title: Alternative to "yeah" as an acknowledgement

text: I'm trying to stop myself using the word "yeah" in certain contexts where it seems too informal. But I'm not sure how to replace it. Consider this example:               > "I need to cancel our meeting on Monday"     > "Yeah, it gets busy this time of year"      "Yeah" is generally considered a more casual "yes", but here it serves as an acknowledgment. "Yes, it gets busy..." would sound weird because there was no question that was asked to say yes to. Is there an alternative word that can replace "yeah"? I suppose I could rewrite the sentence to: "It really gets busy this time of year", but the difficulty with this is that you need to think of a way to rephrase each sentence that uses "yeah" rather than there being a general rule.


title: Can we interchange phrases " What's the date today?" and "what day is it today?"

text: Can we interchange the sentences " What's the date today?" and "what day is it today?" In grammar is it correct to use these sentences interchangeably? For example "What's the day today?" and "what date is it today?"


title: The right word or phrase of an act of telling false bad stories about someone deliberately?

text: My subordinate at the workplace has a problem of not accepting reprimand when she has done wrong. She always becomes shaking with anger threatening to leave her job and then spreads the false stories about how she is being handled at the workplace by her supervisor, me. So I would like to have the relevant word of her act of **spreading false accusations about me** in my report to our employer for protection.


title: What is the difference between "anticipate" and "expect"?

text: My understanding is the following:   * > I anticipate everyone will come here by 10. = "I hope it's gonna happen, but I'm not so sure about the result".   * > I expect everyone will come here by 10. = "I do believe it's gonna happen, because I've made sure with everyone ahead. Just like it's the time we will rally up here for sure." Is this distinction correct?


title: Why is the letter J so common in names of people who go by their initials?

text: I've met a number of people who use their initials as a name. Almost all of the ones I've met have a "J" as one of the initials. I've asked a few friends, and so far, anecdotally, it seems that this observation holds true. "J" is of course a common initial, but not common enough, I think, to explain this. My question is in two parts: Does the observation hold true for you? That is, of the people you know who use their initials as their name, do the overwhelming majority have a "J" as one of the initials? And: can you explain why this might be?


title: Noun for for u-shaped bend on electrical component's pin (wire) to aid in placement (Beading / Ribbing / Crimp)?

text: I'm trying to find the correct noun for a u-shaped bend in an electrical component's pin. Is there a generic technical term that may usually refer to a deformation to reinforce e.g. an (angle) bracket made of sheet metal, where the 90° bend has been given a groove? If you provided a few sentences using potential synonyms I would be grateful.


title: What should I call the "list of answers" a student gives in a test?

text: I'm programming an e-learning web application. Among other things, it involves tests (examinations). On the context of this application, a _Test_ is a list of _Questions_. Each _Question_ is a list of _Options_ , of which only one is correct. When a student performs a test, he must choose the options he considers as valid for each of its questions. I can call every selection an _Answer_ , but I'd like to find a name for the "list of answers" of the student, just like a _Test_ is a "list of questions". Is there an English word for that? Right now, I'm using "AnswerList", but I'd like to make it more concise.


title: Should I say "another ones" or "another one's"

text: Since I'm implying possession should I say another one's and your's? > The book could either be yours or another ones. Is it "yours" or "your's" and "another ones" or "another one's"?


title: What is the origin of the term "Couch Potato"?

text: I know the meaning of "couch potato" is a person living a mostly sedentary lifestyle who likes to watch TV while lying on the couch, but why potato?


title: Is this sentence correct? "I let you know...."

text: Is it correct to say the following? "I let you know that I have sent you a letter." Or is there a better way to say this sentence? For example: "I inform you that I have sent you a letter." Thanks!


title: Difference between "to grab" and "to grasp"

text: What's the semantic difference between "to grab" and "to grasp"?


Is it correct to use the past simple with 'Since'? For example: > I didn't see him since 1990. I wouldn't say that as a native speaker but would always use the present perfect: > I haven't seen him since 1990.


title: Is there anything like unsleeping bag

text: "Once as a kid he'd gone out behind the house, into the wilds of pecan trees and hedges and, following a night zipped into an army-surplus **unsleeping bag** , had attempted to fry bacon over a Sterno can, managing only to cook his thumb." Is there anything like unsleeping bag or is it just a sarcastic phrase?


title: Where does the -en come from in misshapen?

text: We can say both **misshapen** and **misshaped**. Where does the **misshapen** form come from? What other words use this form?


title: Usage, prevalence of “rooster sauce” and “cock sauce”

text: **Sriracha sauce** is a kind of chili sauce named for Si Racha, Thailand, but in the United States many people call it **“rooster sauce”** or **“cock sauce”** after the prominent rooster logo on a popular brand of the sauce. ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/UAKUu.jpg)   Photo by Memphis CVB Most people I know in the San Francisco Bay Area just call it “Sriracha,” but I occasionally hear the nicknames too. I originally assumed that more serious folk would only use the “rooster sauce” name, with “cock sauce” reserved for jokers and provocateurs* because of the _double entendre_. As food blogger Alan Sytsma notes (emphasis added): > After all, how many condiments have their own nicknames? Ketchup? No. > Mustard? Not a chance. But Sriracha? In a nod to its bottle many > connoisseurs simply call it **“cock sauce,” a name that is as bawdy and > virile as the sauce itself.** However, I recently heard a man in Green Bay use the “cock sauce” nickname quite matter-of-factly, with none of the usual vocal cues that would indicate irony or innuendo. That got me to wondering just how prevalent those nicknames are – and in particular, how many people use “cock sauce” without sniggering. How widespread are the “rooster sauce” and “cock sauce” nicknames for Sriracha sauce? Are there any significant examples of English speakers or writers using the latter term in more sober contexts? * * * * Like me.


