking work”. I have no idea what a “take 5” is. I searched “take 5” on Google but I didn’t find an applicable explanation. Here is the context of the line: >   * We will never compromise safety >   * We will always wear PPE >   * We will always do a TAKE 5 prior to undertaking work >   * We will be drug and alcohol free >   * We will report all incidents and near hits >


title: Am I referring to doubt about who I love, or doubt about who the song is for?

text: > This song's for the one I loved, at least that's what I thought. My intent is to raise doubt about whether I love "the one", but I think "at least that's what I thought" could refer to the whole first half "This song's for the one I loved", i.e. I thought the song was for the one I loved. Which interpretation is correct? If the second, what would be a proper way of saying this without really shortening the sentence?


title: Das Keyboard Refurbished Professional Model S: What does "Refurbished" mean?

text: Everything is in the question, so I copy/paste: Das Keyboard Refurbished Professional Model S: what does "Refurbished" mean?


title: Cross Origins of Comrade and Camaraderie

text: If "Comrade" and "camaraderie" are from Spanish and French, why did the Russians and particularly Soviets (and later the Chinese and South Africans), come to adopt Comrade for usage? Also, does using camaraderie carry the same socio-political baggage as Comrade might? In contemporary usage, has the term "Comrade" lost any or all socio- political baggage it may once have had?


title: "Communiqué"? English?

text: Is the word "Communiqué" an English word? It originated from French but does it have mainstream English usage? I have used it in my scholarship essay for an English writing course - Well I intend to (use it).. I won't submit unless I know it's appropriate.. cheers!


title: What are the differences between the following sentences containing "surprised"?

text: I have written four similar sentences using _surprised_ : >   1. I was deeply surprised at the news. >   2. I was deeply surprised at learning the news. >   3. I was deeply surprised at being told the news. >   4. I was deeply surprised to learn the news. > It seems certain that 1 and 4 are grammatically right and smooth. What I'd like to know is whether 2 and 3 are commonly used in daily life. If there is a difference between 1 and 2, what is it? Or are they just the same?


title: Origin of "Turns the Table" idiom

text: I know the meaning of the phrase, but where exactly does it come from?


title: What's the word for dropping buzzwords frequently?

text: I'm pretty sure there is a word for this, I remember seeing it on the Internet once and the closest I have is "buzzwording" (not a real word?)


title: What to call someone who contacts you after a while and pretends nothing had happened?

text: What to call someone who, after you had a quarrel with him and later agreed you wouldn't talk to him again, contacts you after a while pretending as if not had happened before.


title: What's the origin of "water under the bridge"?

text: What's the origin/background of the phrase "water under the bridge"? To what does it allude? I understand it means to let bygones be bygones--to move on from the past. But I don't think I understand what water and the bridge represent.


title: Making A Binary Decision

text: Is it correct to use phrase "Making a binary decision" for the decision which is not well thought out. > Example: As a president you can not make such a binary decision. Are there any references for such usage?


title: Comma with 'but then'

text: Which of the following is right? Ignorance is bliss. **But then** we learnt to do it. OR Ignorance is bliss. **But, then,** we learnt to do it.


title: meaning of "the rather," "than," respectively

text: > This may be fancy, though I think the memory of most of us can go farther > back into such times than many of us suppose; just as I believe the power of > observation in numbers of very young children to be quite wonderful for its > closeness and accuracy. Indeed, I think that most grown men who are > remarkable in this respect, may with greater propriety be said not to have > lost the faculty, **than** to have acquired it; **the rather** , as I > generally observe such men to retain a certain freshness, and gentleness, > and capacity of being pleased, which are also an inheritance they have > preserved from their childhood. (Charles Dickens, _David Copperfield_ , > CHAPTER 2. I OBSERVE) Does _than_ in this excerpt mean _but_ = _be said not to have lost the faculty, but to have acquired it_? Does _the rather_ in this fragment mean _the latter_ = _the latter_ (e.g. the faculty having been acquired), _as I generally observe..._? I should finally say that I actually don't know what _the rather_ means. I haven't been able to find it in any of the free online English dictionaries that I've looked it up in. I'm very sure _the rather_ is included in _OED_ , but this is a lexicographic work that is without my reach.


title: How did "heart" come to refer to the shape?

text: When and why was this first called a _heart_? ![](http://i.stack.imgur.com/yYBuI.png) As far as I can tell, the biological heart does not appear to bear it much resemblance.


title: Using the word 'kind' for a category

text: I found on englishplus (accessed on 23 Dec 2012) that the phrase ' ** _kind of animal_** ' refers to a category of animal. > If you are using an expression like kind of, sort of, type of, or variety > of, then you are putting the person or thing you describe into a category. > Therefore, such expressions should not apply to one specific individual of > the type. > >> Incorrect: He is the kind of leader we need.   >  (You are referring to a specific person in the subject and to a category in > the predicate.) >> >> Correct: He is like the kind of leader we need.   >  (You are referring to a category, and he is an example of someone in the > category.) The confusion I have is that I feel now it is inappropriate to say “Spot is a kind of dog” (where Spot is a proper noun and the name of a certain dog). Instead, one should say “Spot belongs to a kind of dog” or “Spot is of a kind of dog”. The idea that “Spot is a kind of dog” is incorrect follows from “He is like the kind of leader we need” being said correct by the above reference. Then, I referred to the OALD. Its first sense for the noun form is: “a group of people or things that are the same in some way...”. To me it seems to validate the explanation at englishplus.com. But then it gives the following examples, among others: >   1. The school is the first of its kind ... >   2. They sell all kinds of things. > (1) seems to match with the theory that _kind_ is a group.   (2) seems to suggest that _kind_ is not a category but perhaps a common noun – since it is 'sell'able. In the _kind of animal_ phrase, I assume that _of animal_ is a prepositional phrase acting as a qualifier of the noun _kind_ used to select the kind required. Therefore to say that I am referring to a category of animals, I use the phrase _kind of animal_ and then to show that _T_ is an animal of this category, I say: “T is an animal of a {kind of animal}” (ie, T is an animal of a kind of animal). Now, I have never come across such a sentence in my life. Please help me understand the source of the confusion and the correct usage of the word _kind_ , whether as an idiom or by proper grammar.


title: What's the origin of the "surprise!" interjection?

text: This interjection is perhaps most commonly associated with surprise parties, where the person in whose honour the party is held is made unaware, until an opportune moment where the participants leap out and shout "surprise!" When did such usage first appear?


title: Confused by the British having “dinner” in the afternoon” and “tea” in the evening

text: I’m having problems with meal names in the UK. I’ve just learnt that _dinner_ can refer to the **afternoon** meal, and that _tea_ can refer to an **early evening** meal. Is this specific to a certain area in the UK? Do these terms still exist?