title: "Group" vs. "community" usage

text: ### Question 1 When we have a certain number of people that share the same interest, do we refer to **them** as:   1. interest **group** or   2. **community** [sharing same interest]? What would be preferred and more correct? Maybe there's a third option that would be even more appropriate for this context? ### Question 2 The word _group_ by itself can be associated with anything — people, things, etc. _Community_ , on the other hand (as far as I know), is generally associated with people, right? ### Question 3 When we use the term _group_ , does it already imply a certain size or not? Is the word _group_ used more frequently with smaller numbers or can a group's size be any number larger than two?


title: Do I need to use 'the' in this sentence?

text: > I would like to limit my dissertation to three spheres: economy, politics, > and culture of America. Do I need to add 'the' before economy, politics...?


title: Adjective for 'pertaining to (social) class'?

text: How would one refer to the description of a (socioeconomic) class? For instance, _racial_ and _cultural_ would be adjectives referring to race and culture, but what would you use for something pertaining to a (socioeconomic) class? Neither _classist_ nor _classical_ would work, as they both convey something completely unrelated.


title: 'Edge of time' meaning of phrase

text: What is the meaning of _at the edge of time_ in the following sentence? > At times they spent hours chatting in the office, while the house seemed > suspended at the **edge of time**.


title: Word to describe something that focusses so ostentatiously on its purpose that it fails to achieve its goal

text: For example, if I go and see a movie that I perceive to have placed so much effort on the artistic merit of the acting and cleverness of the storyline that it is difficult to call it a success as a movie.


title: Difference between "needed" and "necessary"

text: What is the difference between those two words? Example sentence: "this can greatly reduce the **needed** | **necessary** effort". I found some posts saying that necessary is more urgent?! Are there more differences?


title: Origin of "Very Good, Sir!"

text: It's quite likely you've read a P.G. Wodehouse book. Well, then you'd also know about Jeeves, and something he says quite often: > Very good, sir. Jeeves is a butler. And he isn't the only one to reply with those words, whenever asked to do something. I've heard many butlers (all in TV shows, or movies, or books) say it. Where did it originate from, though?   _Very good_ in its literal sense is a phrase to indicate approval. How did it come to imply acknowledgement of orders? I tried online, but all I got was usage, not origin.


title: What's the difference between Have you ever tried canoeing? Did you ever try canoeing?

text: Is **ever** appropriate to use in past simple questions? Is there a difference in present perfect questions using ever meaning a time period up to now and the past simple use of ever in a question? If there is a difference in meaning what is it please?


title: Can an inanimate object "claim" to do something? Like a car that "claims" 45 mpg?

text: Excited to find this website! Is it incorrect to say that a "dietary supplement claims to treat" a condition, or that a car "claims to get 40 mpg"? I thought that as these are inanimate objects, you would need to say "a supplement _with_ claims to treat..." or a "the manufacturer claims the car gets 45 mpg..." but I hear this phrase frequently, where an object "claims" something. Which is correct? Thanks!


title: What does "if you were already set for life" mean?

text: From this blog post, the author writes: > What’s your passion? What would you blog about if you were already set for > life? I don't quite understand — what meaning is the author trying to convey? Can someone explain that sentence?


what is formal way to ask "may we know why this happened and how it happened?" is this phrase correct .What is the formal and better way of asking this


title: Which is correct: "I am drinking ice cream" or "I am eating ice cream"?

text: Assuming there is no material in ice cream to be chewed, which is the correct sentence? > I am drinking ice cream. > > I am eating ice cream.


Is there a term for a noun that is the "-er" form of a verb? For example, one who races is the "racer", and the one who writes is the "writer", so "racer" and "writer" can both be classified as what kind of noun?


title: Why do people say "to be honest"?

text: For quite some time, I've been hearing the phrase "to be honest" almost every day. I've heard friends say it, characters on TV shows, and even an NPR reporter said it in an interview. Example: > "To be honest, I don't like spaghetti." Why do people have to specify when they are being honest? Or I've thought maybe the phrase is actually supposed to mean "to be blunt" or "let me tell it to you straight." How did the word "honest" get in the mix?


title: Is there a phrase or idiom for "being defeated by future problems"?