There seems to be a subtle difference between the infinitive form of the verb 'to be' after a verb and the inflected form of the same; what is it? This effect, if there is one, seems most noticeable in (or only applies to) some sentences that reference a subject's beliefs. > John claims to be Michael Jackson's reincarnation. > > John claims that he is Michael Jackson's reincarnation. > > * * * > > John believes Michael Jackson to be reincarnated. > > John believes that Michael Jackson is reincarnated. If the inflected and infinitive form of the verb 'to be' convey things that are subtly different, what is that difference?


title: Afraid/shy/uncomfortable when going to meet someone so instead you create an excuse to avoid meeting/seeing them

text: This word was on my mind earlier, been trying to remember it but can't. It is used when someone is uncomfortable of meeting someone else; they fear something and overthink. So they try to avoid meeting or seeing people. It would be used in a sentence like: > I can understand you are [the word here], but...


title: Verbs while using if

text: If you want to talk about a possibility or something you would like to be different you can say "If I _were_ taller", "If you were faster". You use the verb in past tense. Is it correct? But what about the following? > If this app worked in this way, I would like it more. I don't know but the above sentence sounds kind of weird for me. I don't know if it's correct or not.


title: Poetic syntax with "as" and "so"

text: Does anyone know how to describe the type of poetic syntax of the line: > "As the deer panteth for the water / So my soul longeth after thee" or > something to that effect. I'm not sure if this would be an example of parataxis or hypotaxis. Normally, "so" is a coordinating conjunction, which makes me think that this might count as parataxis, but the adverb "as" seems to make the first clause dependent and thus render the syntax as hypotaxis. Another related question: is as/so a correlative conjunction like neither/nor or either/or?


title: "With such stature comes increased responsibilities": is there only a banal typo?

text: I was interested in the following sentence which appeared in a news article titled "F.A. Gives Sir Alex the Hair-Dryer Treatment" by Jeffrey Marcus in The New York Times (November 12, 2009). > Having said that, it was made clear to Sir Alex that with such stature > **comes** increased responsibilities. _[emphasize mine]_ Can someone clarify if the journalist wrongly uses the word "comes", as I think it is? I would reword "comes" with "come" because, at second look, it seems that the subject of the verb is the plural word "responsibilities", not "stature"; but I'm not quite sure if the journalist a banal typo made or if there is something into the structure of the sentence that induced him to wrong. Or, am I wrong (not the journalist)?


title: Terminology for pairs of words with the same meaning, similar or same pronunciation but different spelling

text: Is there a term describe word pairs like _colour/color_ that have the same meaning, similar or same pronunciation but a different spelling? The most common examples I can think of are English/American spelling variants, though there are alternative transliterations of foreign words would fit the bill too (e.g., _Ziggurat/Ziqqurat_ ). I was wondering if there is a recognised word for describing these word pairings as we have terminology like "homonym", "heteronym" etc. for words with different meanings.


title: What are the meanings of the sentences where "Not that" is followed by an object-missing expression?

text: According to my observation, there are at least two types of using "Not that....". And my question is: what does "not that" mean in its second type of usage? In the first usage, "not that" is followed by a structure-complete sentence or expression. Example 1: > I've been teetering down my twittering and self editing my Facebooking > lately. It's **not that** I don't have the urge to write things. It's just I > have to fight the urge to write really inappropriate things that maybe my > old High School English teacher doesn't really need or want to know. Example 2: > It’s **not that** I don’t care about football. I just don’t care enough. In the second usage, "not that" is followed by an object-missing expression. Example 3 (from Fringe): > Olivia: Anything to do with metamorphic ability? Peter: **Not that** I can > tell. Here, _tell_ is a transitive verb and its object is missing. Example 4 (from Fringe): > Olivia: Were you involved in...? Walter: **Not that** I recall. Here, _recall_ is a transitive verb and its object is missing. I understand that, in the first usage, "not that" sort of means "it doesn't mean...". But I'm not sure, in the second usage:   1. Why are objects of transitive verbs missing?   2. What does this type of "not that..." sentences mean here?


title: What is a non-religious word for an apocalyptic event?

text: I am looking for a noun which describes some sort of apocalyptic or world- ending event, but does not have the religious baggage of words like _apocalypse_.


title: Can I "re-enable" something?

text: I have disabled something and want to enable it again. Can I say that I "re- enable it" or do I simply "enable" it?


title: Does "pants" more commonly mean "trousers" or "underpants"?

text: In the UK, I've heard pants being used as slang for underpants (or was it in _Bridget Jones' Diary_?), whereas in India it almost exclusively means "trousers". Describing the meaning of "put your pants on one leg at a time", this link says: > To say that someone _puts their pants on one leg at a time_ means that the > person is a human being no different from anyone else. The idiom's origin seems to refer to trousers but I'm wondering whether someone reading this might think "underpants" rather than trousers?


title: Why is "bade" pronounced "bad"?

text: Dictionary.com doesn't even allow for the pronunciation "beyd", which is how I thought it was pronounced until very recently. _Forbade_ is similarly pronounced, though the dictionary generously gives [fer- **beyd** ] as the second pronunciation. The etymology doesn't support a short "a" there at all, as far as I can tell. Where did it come from?


title: What do "resolved" and "improved" mean when they are used about recovering from a disease?

text: Please have a look at the image below. ![Image in which these medical terms are used](http://i.stack.imgur.com/ScICf.png) What does the underlined words   * resolved / resolution   * improved mean in this image? And, what is the difference between the meanings of "improved" and "reduced"? In my native language, when a disease is said to be "improved", we understand that it went worse. Is "improved" used in an opposing meaning in English?


title: "Sure I am not" — is that valid English?

text: Consider this conversation: > — Iceland has more than 200 rainy days per year.   >  — Are you sure?   >  — No, I am not sure. Is it valid or wrong English to say, > — No, sure I am not. ...in the last sentence? I am German native speaker and in German both versions ("Nein, ich bin nicht sicher"/"Nein, sicher bin ich nicht") would be valid. The latter version is probably even preferred because that puts emphasis on the _sure_ , as in "I do think that's how it is, but I don't know for a fact". (It's impossible though to use the second version in an affirmation in German "Ja, sicher bin ich." This sounds like Yoda-speak, much like the English equivalent "Yes, sure I am.") **Edit.** If I would know the grammar of my own language better I could have asked: "Is (sentence) **inversion** allowed in English grammar?". The second German version above falls under the rule of (Sentence) Inversion and the English translations in the linked article and all answers to my question indicate that such an inversion is not allowed in the English language.


title: Can "pro rata" be used as a verb? And what should the past tense be?

text: We are offering prices on some subscriptions which are normally priced for a full year, but allow users to buy only a few months worth. We're calling these _pro rata prices_ and talking about the prices being _pro rataed_ or _pro rated_ (depending on how we want to pronounce it) — is this good English? What would be a better way?


title: Adjective for "Visual Cacophony"

text: What is an adjective that describes something very visually crowded or busy? _Cacophonous_ is perfect, but it describes sound.


title: “Spent time for training” vs. “spent time on training” vs. “spent time on training of ”

text: * We’ve spent X hours ? _on training of_ the new employee.   * We’ve spent X hours ? _on training_ the new employee.   * We’ve spent X hours ? _for training_ the new employee. Are these interchangeable?


title: Is the proper phrasing "SMS" or "SMS Message"?

text: I know that "SMS" stands for "Short Messaging Service." But, > The term SMS is used as a synonym for all types of short text messaging as > well as the user activity itself in many parts of the world (Source: Wikipedia). Therefore, should I used the phrase "SMS" or "SMS Message"? This doesn't seem to be as straightforward as the obviously wrong (yet widely used) "ATM Machine" and "PIN Number."


title: A pedant's plea for a proper pun

text: This problem has plagued me occasionally, and I'm finally asking: What is the proper grammar (specifically, verb use and capitalization) in the following pun situation? > The only Windows I want to hear about is the operating system. It's being used in a written place. If I am, in fact, referring to the OS, I should capitalize Windows, but I don't necessarily want to give away the joke at the very beginning of the sentence; additionally, I don't know whether I should use "is" (which would be correct for the OS), or "are" (which would be correct for multiple glass surfaces out of which a person can look). I realize it's a fairly absurd situation, but I still want to do it correctly.


title: Usage of the word “understatement”

text: What does it mean when some book says that some algorithm is not so obvious, and then in brackets () says that this is possibly “the biggest understatement in this book”? Is the writer actually contradicting himself? If _understatement_ means “state weakly” then is this the proper usage? This is the actual sentence: > Strassen’s algorithm is not at all obvious. (This might be the biggest > understatement in this book.)


title: Why is “Saturday” Romanic?

text: _Sunday_ and _Monday_ are named after the sun and moon (English < Germanic), and _Tuesday_ through _Friday_ are named after Anglo-Saxon/Germanic gods. This seems consistent enough so far, but then we come to the oddbal;: Saturday. Ignoring the mandatory _-day_ , this is the only Latin-derived name of the lot. Why are six of the week-day names Germanic and one Romanic?


title: About definite article before "Earth", "Moon" and "Sun"

text: In what cases do we have to put the definite article _the_ before each of these words:   * Sun   * Moon   * Earth and in what cases do we not need to?


title: Better verbage than "Most Recent"

text: I have a report that is creating a list of customer visits, with the goal of breaking customers into "Active, With Future Appointments", "Active, Recently", "Recent, No-Show", "Not seen in 90 days", etc. Given a list of customers, I'm listing the "Most recent" visits. But that includes scheduled/future appointments. "Max", "Top", "Current"... doesn't seem to fit either. The terms just seem — if I'm considering a conversational tone — off. Is there a word/phrase that would capture the prominent, highest visit in common English? (not database/programming languages, since "Max Visit" just doesn't sound right in documentation to the non-programming layperson). Edit: Looking at this question, and I don't see anything that seems to sound easy on the ears either. Soonest? Immenent? Impending? "Most Recent or Impending Visit"? Doesn't seem to condense "max visit" into English with sounding weird to me...


title: Use of "arrive" or "reach" for payment

text: If I want to confirm receiving payment with the sender, can I use verbs like _reach_ and _arrive_? For example, > The payment/money has **reached** us. > > The payment/money has **arrived**. Are there better ways to say it?


title: Meaning of "Where will wants not, a way opens"

text: I have been reading "The Lord of the Rings" and came across this phrase in the "The Return of the King". > “ _Where will wants not, a way opens_ , so we say,” he whispered. “and so I > have found myself.” Merry looked up and saw that it was the young Rider whom > he had noticed in the morning. “You wish to go whither the Lord of the Mark > goes: I see it in your face.” (p. 787, ch. The Muster of Rohan) Here Eowyn disguised as a man (for she is not supposed to go to the war herself) is speaking to Merry (who is also not supposed to go). However both wish to go and Eowyn offers to take Merry with her hiding him under her cloak. What does this phrase mean? To me, it appears that this is similar to the common phrase > _Where there is a will, there is a way_. And it also fits the context. But what is the "not" doing in the phrase then? Can someone please explain this phrase. Did I misunderstand the meaning?


title: Does "bend over backwards" have bad meaning?

text: If my boss asks me if I can help him to do something, I reply: I'll bend over backwards to do it. Does this reply literally have a meaning of flattery?


title: How to change a passive sentence having transitive verb to active voice?

text: Suppose take this sentence: > The door is opened I am not very sure that it is in passive voice. But I think so. I am struggling converting it into active voice.(If it is already in active voice, how to convert it into passive voice) Please help me.


title: Atheist/agnostic form of expressing condolences

text: I have lived in the U.S. 20 years now but I am yet to find an elegant and eloquent wording to express condolences to somebody upon the death of a close one that does not involve religiosity and prayer ("Your family will be in my prayers"). My native language is Bosnian (Serbocroatian) and we simply say "accept my condolences". Can you offer some examples of similar elegant, eloquent, and SECULAR wording in English that does not imply God, prayers, religion, heaven, etc.?


title: Is "metadata" considered plural?

text: The longstanding question of whether "data" is singular or plural has a very appropriate answer in: Is "data" considered singular or plural? Yet, I wonder if the same arguments hold true for the related "metadata". In the same "technical paper" context as the linked question, is it appropriate to use "metadata are"? Or does it perhaps depend on the context?


title: Is 'amenable' the right word here?

text: > Problems in complex adaptive systems are neither mathematically tractable > nor ~~are they~~ [amenable?] to statistical techniques. I don't think 'amenable' is correct here. What would be a proper word to use instead?


title: Correct use of “albeit”, particularly with regard to commas

text: I’m not quite sure that the following sentence is gramatically correct. If it is, I wonder where I should put the comma or commas in the sentence using _albeit_. > Obesity rates amongst men, whose figures were, albeit, lower than the > aforementioned two groups, increased gradually to approximately 15% of the > male population.


title: Phrase Request for the beyond or something hidden

text: Is there any phase I would use to replace "Beyond" in my sentence below? Beyond the flavorful taste, there are many health benefits of olive oil.