text: One needs to anticipate and plan for problems before starting a large project. What is it called when one becomes so caught up with planning for possible problems that one never sets out? "Negativity" or "defeatism" is very close, but imply a kind of depressed state of not even trying in the first place. I'm looking for a phrase or idiom about applying mental effort or planning to try to solve all possible problems, and then becoming overwhelmed by all the possibilities of failure such that one does not actually try to solve the problem. Something like "tripping over a rock that's far down the road". The antithesis of this concept might be "a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step" or "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." A commonly-recognized American English phrase or idiom would be perfect, but I'll take something else that's reasonably intuitive. * * * Wow, so many great suggestions! If it helps, I'm visualizing Wally from Dilbert, "agreeing" to a project for the PHB, and then rattling out a thousand ways it could go wrong until the boss says "never mind" and leaves Wally to go back to surfing the web. The idea is that someone is being obstructionist, specifically by citing all the infinite possible risks. It's a kind of passive-aggressive behavior seen in technical settings.


title: How does one write the possesive form of stock ticker symbols ending in "s"?

text: How does one write the possessive form of stock ticker symbols ending in "s"? These are neither acronyms nor initialisms (/TLAs). For instance, does one write **RAS'** earnings, or **RAS's** earnings?


title: Usage of quotes in the letter writing

text: I have included this quote with single apostrophe within a sentence amidst letter writing. Is this allowed? > Amidst his speech, I still remember his famous quote (saying): ‘Customer > experience is the driving factor to choose right technology, It is not the > technology that we force to sell in the market’, “iPhone” being one good > example from this quote.


title: Usage of apostrophe in this sentence

text: As per this statement, Does the usage of apostrophe looks correct? > Thanks to "abc news" for this broadcast of memorable gathering of late CEO > with his employees.


title: "In" vs. "of" after the superlative form of adjectives

text: > Hanna's the youngest member **of** the team. Why isn't it " **in** the team"? The rule that we covered in out textbook _New Total English pre-intermediate_ says that we use _in_ with groups of people and places but _of_ with everything else. I do understand that it does sound perfectly well this way: "a member of". _Member_ collocates with _of_ , not something else. But how does the rule apply here?


Wondering how “Students avoid boring professors” is ambiguity? I know there is one meaning of this sentence, "stay away from". Is there any other possible meanings?


This is part of the lyrics of the song "Save the hammer for the man", what does "Save the hammer for the man" mean in this context? > I hurt the gentlest souls, I robbed my wife and son   >  I turned my back on troubles, troubles I'd begun   >  I cut a swath of pain and loss in the hallways of my home   >  In the quiet of my room I know the things I've done   >  Save the hammer for the man, save the hammer for the man   >  It's the calling of the wretched   >  It's the rising of the damned   >  Save the hammer for the man > > Tom Morello & Ben Harper


title: Plural of "staff" (stick) — "staffs" or "staves"?

text: Which would be the correct use in the following sentence. > I'm a Shepard and I have many staffs/staves.


title: I want to know the meaning of " to be"

text: There are two sentences   1. She appears to be stupid.   2. She appears stupid. What is the difference between the two sentences?


title: "Extended" vs. "extensive"

text: What's the difference between these two? I found the following after some research, > “Extended” has to do with time, “extensive” with space. An extended tour > lasts a long time; an extensive tour covers a lot of territory. But in the definition of "extended", it seems that it can also mean to enlarge or stretch in space. Any ideas?


title: is + past participle

text: What would be the correct name for the following formula: is + past participle. Would this be the present perfect? An example sentence would be- The meat is stored in the freezer.


title: "With/under the guidance of the world-class faculty"

text: I am writing my statement of purpose. Which is better: _under the guidance of the world-class faculty_ or _with the guidance of the world-class faculty_?


title: What does the phrase that 'I've all but..' mean in this sentence?

text: I found the sentence below in a book I'm reading: > I've all but given up dating because I'm so tired of the pain and > humiliation. What does _I've all but_ mean in this context?


title: Should ordinal indicators be inline?

text: Recently, I received a few corrections on my research article. One of them was that the ordinal indicators like 'th', 'rd', etc., should be inline with the number and not as a superscript. For example, _25th_ is correct whereas _25 th_ is incorrect. Is this a universally accepted convention?


title: Is there a word for "air can pass through it"?

text: If light can pass through an object, or if you can see through it, it is _transparent_. Is there a similar word for "air can pass through", or you can breathe through an object? This adjective would be used to describe a screen door, or certain types of fabric.


title: “Practise the piano” vs. “practise medicine”

text: * Someone who _practises_ medicine is a professional.   * Someone who _practises_ the piano is still learning. How have these two apparently opposite senses of the word _practise_ arisen?


title: Dependent clause/ prepositional phrase in second clause with comma

text: Am I right in punctuating the sentence this way? Joe and Jim walked down the street, and, at the corner, Joe found a nickel. This is just an example. More importantly, I need to know in general case scenarios. Also, does this apply to an 'if clause' starting the second part of the sentence?


title: Constraint vs. Restriction

text: I've seen _constraint and restriction_ used quite often in scientific literature. For example, > This algorithm needs to be further improved due to severe space constraint > and restriction. I simply can't figure out the subtle difference between constraint and restriction. They seem to be circularly defined according to each other. I assume that they must be different in some way. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been used together so often. If they were really close enough in meaning, why not just drop one and use the other? Or are they used in combination to place an emphasis?