title: "A 1000-sqft room" vs. "a 1000 sq. ft. room"

text: Which of the following is correct? > This is a 1000-sqft room   >  This is a 1000 sq. ft. room Or perhaps neither is right and there's a better alternative?


title: Does an antonym of ''freezing'' as a descriptor of weather exist?

text: On very cold days, someone can say that it's freezing outside. On very hot days of summer, can someone use _cooking_ or any antonym of _freezing_ , if one exists?


title: A word for a collection of collections of video content?

text: If I were to put together collections of scientific lectures either by speaker or topic, what might I call them as a whole, if all the collections too were grouped into one item? I am looking for a word that is similar to _anthology_ , but that seems to refer exclusively to literary content. I have thought about _series_ , but what if you have a collection of series (like, what would all the series of Star Trek be called if they were put into one set)? Simply, I have considered _collection_ and _selection_ , and more aptly, _compilation_. _Collection_ might work but it seems to general of a word and _compilation_ seems accurate, but kind of sounds like tech jargon. A single word would be nice, but I am open to a two or three word combo. As it sits now, I feel stuck with _[unique name] collection series_.


title: Why do The Sopranos leave off the last vowel in Italian words?

text: For example, they pronounce "ricotta" as "rih-gaht", "manicotti" as "mani- gaht", and "prosciutto" as "pro-shoot". I googled this, and according to this post from Chow.com, this is a common thing around New York and New Jersey, particularly in Italian-American restaurants. Is this a cultural thing, or something related to the history of how the English language adopted these words, or what?


title: What's the term for the inner perimeter of something?

text: Say I have a building with a sidewalk on its outside. To walk it I might say something like: > "I'm going to walk the perimeter of the building." Now say I want to walk around the perimeter of the building again, but this time I'll be _inside_ the building. How would I express the notion of "inner perimeter" succinctly? Is there a single word to describe it?


title: Pronunciation of "have" in "I don't have to" [do something]

text: Normally when I say " _I don't have to do that_ " (meaning _I'm not obliged to_ ), I find that as well as putting heavy stress on the word "have", I pronounce if **haff**. Is this common? If so, why does the trailing consonant change from "v" to "f"? Are there any other contexts where this or a similar change occurs? Edit: It's starting to look like _have to_ in the sense of "must" is almost a completely different verb to the standard _have_. That allows it to conjugate differently, which explains why in " _I had to to that_ ", I often say **hat**. Edit2: We seem to have identified **have, use,** and **suppose** as verbs that can undergo significant changes in pronunciation when coupled with _'to'_ to indicate a special meaning (the _required, habitual_ , and _requested/ordered_ senses). Per @PPL's comments, there's also the **ought/owe** pair, and various (often dialectal) changes with some forms of **go, want** and **get**. Any more?


title: What does this quote about "pasty-skinned programmers" mean?

text: > “Note to self: Pasty-skinned programmers ought not stand in the Mojave > desert for multiple hours.” -John Carmack ("Pasty Skin" means not healthy and pale skin.) What does this quote mean?


title: Origin of "zero"

text: Dictionary.com gave the origin as: > 1595–1605; < Italian < Medieval Latin zephirum < Arabic ṣifr cipher I'm just wondering who coined the actual English term 'zero'? I know that sometime in history there was a man who achieved a mathematical breakthrough, and came up with the _idea_ of 'zero', but who actually coined the word? Can somebody trace its etymology?


title: Filling out forms that ask for “relationship with”

text: When I fill any form for my son this question “relationship with child” confuses me. Should the answer be “son” or “father”? To me, the ideal answer is always “a father–son relationship”. A little explanation is appreciated.


title: What's the meaning of "six words away"?

text: What's the meaning for "six words away"? I heard it repeatedly in the movie _Coach Carter_. **Edit:** In the scene in a bus, when the coach blasts the team for sneaking out to a party without informing him, he says "you are six words away from getting kicked off the bus" or something like that.


title: What does a phrase "such is life in the tropics" mean?

text: Recently I've read and article about one of Latin American countries. The author was explaining why the life there is easy in terms of natural resources: there is no winter, the people have fresh water and rich soil. And then he concluded that there is one English phrase that describes this situation: > Such is life in the tropics. What does this phrase mean?


title: Is there a difference between "Joe said" and "said Joe"?

text: Does the subject/verb order make a difference when writing a dialog tag? > "The sky is blue," **Joe said**. > > "The sky is blue," **said Joe**. Is one preferable over the other? Does one emphasize the speaker (or the method of speech, such as **shout** ) more than the other? (Personally, I would use the second form to emphasize that _Joe_ made the statement)


title: Is a final comma necessary when describing a description?

text: Sorry, the title is a bit confusing... basically, which of the following is correct? Without a comma: > Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother, the book you had me read during a > camping trip which I loved for its realistic **nature is** quoted here. With a comma: > Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother, the book you had me read during a > camping trip which I loved for its realistic **nature, is** quoted here.


title: Word that describes a person who may be incorrectly assumed an expert?

text: The word was seen used in the context of a person recommending a book. A critic responded, claiming the author had no real expertise, and that the content of the book should be taken with "a grain of salt". The implication is that by writing the book, the author is an expert on the subject matter. The critic's stance was that shouldn't be an assumption. He used this word to describe the author. I do recall looking the word up in the dictionary at one point, and if memory serves, this is (more or less) how the word was defined: > A person who perceives himself to be an expert (particularly in the arts), > but that possesses no actual expertise. What is this word I'm looking for?


title: Is there an instance where 'and' could not replace 'but'?

text: For instance, I would normally write the following sentence: > Many were the dangers arrayed against me, but I had no fear. Is it grammatically incorrect to write instead: > Many were the dangers arrayed against me, and I had no fear. I noticed this whilst speaking with a co-worker, and found he extremely rarely used the conjunction 'but', favoring 'and' instead. Though it sounds strange to me, I cannot find anything to say this is grammatically incorrect.


title: What is the real logical meaning of deny?

text: The definition from Google is >   1. Refuse to admit the truth or existence of (something) >   2. Refuse to give (something requested or desired) to (someone) > Now my interest is on the first meaning. If I say, "Judas denied knowing Jesus" and look at the first meaning, doesn't it imply that the truth is Judas knows Jesus but refuses to admit this, hence anytime anybody denies something we can take it to mean that whatever he is denying is the truth. Is it correct for me to conclude that deny can only be used when a person is refusing to admit something that is strictly the truth? e.g.:   * I break a mug; mother finds it broken I say it wasn't me. This is denying.    * My sister breaks another mug, mother finds out and asks me, and I say it wasn't me. This is not denying: it's true I didn't do it therefore I am not refusing to admit the truth. Please help me understand. I'm from Africa and English is only my third language after two mother tongues.


title: What is the difference between 'adjust', 'settle' and 'arrange'?

text: Can _adjust_ , _settle_ , and _arrange_ be used interchangeably?


title: Punctuations for quotes in a list

text: > "make a monkey of someone", " don't monkey with that lock!", and "where have > you been, you little monkey!" are examples of sentences where _monkey_ have > different meaning. Should the comma be placed inside the quotes, or outside?


title: Use of apostrophes

text: Should it read "The contractor shall provide details of the companies ability with regard to resources" or "The contractor shall provide details of the companys ability with regard to resources"? Is there a need for an apostrophe here?


title: Is there a word for the urge to do something creative?

text: Is there a succinct word for the 'itch' to do something creative? For example having a niggle in your brain where only doing something creative can make it go away? Thanks in advance :)


title: What do you call the time period between notification of an event and the event?

text: I'm in the situation where I have an event, and I want to notify some people 15 minutes before that event happens (but it could be 30 minutes, or 1 day, or any amount of time). What do you call that 15 minutes? **UPDATE:** My specific case is for a program I'm writing. I have an event and I want to create a notification that happens X time before the event. I'm having trouble finding a name for that X time.               NOTIFICATION             TIME LAPSE                   EVENT          |                       | (belongs to              |          |                       |  notification)           |          |<------------------------------------------------>|      I was trying to name it something like "Notification premure" or "Notification ahead-time", but none of them convince me, and I'm having troubles thinking of other alternatives. Any ideas?


title: Is this an it-cleft with bare infinitive?

text: >    "Actually, we didn't get lost," the tall one says. "We ran away."   >     "Not running away so much as just stumbling onto this spot and deciding > to stay put," the brawny one adds. "That's different from getting lost."   >     "Not just anybody can find this place," the tall soldier says. "But we > did, and now you have too. It was a stroke of luck--for us, at least."   >     "If we hadn't found this spot, they would've shipped us overseas," the > brawny one ex-plains. "Over there it was **kill or be killed**. That wasn't > for us. I'm a farmer, originally, and my buddy here just graduated from > college. Neither one of us wants to kill anybody. And being killed's even > worse. Kind of obvious, I'd say."   >     "How 'bout you?" the tall one asks me. "Would you like **to kill > anybody, or be killed**?"   >  (Kafka on the Shore, tr. by Philip Gabriel) Why does the first phrase have bare infinitive? (If the first be an it-cleft, CGEL says the type is normally inadmissible (p.1422), and Bas Aarts also says in his book to infinitives are allowable not in it-cleft but only in pseudo- cleft.)


title: meaning of 'by' in the sentence

text: What could be the meaning of 'by' in the following sentence? My grandmother was spared the humiliation of those high, grey walls by eight or ten years.


title: What would you call a psychological tool that does more than diagnose?

text: There are many types of electronic or automotive tools that can help diagnose a problem, such as a volt-ohmmeter or an OBD scanner. There are different tools to help fix a problem, such as a soldering iron or a torque wrench. The field of psychology has diagnostic instruments as well, such as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test. Is there a word for a psychological instrument that not only diagnoses, but can help a subject improve? I was thinking of > a ?proscriptive instrument (EDIT: _Proscriptive_ is ~~close~~ wrong. A _proscriptive tool_ would be a forbidden one.) Here is an example. The Myers-Briggs personality inventory is a diagnostic test that will categorize you as, say, an Extroverted, iNtuitive, Thinking, Perceiving (ENTP) person. You may also use the results of the inventory as a **_** (fill in the blank) tool to help you understand your own strengths and weaknesses (example) and work better with others.


title: What is one "content" item in a Wikipedia called?

text: I think that my question can best be explained by an example: In the following Wikipedia entry (I hope "entry" is the right term), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Herring, there are multiple "sections" or "chunks" referred to as "contents" in the page: ![image](http://i.stack.imgur.com/jV2cc.png) I highlighted a single such "content" with a green border to show that it's not really a paragraph, because it can be comprised of multiple paragraphs. On the other hand, I don't feel calling it a "section" is right because sections are usually much longer (as in a book or newspaper). The title above it is simple: "title" or "heading" but what about the content chunk itself? What is the correct or clearest term for that?


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

text: In the context of communication systems, the latency of a packet indicates the time to delivery (or the round trip time) or in other words, how _late_ the packet is (e.g. it arrives 5ms _later_ than in an ideal system). So I was wondering if the word _latency_ is related to the word _late_ or where it comes from.


title: Different meaning of "looks good" vs. "looks well"

text: While I use "looks well" because of good being an adverb here, I mainly read "looks good" in the web. ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/b74B6.png) I'm quite unsure about the ngrams chart, has the grammatically incorrect "looks good" simply superseded "looks well", as English became a world language? Or are there subtly (probably colloquial, slang) differences in meaning of both phrases?


title: What are valid time-periods that can be used in the phrase "the other ________"?

text: "the other day" is a pretty standard and understood phrase. It usually translates to "on a recent day". So you could say "I was talking to Rachel the other day..." which would mean "I was talking to Rachel on a recent day...". It's been pointed out to me that I will often use the phrase "the other week" and this comment is usually followed by a judgement that that is not a phrase that is used. My question is, what are valid time-periods that can fill in the blank in the phrase "the other **_** "? Some [non-exhaustive] samples:   * the other second   * the other minute   * the other hour   * the other day   * the other week   * the other month   * the other year   * the other decade   * the other century To me, "day" and "week" sound fine, "month" and "year" are acceptable but sound a little funny, and the rest sound completely weird. P.S. A related question to consider that might help elucidate why some of these sound more natural than others and whether substitutes are acceptable: What are the limits of the multiplier "the other"? For example, how many days into the past can I safely refer to as "the other day"? Less than a week ago? Less than a month ago? Less than a year ago? I'd venture to say that the phrase has a human-centered nature about it -- even if you're talking about a non-human ("the volcano erupted the other day") -- which somehow limits the bounds to being less than the lifetime of a human being. But this is purely a guess.


title: What does "funny farm" mean?

text: What does _funny farm_ mean in the following lyrics? > They're coming to take me away ha ha   >  They're coming to take me away ho ho hee hee ha ha   >  To the funny farm   >  Where life is beautiful all the time


title: "Facade" vs. "façade"

text: I know that both _facade_ and _façade_ are valid in British English. Is that also true for American English? Or should _facade_ be used when writing something for American customers? This is something that gets used in a Luminaire catalog, and I just stumbled over the French _ç_ in the American version.


title: Which of the two sentences is correct?

text: _"What I feel more important is for you to go home right now."_ _"What I feel is more important is for you to go home right now."_ Which sentence is correct? Also, is there a rule that is being followed here? I am pretty sure I've heard people use the first form. Is that a slang? or is the "is" in the second sentence redundant?