title: Etymology of "to coin a phrase"

text: Quite simply — who coined the phrase "to coin a phrase"? I'm sure it wasn't one person, but it's the origin that is of interest.


title: How to use "what kind of"

text: If I look at a book about vehicles, can I say “What kind of vehicle is it?" to get the answer “It’s a bike." (or a truck, a car, a motorcycle, etc)? Is that question correct or not? How should I ask?


title: What is a polite way to call something a conspiracy theory?

text: "Conspiracy" has ~~acquired~~ a negative connotation.   [Edit: As pointed out in the comments, it has always had a negative connotation.] If you tell or even insinuate to someone that what they are saying is a conspiracy theory you can be assured that the conversation will soon be coming to an end and the person might begin to dislike you. Perhaps there is a conspiracy in this, but the word itself has become tainted with terrible imagery. When you hear "conspiracy" you start thinking of a bearded crackpot wearing a tinfoil hat living in a cabin the woods with no internet connection and a shotgun by the bed. If you tell someone that you think what they are saying is a conspiracy theory they will start to think you are seeing them as the bearded crackpot. They might think you do not respect them (who respects that type of character?) which can lead to resentment and eventually dislike. This is fine if you are talking to someone you don't like, don't know or have no intention of becoming friends with. But when you are talking to friends and / or family members this is not the desired outcome. Even when you don't think this about your friend of family member they can still become offended. **So the question is** , how can you tell someone that you think what they are saying is a conspiracy theory without offending them? Thank you.


title: Question about interrogations in past tense

text: In regard to this answer, my question is similar but that answer is not clear. I want to know why we use base form of verb, e.g. 'go' to form the past tense instead of past form such as 'went'? > Question: Did you go to a bank? (Why we use 'go' here, rather than 'went'?)   >  Answer: I went to a bank. Am I confusing verb forms with tenses? Please note that I'm not a native speaker so some clarification or reference on this would be helpful.


title: How to use verb with did

text: I have a question on using verb. >   * Did you call me yesterday? >   * Did you called me yesterday? > Which one is correct? _Did_ says the incident happened in past so I don't know if I can use _called_. Please advice.


title: Which of the two is correct usage?

text: > What **did** they **have** for lunch? or > What **did** they **had** for lunch?


title: "Did you contacted them" or "did you contact them"

text: >   * Did you **contacted** them? >   * Did you **contact** them? > Which of above sentences is correct? If both are correct, what's the difference between them? In which scenarios can I use them?


title: doesn't has to /have to

text: Why do we use _have_ instead of _has_ with _doesn't_ like in the following sentence: He **doesn't have** (not has) to go there. Please explain the grammatical reason behind it. Thanks


title: Is there a more modern way to say "it's a pity"?

text: Is it okay nowadays to use the phrase **"it's a pity"** in the everyday conversation in the contexts like in following example: > "Please how do I get to airport?"   >  "It's a pity, I don't know." If not, what would be an appropriate equivalent? **Edited (added):** As it follows from answers, this phrase is almost never used by native English speakers. Could you please specify how this phrase sounds for native speaker - as too formal or as archaic or anything else?


title: Onomatopoeia Across Languages

text: Every language has its stock of onomatopoeic expressions, but they vary across nationalities and cultures. For example, the American “bow wow” (a rapper’s name) has its Japanese equivalent in “wan-wan.” And the Korean equivalent is probably “mong mong.” The American “pitter-patter” has “para-para” in Japanese. American “chugalug,” Japanese “goku-goku.” And many others. Of course the Japanese expressions above are written in Romaji or Western script, but there’s no denying that the whole reception of sounds is different. My question is: Is there any technical term (or subfield) that can be used to refer to or that can best summarize this phenomenon? Of how almost exactly the same events would lead to completely different onomatopoeia across languages?


title: "Before" vs. "in front of"

text: Especially in speeches I often hear a sentence like > I stand here before you... However during my English classes in school (I'm German) we were told that **before** should only be used if you're referring to the passage of time ( _before_ we arrived at the party we left our home). When referring to a location **in front of** should be the choice of words (Peter is standing _in front of_ me, so I'm standing behind him). So, what's the answer to my confusion?


title: How should I end sentences with a URL as the last word?

text: For example, > The website I was referring to is hosted at > http://english.stackexchange.com. How should I place the fullstop at the end?


title: When was "goodbye" in its most modern form first used?

text: I've seen when the word transitioned from _Godbwye_ to _goodbwye_ , but when did it become _goodbye_?


title: Origin of "good night"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the origin of the word "goodbye"? These are probably the most used two words in our day-to-day conversations. We normally use superlative degrees all the time to emphasize something strongly. That being the case why we don't use "better night" or "best night"? How did "good night" become such an integral part of our usage when we had other options?


title: Does "carnival barker" mean the opposite of "barker"?