title: How to describe changing status of object

text: What is the correct way to say that I have changed the status of an object? I want to say that I have _statused_ or _status'd_ the object but the first gets underlined by my spell-checker and the second doesn't look correct.


title: Abreviating a ship name with an apostrophe?

text: If a ship is named the _Scienta Victoria_ , and I wish to drop the first word for the sake of brevity, is it proper to place an apostrophe before the " _Victoria_ " to signify the dropped word?


title: Meaning and correct use of "as to why"

text: > I don't know **why I love you** , even when you are homeless.   >  I don't know **as to why I love you** , even when you are homeless. I am crazy because I don't know what the difference between these two sentences is.


title: Which is more appropriate: “drop in to the library” or “drop in at the library”?

text: The sentence in question is “You can drop in to either library from 10am–5pm and make your notebook.” Should it be “ _to_ either library” or “ _at_ either library”? Thanks.


title: Should there be a comma or a colon here?

text: > His latest album is Foo featuring his band, Bar.   >  His latest album is Foo featuring his band: Bar. Which is the more appropriate way to punctuate the sentence?


title: 'Opposite to' or 'opposite'?

text: Which usage of the word _opposite_ is correct? >   * Their house is _opposite to_ the Red Cross Hospital. >   * Their house is _opposite_ the Red Cross Hospital. > I cannot seem to find a definite answer on the Internet.


title: Does British English use the term "heel" for the end slice of bread?

text: I'm Irish, and hence speak Hiberno-English. Here is a photograph of some sliced bread: ![sliced bread](http://i.stack.imgur.com/SAhJC.jpg) The topmost slice of this (that's crust on the end), is called "the heel". Is this meaning for "heel" understood in British English?


title: What's the meaning of "over two-years' time"

text: For example, if someone says: > "Looking at the next three years, I think stock prices will drop," then does the phrase "two-years' time" mean at the end of the next three years, in the next three years, or at some point in the next three years? Thanks.


title: Vick would make Minnesota playoff team or Vick would make Minnesota a playoff team

text: Please refer to this Yahoo article: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/adrian-peterson-thinks- michael-vick-would-make-minnesota-playoff-team-162656529.html I think the headline should say "Adrian Peterson thinks Michael Vick would make Minnesota **a** playoff team" The current headline "Adrian Peterson thinks Michael Vick would make Minnesota playoff team" just gives a different meaning. It means something along the line that Minnesota is a playoff team, Vick would qualify to be in the roster. Which headline would you write?


title: Is there any shorter pronunciation of W than double-U?

text: When spelling, every letter in the Alphabet is pronounced by a single syllable, with the only exception of W being pronounced "double-U". (Fun fact, in German it's approximately pronounced like the "ve" in very, but in some strike of cosmic justice Y is pronounced "Yps-e-lon") Why is that? **Is there any at least semi-officially accepted one-syllable alternative pronunciation of W?** I checked some related post, e.g. this one, but they are more concerned with the "Why?" instead of the "Why not different?"


title: why is present tense used with before instead of past tense in this sentence?

text: A: And then just **before the killer gets the girl and stabs her with this giants knife** , the power went out and the TV went off. It was freaky. B: Wow. That's terrifying. Was the power out for long? A: Just for a few seconds. When everything came back on, the image on the screen was of the girl's dead body. **before the killer gets the girl and stabs her with this giants knife** Why is present tense used instead of past tense? I think A watched movie in the past so past tense should be used after 'before' in this sentence. The night before he was to leave, he was unable to sleep. He didn't mention anything about an appointment before he left. He ate it up before he could say knife. I tried to find other sentences in dictionary to compare with this sentence but they made me more confused. why is present tense used after BEFORE even though A already watched the scene that killer stabs her?


title: grammar rule for prepositions

text: What is the grammar rule for the preposition after the word free? Why do we say free of impurities but free of charge?


title: What is the best way to track down the origin and grammar of this quote?

text: > The best way to know a man is to walk a thousand miles in his shoes. That > way, he's a thousand miles away and has no shoes. I'm willing to bet it's a Jack Handey quote, as it's rather in that vein of thinking, but the question came up, and since "walk a thousand miles in [his] shoes" is so vague, it's hard to pin it down on [insert-random-search-engine- here]. So what's the best way to look up a quote like this (and bonus points for the source attribution / correct quote on this one)?


title: Word for not caring at all about anything

text: I've looked at this question but it doesn't quite match the term I'm seeking.   I once heard a speaker use a term to describe the syndrome accompanied with drug dependencies. He said the word and then asked if anyone knew what it meant. His personal interpretation of the meaning of the word was something like, "... ** _the feeling that the world could fall apart around me and I wouldn't care_** so long as I have my fix." He went on to give other examples such as, "... ** _I don't care how the bills get paid_** , I need my (insert drug of choice)."   I'm trying to find what the word is for this. Apathetic and indifferent are not it.(though apathetic is close) Update: It's not just emotional, or physical, or psychological... it's all of these. Basically almost like a catatonic state of _being_. Also, and I don't know if this helps anyone other than me, if you can imagine Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh saying, "In the long run, we all die. What would be the point of living? Why do _anything_ when it all ends the same way?" Update: The way this term could be used in a sentence would be, "It's pointless talking to Mark right now, he's fallen victim _to/to his_ _????" Update: Okay, I found this from submissivesuccubus.blogspot.com (don't ask), _"When the three of us are together, I feel as if the world could fall apart around me and I wouldn't care at all."_ Now this example has a positive connotation to it. I'm looking for the negative. Last Update:   Okay, one more example before I give into nihilism. If I'm sitting at my house, normal night, watching TV, and then a tow truck pulls up and begins to tow my car. I notice, but don't care or do anything about it. Then the phone rings, I don't answer because I don't care. The power goes out, I don't do anything. I sit in the dark now staring at the wall. An earthquake occurs, I don't move. The house falls apart around me. I still sit in the rubble. I don't care. Bulldozers plow away the debris around me. Winter sets in. WWIII, zombie apocalypse, a black hole swallows the Earth and I don't move, don't care.   I've lost something. Something that makes me pay the power bills, something that makes me get up and hide from zombies... I am/ have become/ have ????????? If you tell me that nihilism works for this, than I will concede to it (though it's not the word I was looking for) You all are AWESOME-sauce in my book and I appreciate the efforts. Source: Dictionary.com


title: "from one year to another" vs. "from a year to another"

text: Which one (#1, #2 or #3) is grammatical? > This is calculated as... > > 1) ...the price difference from one year to another. > > 2) ...the price difference from a year to another. > > ~~3) ...the price difference from one year to other.~~ I was about to write #1 in a document, when I thought that maybe I should not mix a numeral ( _one_ ) with an article ( _an_ in _another_ ). UPDATE: In his answer below, FX_ says that he would say #1 and that thinks that #2 is also correct. I'm starting a bounty to check if there any different answers.