text: I saw the following line in an article in _Forbes_ (April 27) dealing with President Obama’s release of his long-form birth certificate: > "We're not going to be able to solve our problems if we get distracted by > sideshows and carnival barkers." -President Obama, on the controversy, stoked by Donald Trump, over whether he was born in the United States As I was unfamiliar with the phrase _carnival barker_. I looked for the meaning on on-line dictionaries, and found the definition: "one who hangs out outside a party and warns people **not to go _in_ for any reason"** (my emphasis) at Urban Dictionary. _Barker_ , as I understand, means "a person who stands outside a place where there is entertainment and shouts to people to _go in_ ," as Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines. I was puzzled why _barker_ , who is supposed to solicit people to _come in_ , comes to mean one who warns people _not to go in_ simply by being prefixed with _carnival_. Can somebody explain to me why? Is the definition at Urban Dictionary right?


title: Confusion over "respected" in the following sentence

text: I'm confused what this sentence means. Does it mean that many people consider X respected, or that a few people consider X respected? > not a few people consider respected and X to be an oxymoron Side question: is this sentence structure convoluted or is it just me?


title: What is the longest word you can come up with that the letters are all in alphabetical order?

text: It's Friday again, how about some fun to get us into the weekend? What is the longest word you can come up with for which all the letters in that word are in alphabetical order? Rules:   * English words only    * Can't be a name of a place, person or other proper noun.    * if it contains the same letter twice in a row, that does not disqualify it.    * No fair looking it up on Google! Update: One more rule to help you guys out.   * The word can be in either ascending or descending alphabetical order.


title: Meaning of "slow boring of hard boards"

text: What is the meaning of "slow boring of hard boards"? The full text is given here.


title: A single word meaning doubt and unsettledness

text: What is a single word suggesting doubt in the heart coupled with unsettledness? One could doubt without being unsettled by an affair - I want a single word combining the two.


title: Why is there a definite article before "Hague"?

text: Teaching definite and indefinite articles to Slavic students is very challenging because they don't have articles in their native languages. For instance, I have quite a few students who use "the" liberally, i.e., before names of cities ("I live in the Prague."). I often tell my students that names of cities usually aren't preceded by the definite article. In fact, I can only think of two exceptions: The Hague and the Vatican (though the latter is probably short for the Vatican State). Which leads me to my question: Why do we say "THE Hague"? Thanks a lot!


title: How do you write an ellipsis following an abbreviation?

text: Consider the following sentence (off of the top of my head just to illustrate an example): > I hate the N.C.A.A....but I understand that it's a necessary evil. When following an abbreviation with an ellipsis, should you have three or four dots? Should the period following the last "A" in "N.C.A.A." be omitted or included, given the ellipsis right afterwards?


title: When a sentence starts with "e.g.", should the e be capitalized?

text: When a sentence starts with _e.g._ , should the e be capitalized? Neverminding that it might be better to start with "For example," ... Thinking of SE posts and comments, should the starting e be capitalized?


title: Parentheses vs. double commas vs. dashes to provide additional detail

text: When do you use commas and when do you use parentheses to provide more detail about something? For example:   * The suspect, Tom Wilson, is now being charged with murder.   * The suspect (Tom Wilson) is now being charged with murder.   * John Smith, a member of the jury, agreed with the verdict.   * John Smith (a member of the jury) agreed with the verdict.   * The first example, the one about the fox, is the more valid one.   * The first example (the one about the fox) is the more valid one. I realize that the first example, the one that uses parentheses, is probably more valid in this case (if anyone has a better example, please include it), but when, if ever, would you favor parentheses? **Update:**   I realize that dashes are sometimes used for similar situations, so I'd appreciate information on these as well. For example:   * The children—who are wearing shoes—will go on the trip   * The children, who are wearing shoes, will go on the trip   * The children (who are wearing shoes) will go on the trip


title: Am I using commas for parenthesis properly here?

text: I read an article about using commas for parenthesis and I want to make sure that I understand it properly. So can you guys tell me if I am using commas correctly in the following examples? Examples: My Mum, Jane Smith, is a nice lady. Jake Mole, who is from Manchester, was arrested last night. My daughter, Louise, is very helpful. ( Would this change to no commas if you had more than one daughter? For example if you had three daughters, how would you know which one is being talked about? ) My dog, which has one eye, is my best friend. Those are my examples. So, am I using them right? If not, if you guys could explain to me how to properly use commas as parenthesis then that would be great. :)


title: Two questions about question tag

text: I want to ask about two sentences, and what would be the correct way to form a question: > It's very important that we eat healthy food, ...........?   * Which would be the correct question tag: ( _isn't it_ ) or ( _don't we_ )? > It's a must that all applicants follow the rules of the competition, > ..........?   * Which would the correct question tag: ( _isn't it_ ) or ( _don't they_ ) or ( _mustn't they_ )? Please could you tell me the correct answers, and, more importantly, why those are correct?


title: How can I use “must have been”?

text: _Must have been_ can have two meanings— it depends on the text. _Must have p.p._ doesn't always mean that, for instance, something did not occur— it might occur. For instance: > Clerks must have been in the garden. > >   1. Clerks who have to be in the garden, but they were not. > >   2. Clerks who have to be in the garden were in the garden. > > Am I right?