title: "X has/have joined"

text: Which are correct? > 1 has joined the channel. > > 1 have joined the channel. > > 5 has joined the channel. > > 5 have joined the channel.


title: Came, saw, conquered

text: It's sort of a silly question, but it confuses me and I have no choice but to ask. What is the most accurate way to write: _He came, he saw, he conquered._ Is it OK to use 'and' as in 'and he conquered'; should there be a comma before 'and' as in: _He came, he saw, and he conquered_.


title: Use of "of course" in technical writing

text: Can _of course_ be used in technical writing? I heard that it is used typically in informal writing. I am not sure though. For example, > The existing scheduling techniques work well on a mix of single threaded > workloads where half of the threads are memory-intensive and half are CPU- > intensive. **Of course** , these are not designed for scheduling > multithreaded programs.


title: What's the meaning of “in virtue of itself”?

text: > Therefore, as Aristotle expressed it, things are what they are only relative > to other things, and nothing is what it is simply **in virtue of itself**


title: What's the difference between "intervene" and "interfere"?

text: What is the difference between _intervene_ and _interfere_? I think some example would really be helpful here.


title: "Balky", "restive" and "stubborn" - what are the differences here?

text: Please, share your understanding of the hues in meanings of these three words. American English is preferred, but British input would also be appreciated.


title: "Who to follow" or "whom to follow"?

text: On twitter, there's a "who to follow" button on the upper side of the screen. Shouldn't it be "whom to follow"? This page suggests that _whom_ is the correct usage in a case like this.


title: Words starting with a 'gw' sound

text: There seems to be only a few words starting with the 'gw' sound, though the only ones I can think of are proper nouns, for example, Gwyneth. Are there any non-name words starting with a 'gw'? Is there any relationship between a real 'gw' and a 'gu' pronounced as 'gw' (say, iguana)?


title: When it came time to

text: > When it came time to... Is the phrase technically correct, or is it an exercise of artistic license?


title: Latin plurals when talking about fallacies

text: I have read multiple questions on this site on Latin plurals, and I’ve learned that you can use both English plurals and Latin plurals with words which originate from Latin (e.g. _referendum_ \- _referenda_ / _referendums_ ). I however have a somewhat different question: An example - When reading a text full of fallacies, like for example the argument from ignorance - _argumentum ad ignorantiam_ , you often need to use plural forms to show that a text is ridden with them. How do you pluralize these types of Latin “word groups”? If I extrapolate the rules which I have read from the other questions on the site, it would be (taking the argument from ignorance for example) both _argumentum ad ignorantiams_ (or something similar) and _argumenta ad ignorantias_ ( _argumentum_ is neutral, so the plural is _argumenta_ , and _ignorantiam_ is feminine accusative because of the preposition _ad_ , so it becomes feminine accusative plural which is - _as_ ). However, the first form just seems totally wrong. Is this still legitimate? Or would the only option in these cases be correct Latin plurals? P.S. I know you all probably think “why don’t you just say arguments from ignorance”, but I feel this could come in useful in other cases, for example in legal terminology.


title: 'I can identify myself with' or 'I can identify with'?

text: Which is more correct? > I can identify myself with or > I can identify with


title: What's the difference between "truculent" and "aggressive"?

text: If you don't mind, please compare them also to "belligerent" and "bellicose".


title: What does 'back-stopping' mean?

text: We have a tender document, and it lists how the offer should be proposed. Basically this is split into 3 sections:   1. Rationale   2. Strategy   3. Details of Proposal Under section 2., there is the below clause: > A description of the support facilities **(back-stopping)** that the > contractor and his team will have during the execution of the contract What does the phrase 'back-stopping' mean, in this context? Just for reference, below you can find the entire content of 2. Strategy. > 2. STRATEGY > >   * An outline of the approach proposed for contract implementation. >   * A list of the proposed activities considered to be necessary to achieve > the contract objectives >   * The related inputs and outputs >   * In the case of a tender being submitted by a consortium, a description > of the input from each of the consortium partners and the distribution and > interaction of tasks and responsibilities between them >   * A description of the support facilities (back-stopping) that the > contractor and his team will have during the execution of the contract >   * A description of sub-contracting arrangements foreseen, if any and > within the limit indicated in clause 3 of the Instructions to tenderers, > with a clear indication of the tasks that will be entrusted to a sub- > contractor and a statement by the tenderer guaranteeing the eligibility of > any sub-contractor >


title: Alphabetizing List of Mixed Words and Acronyms

text: I am creating a glossary that includes both acronyms and multi-word definitions, and I'm wondering if there is a standard/most-appropriate way to sort them. I have tried to search for alphabetization rules and come across seemingly conflicting standards. A few are listed below. There is no governing standard at my organization, so I'm having a hard time choosing which is most appropriate. Perhaps all are equally valid - that's why I'm asking.   * NSIO \- alphabetize acronyms letter by letter, as written   * Dartmouth University \- alphabetize acronyms as if they were spelled out   * McGraw Hill \- alphabetize 'unit by unit', with an acronym being a single unit   * Something I Remember But Can't Find an Online Source For - put the acronyms at the front of a given letter section (in order), followed by the real phrases. Here is a contrived example.   * NASA - See National Aeronautics and Space Administration.   * National Aeronautics and Space Administration - The US space agency...   * NATO - See North Atlantic Treaty Organization.   * North Atlantic Treaty Organization - A military alliance... (Sorted here based on letter-by-letter)


title: The process creates the prize?

text: I would like to know which one of the sentences is correct and why? > The process create the prize. or > The process creates the prize.


title: Are "Fish in a barrel" and "Sitting ducks" similar?

text: Do the phrases "Fish in a barrel" and "Sitting ducks" convey the same thing? In my opinion, they have the same tone and express something to be an easy target. **Eg:** _Out there, they are just fish in a barrel._ _Out there, they are sitting ducks_. Can they be used interchangeably or are there some differences in their usage?


title: Is there any other word that means “more and more’?

text: Is there another word for _more and more_? For example, in this sentence: > **More and more** people use computers Is their a word to replace the _More and more_ at the beginning?


title: What is the noun to describe the possible responses to the question "How did you hear about us?"

text: I am modelling the allowed responses for the question "How did you hear about us?" in a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. How would you name this type of entity?


title: Is "vicious cycle" or "downward spiral" used properly here?