title: "In" or "At" sole discretion

text: We're drafting some legal stuff, and our lawyer used this phrasing... > ...whether any particular enhancement is to be categorized as such shall be > made **in** the sole reasonable discretion of [company]... I always thought it was " **at** the sole discretion of..." Are there situations where "in" is permissible or preferred?


title: What's the difference between "dissatisfied" and "unsatisfied"?

text: Is there a clear-cut difference between _dissatisfied_ and _unsatisfied_?


title: Is there any word or phrase meaning that internet connection is unstable?

text: If you can read Chinese, what I want to ask is translate this "我的网络很卡." to English. For example, I want to use a native expression describing a situation about downloading a file from internet, like sometimes the download speed is over 500 k/s, sometimes is less 5 k/s, it changes frequently. Another example is that like I am playing internet game, sometimes it's fluent , sometimes the character is not moving. I am not sure you can understand my words. **By the way, in Chinese it is an adjective with meaning that is prone to negative.** Thanks so much.


title: What does "taking mock offence" mean?

text: What does "taking mock offence" mean? It is said in brackets in a play as a kind of comment how the character behaves or says the following words. I can't find it anywhere.


Is there any phrase like "with the idea of" > _**with the idea of_** reducing the complexities, we introduce an added > smoothing step. I was googling to find example usages, but couldn't. so please any one give some alternatives if this phrase is not valid. some synonim phrases are also welcome to learn. thanks


title: How popular is ‘Contrafibularities’ as a day-to-day English word?

text: I found the phrase “My sincerest contrafibularities, Tim” given to one of the comments to my question about the word, 'Cromulent' in EL&U site. As I was totally unfamiliar with the word, ‘contrafibularities’ (as well as 'Cromulent'), I checked Cambridge, Oxford, and Merriam-Webster online dictionary. None of them registers ‘Contrafibularities.’ GoogleNgram doesn’t carry this word either. However, I was able to find the definition of this word as ‘A form of congratulations as used by Edmund Blackadder to mock Doctor Samuel Johnson, author of the dictionary’ in www.urbandictionary.com, and its origin; Blackadder: "Allow me to be the first to offer Dr. Johnson my most sincere contrafibularities! I am anaspeptic ... Contrafibularities: Obviously from contra, against, + fibula, the smaller of the two bones in the lower leg. Means 'pulling one's leg,' in www.reviewers-choice.com. I don’t understand why combination of prefix ‘contra’ and ‘fibula’ come to form the meaning of ‘Congratulations.’ But as it looks like the salute giver used this word quite casually (I think) to congratulate a comment poster, the word (contrafibularities) wouldn’t be any unusual word. However, I would like to make sure of popularity and usability of this word. The word may be taken for granted as casually among native English speakers even among cab-drivers and burger-shop waitresses (I use these jobs just for the purpose of reffering to an average person). But, if I speak this word in conversation with or use in writing to native speakers, am I ridiculed or jeered by them as being awkward?


title: Inverse for the word "define"

text: Is there a word that is the inverse of "define"? Like taking a definition and giving the word? For example. If you said "The action of propelling one self from a surface using leg muscles", and I said "Jump", I would have done _this_.


title: 'Expired' or 'Passed away'?

text: When someone dies, do we say they _expired_ or _passed away_? Does the word _expired_ give any more respect when used? Or less respect than _passed away_?


title: Participles? Present participles? Are they nouns too?

text: A participle is just a infinitive verb + ing right? A participle is also used as an adjective a lot of the time right? For ex: "She looks at the rising sun". The present participle here is an adjective here right? The participle can also be a noun right? For example: "Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall". So "failing" and "rising" seems like verbs to me. How can you help me see these words as nouns? I don't get why they are nouns.


title: Is 'I will definitely be living away from the shop' correct?

text: I want to say that I'm definitely going to change my address and live elsewhere, but I don't know the exact day when I'm going to live there, it will happen in a time of one year. Or should I use: 'I will definitely live'? Thank you.


title: Using the article twice or once in "a more practical and a useful approach"?

text: >   * In this regard, heating seems to be **a** more practical and useful > approach. >   * In this regard, heating seems to be **a** more practical and **a** > useful approach. > What is the general rule for use of _a/an/the_ in these type of cases?


title: What does "barely" imply?

text: When someone says, > I barely understand that. Does he mean: >   1. He almost doesn't understand [which means he understands a bit] >   2. He almost understands [which means he doesn't understand] > Or if someone says: > Your brain is barely used. Does he mean: >   1. Your brain is almost not used [which means, it is used, but very > rarely] >   2. Your brain is almost used [which means it isn't] > I used to think that it was the first option. But a friend, out of the blue, said it was the second one. Which one is it? Or have my friend and I got it entirely wrong? Are there other words with similar meanings to _barely_? Is _nearly_ one of them?


title: What do you call something that reads and writes files?

text: In programming, it's common to write a class that both reads and writes files. What do you call this type of thing? Is it a file handler? A file parser? A file provider? A file streamer? How about a filer? Or do you just call it a file reader and leave it at that?


title: What's the meaning of "as it did" in this sentence?

text: > Islamic law is the result of an examination, from a religious angle, of > legal subject matter that was far from uniform, comprising _as it did_ the > various components of the laws of pre-Islamic Arabia and numerous legal > elements taken over from the non-Arabnpeoples of the conquered territories.


title: Place interrogation mark within question with "dashed"-comment

text: I'm trying to figure out where should I place an iterrogation mark in the sentence below. First, what I want to say:               Does X mean X, or does it mean Y? As we talked before about X meaning Y.      And here is the way I'd like to write it:               Does X mean X, or does it mean Y -- as we talked before?      Although I write things that way very often, I'm not sure this grammatical construction is allowed. Is the `?` correctly placed (gramatically, I mean), or should I write it differently? This way looks very strange to me:               Does X mean X, or does it mean Y? -- as we talked before.      but sometimes seems more correct than the first one. Any references on where to place an interrogation mark while writing a question with a _dashed_ -comment? P.S.: I'm not a native english speaker, yet I actually do not know the answer for this question neither in english nor in portuguese (my native language).


title: A word that means "un-waning''

text: I wanted to use the word "unwaning" (or, perhaps, un-waning), as in "for his unwaning enthusiasm". However, no decent (online) dictionary I've consulted seems to recognize it. What other word would you use? Does "unwaning" sound weird, or does it sound right to a native speaker?


title: Adjective + "of them"

text: My wife and I were discussing whether it is allowable to put an adjective in front of "of them". For instance, I could say "I want 5 cats" and "I want 5 of them". However, while it sounds perfectly normal to say "I want 5 new cats", "I want 5 new of them" doesn't roll of the tongue very smoothly. If it is incorrect to place an adjective in front of "of them"?


title: Should I capitalize the "G" in "God Particle" when referring to the Higgs Boson particle?

text: I'm researching the Higgs Boson particle and have always preferred to call it the "god Particle" or even the "Champagne Particle". But the capitalization of the "G" has thrown me off. I'm conflicted on giving this a capital "G" since it appears to be the assumed proper noun for the particle, and has nothing to do with the monotheistic religion. An earlier answer on this site has a great comment of : > "Capitalize the word god when it is used as a proper name as the name of the > god of a monotheistic religion, such as the god of Christianity or Judaism, > and not capitalize it when it is used as a common noun" What should be done to avoid confusion, and not get into a religious debate?


title: "advert" and "adverse": same etymoloty but unrelated meanings?

text: From Wiktionary and other similar sources like etymonline, the meanings of "advert" and "adverse" are: > advert: turn attention > > adverse: Unfavorable; antagonistic in purpose or effect; hostile; actively > opposing one's interests or wishes; contrary to one's welfare; acting > against; working in an opposing direction. "ad-" means "to", while "verse" and "vert" both mean "turn". How shall I understand that they share same etymology but have unrelated meanings?


title: "Lay on the bed" vs. "lay in the bed"

text: Which one is more grammatically correct? >   * I lay _on_ the bed. >   * I lay _in_ the bed. >


title: Usage of "contributive" vs. "contributory"

text: Which of the two is more correct? > _contributory capacity_ or _contributive capacity_ (referred to the capacity of a province in ancient Mesopotamia to contribute to state demand for foodstuffs)


title: Differences between "world-view" and "ideology"

text: These terms have slightly different nuances in meaning and connotation. Would you use _world-view_ in an academic discussion? What is the correct context? For example, would you say creationism is an ideology, atheism a world view? What is a simple criterion to differentiate usage?


title: Is there a word for "drab" with a positive connotation?

text: Let's imagine that I want to say the following, replacing the word _drab_ : > This painting is beautifully drab. I'm particularly thinking of when you describe a piece of art. Usually something lacking in color _is_ drab, but occasionally the lack of strong colors is appropriate and positive, if that makes sense. I have searched through the thesaurus for synonyms of "drab" and antonyms to synonyms of "colorful". As far as I can tell all of the results are generally negative in meaning. Is there a word or am I searching for something that does not exist?


title: Is ‘beetle-black eyes’ expressing their owner’s character?

text: > Hagrid's real intention, however, was to talk to Harry away from the rest of > the class. He waited until everyone else had set off with their skrewts, > then turned to Harry and said, very seriously, "So – yer competin', Harry. > In the tournament. School champion." > > “One of the champions,” Harry corrected him. > > Hagrid's **beetle-black eyes** looked very anxious under his wild eyebrows. > > (p294, Harry Potter 4, US edition) There’s not so many varieties in eye color in people of my country and therefore in novels, except for in figurative expressions. This might be why eye-color descriptions draw my attention. ' _Beetle_ -black eyes', not just black, is sometimes referred in the story as if it is Hagrid's trademark I searched the Net for beetle-black and had an impression that the color is bright and pure black. Now I'm just wondering it might be connected to Hagrid's character and mentioned when the writer wants to emphasize his pureness. However, this is just a wild guess because I don't know English speaking people commonly connect eye color and people’s character, just like astrology. I'd like to know if 'beetle-black eyes' is related to Hagrid's character. I'd be happy if you could help me!


title: Changing active to passive?

text: Given the sentence: > They took some pictures of me in the park. What is the passive form of this sentence? I have tried: I was taken pictures of in the park. Is this correct expressions in English?