text: Suppose someone doesn't often learn things thoroughly. Over the time, that creates problems for learning further. I was wondering if this situation can be expressed properly by: > It is/creates a vicious cycle. > > It is/creates a downward spiral. Or what do you often say for such cases?


title: "retrieval" without the notion of "putting it there first"

text: I'm looking for a word which describes the act (noun) of "retrieving" something which has not "been put there" by me in the first place. English is not my native language, so it could very well be that I'm just wrongly interpreting the "re-" in "retrieval" to imply the above described notion. _Example_ : If I were to watch a video from some on-demand service, would it be correct to call that process a "retrieval" of said video?


title: "Has pushed" vs. "pushed"

text: I am reading many academic papers at the moment and am becoming more aware of the use of _has, have, had_ in front of a verb, where it seems redundant. For example the following sentence: > The economic and financial crisis **has pushed** Western OECD countries to > cutback management and to savings, but **has** also **pushed** them towards > an awareness that trust in the capacity of governments and its public sector > to realise effective policies is a crucial element in a performing society > and economy. My intuition says > The [...] crisis **pushed** Western countries... is the same, and avoiding redundant words is always favourable. Am I correct here, and if not, is there a rule the use of this? (I tried Google, but I don't know what the correct name of this past tense is) _edit_ Am I correct if I say both versions are right, but 'has pushed' is more appropriate because it does not refer to a specific point in time?


title: What is the difference between desire and motivation?

text: The words 'desire' and 'motivation' often appear in different kind of sentences for (what I assume is) grammatical reasons, but I have a really hard time separating them as concepts. When we talk about desire or motivation it seems like we ultimately are talking about why we act; we are seeking some kind of explanation of our actions and without desire or motivation there will be no action. We act because we desire/are motivated by X.... What motivated you / what desires caused you to do that? Do you desire x / are you motivated by x? It can be a physical (causal) explanation, e.g. the increase in dopamine drove me, it can be a design explanation, e.g. humans are 'designed to' pursue sugar, fat, sex etc, or it can be an intentional explanation, e.g. I work hard because I want money. It might feel like an explanation is sometimes about desire and sometimes about motivation but are we really talking about any conceptual difference? Please help me sort this out. A side point (about MY definition of a value) I understand that we can value something without being motivated by it. But a value to me is just a type of belief i.e. a belief about what we desire or should desire. Hopefully our values correspond to our desires; our values can influence our desires over time, but believing we value something does not automatically make us act accordingly; we have to make it emotional if we want something to drive us to action i.e. if we want something to motivate us / be a desire. Wordnet says that desire is "the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state" or "an inclination to want things". The first definition I would say describes a force of motivation i.e. the two words refer to the same phenomenon (the feeling which causes the action), the second definition describe a phenomenon which is either a force for motivation or what I referred to as a value.


title: Can I use quotation marks to suggest that somebody should say something?

text: Simple question, can I use double quotes (") to suggest that somebody should say something? For example, can I say: > You should say "Hello" to your neighbours Is this grammatically correct?


title: Correct sense of "aspect"

text: According to the context, which definition of "aspect" is appropriate here? > The scapula forms the posterior located part of the shoulder girdle. In > humans, it is a flat bone, roughly triangular in shape, placed on a > posterolateral aspect of the thoracic cage. Definitions: >   1. a particular part or feature of a situation, an idea, a problem, etc; a > way in which it may be considered. >   2. the direction in which a building, window, piece of land, etc. faces; > the side of a building that faces a particular direction. >


title: Are "of course" and "naturally" pedantic?

text: I've noticed that in most cases, the sentence "of course", is used when someone is trying to sound superior, in a sardonic way. In constranst they use "naturally" when they are patronising someone, for instance like parents would do. Is it true for everyday spoken and written english? I mean, should one avoid "of course" and "naturally" in colloquial conversations.


title: Intentional double negation

text: Is there a name for this manner of purposely speaking in double negatives, e.g. > I wouldn't say no to a cup of tea! I've noticed it as a habit of some people, perhaps often going along with a particular type of sense of humour and British understatement.


title: Plurality of "genitals"

text: At 2:35 of this video, Sheldon Cooper says > For the record I have **genitals**. They are ... How can a person have more than one genital? Is it alright to use whatever grammatical number in casual speech? As a Japanese who doesn't have the concept of grammatical number, I find it fascinating that a native English speaker can confuse the number and count his genital as not one. Are there other reasons behind that?


title: Is "any" also used with plurals?

text: I found on a research paper the following statement: > Is any particular images satisfying the requirements ? I thought _any_ can only be used with singular terms. So I was surprised when I've seen "images" rather than "image". Am I correct?


title: Multiple parenthetical citations from different sources mid sentence

text: I'm trying to keep with MLA format 7th edition and I'm not sure how to properly parenthetically cite a complex sentence. I have sources S1, S2, S3 where S1 and S2 have the same author, but different texts, and S3 is from a different author. The sentence looks like: We know that [fact 1 from S1], [fact 2 from S2], and [fact 3 from S3]. I would like to write We know that [fact 1 from S1] (S1), [fact 2 from S2] (S2), and [fact 3 from S3] (S3). so that it is clear which reference each fact came from. However, the guides I found online say to always put parentheticals at the end of the sentence, like We know that [fact 1 from S1], [fact 2 from S2], and [fact 3 from S3] (S1; S2; S3). I don't like this format because it isn't clear where each fact came from, and it is further complicated by S1 and S2 having the same author. What do you suggest I do?


title: Can we eliminate the hyphens in these job descriptions?

text: Can I eliminate every single hyphen in the examples below? Or do they add readability? _Joe said, "He applied for the assistant-store-manager-trainee position._ " _Luella said, "Victor was assigned to the organized-retail-crime-coordinator position."_ _Sam said, "Victor is now the new organized-retail-crime coordinator."_ _Bob said, "Howard applied for the store-manager position."_


title: "Why is this not" versus "why is not this"

text: Should I use "why is this not" or "why is not this?" Or are both correct?


title: Why Germanic type of Language (German, English,...) uses a lot of air from Lung to contruct the sound?

text: I speak Thai belonging to Sino-Tibetan language (Chinese, Japanese, Korean..). In Sino-Tibetan language, we mostly use tongue to construct the sound, we use very little air from lung to make sound. But when we learn English, we have to change & use a lot of air from lung, try to make it nasally & sometimes blow out the air to make sound. If we don't do that then noone can understand our English. That is very curious to me. There must be a reason behind that, is that because the European living in cold climate that they often blow off a lot of air from the lung out to limit the cold weather & gradually they construct the sound via that way? Speaking English by using air from lung costs me a lot of energy, I often feel very tired when speaking English continuously for 1 hr!