title: Which is more affirmative: "I think" or "I guess"?

text: In South Asia, we tend to use "I think" when we are almost sure about something; or sometimes use it ironically like in example "I think you should have done this yesterday". "I guess", on the other hand, is used when the person is not sure himself like in "I guess you come here often". Now as I talked to some North American people, I noticed that they use the two terms oppositely. That is, "I guess" when they are almost sure and "I think" when not. So I want to know which is the correct way to use these terms? Or are they just equivalent?


title: Should an ending semicolon be underlined?

text: Should the semicolon at the end of an underlined heading also be underlined?


title: "had me a blast" - what use of "have" is it?

text: Reading the Summer love lyrics, the lyrics go as follows: "summer love, had me a blast". I know that "have a blast" means to enjoy etc. But I do not think I could say "it has me a blast".


title: Various meanings of "mind and do" which can mean "be cautious/careful to do", "take notice/give heed and do", and "behave obediently and do"

text: How would you native speakers define the meaning of "mind and do" in the following examples: _I will **mind and do** as I am told, Master Yoda_... _**Mind and do** your work properly_... _As long as you **mind and don't get** in the way_... http://www.abilitymaine.org/breath/win14d.html _Please **mind and don't bin** (=wreck) your LHD headlights_... http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?152694-Not-a-good-day-!!!!!! _Please **mind and do** something for those guys_... http://forum.justac.net/index.php?topic=1168.0 _Please **mind and not fall** into the platform gap_... http://des- talk.blogspot.fr/2012/06/please-mind-platform-gap.html _Please **mind and let** us know_... http://katieleungfan.com/page/2/


title: Is there a word for a job role created that gives no practical benefit?

text: I'm trying to find if there is a word or term for a job role that has been created by a manager that gives no real practical benefit to the business, but was done to give the illusion of change. Say for instance a manager of a failing factory wants to convince the owners he can still turn the business around. He makes a change by creating a new deputy foreman role and says this will increase productivity, but in reality he is just reallocating existing duties from other posts to buy time. The closest word I could think of was stooge, but this doesn't sound right as it describes the person not the job. Any ideas?


title: Word for two things that are opposite yet the same

text: Is there a word or short phrase that describes two contrasting ideas the ultimately end up the same? Like two ends of a spectrum that can wrap around? I'm using it to describe two foils for a character that ultimately end up being in the same boat. This could also refer to examples such as Fascism and Communism, where the ends are very similar, but all other aspects are entirely different.


title: "What kind of a person" vs. "what kind of person"

text: I often hear people saying _what kind of [singular noun]_ rather than _what kind of **a** [singular noun]_. Are we not supposed to use an article ( _a_ ) before noun?


title: Connotation of "appease"

text: Is "Bob did what he could in his capability to appease them" a positive or negative comment about Bob?


title: Antecedent Precedence?

text: **Background:** I was working on a project and was having a colleague of mine proof-read a piece of documentation. He said that one sentence was ambiguous because he couldn't determine what the antecedent was (actually _he_ knew because of the context, but said that to somebody else it might be ambiguous). **Sentence:** > The server picks up the emitted fax via ModuleA, which forwards it to > ModuleB. To me it's clear that the _which_ of the sentence refers to ModuleA, but apparently other people may be confused as to whether it's the server or ModuleA that does the forwarding. In my experience I've always made the assumption that the noun that's closer is the implied antecedent, but I couldn't find any rules to follow in determining the antecedent to use. **Question:** Are there rules that unambiguously determine what antecedent is referred to by a pronoun without having any contextual information?


title: What is the most pejorative phrase we can come up with for soccer foul fakers?

text: You know the ones: association football player flailing on the ground in world-class screaming agony; yet the TV replay shows he was not even touched – and it's an Oscar performance bid. 60 seconds later he's up and running full speed and as effective as ever. What is a phrase that captures the magnitude of the shamelessness and pathetic nature of this phenomenon? Is there a phrase you know of that stands out as perfectly descriptive of this? “Chutzpah” comes to mind.


title: In which countries are sentence diagrams used in teaching English?

text: Until I watched "Weird Al" Yankovic's Word Crimes, I hadn't encountered a sentence diagram. (I was born and raised in Australia) Are they only used in teaching English in the United States, or in other countries as well?


title: Length of answer!

text: When should I answer in short and when should I answer in long? In real life which of following answer is used? > Did you read that book? > >   * Yes. >   * Yes, I did. >   * Yes, I read it. >   * Yes, I did. I read the book. >   * No. >   * No, I did not. >   * No, I did not read it. >   * No, I did not. I did not read it. >


title: Use of singular or plural verb in a list joined by "or"

text: In a list of singular items with an "or" should the verb be singular or plural? e.g. > Sometimes the fence, the wall, or the ditch (was/were) destroyed.


title: "extension" or "relaxation" of last date?

text: Sometimes, there are deadlines for events and sometimes they are extended. In case of such an event, is it correct to say "extension" of last date? But, how can a date itself be extended? I guess relaxed is a more appropriate word. Please suggest.. Also, if "relax" is the proper word, then should it be - > relaxation "of" last date? Is "of" correct here?


title: What / Which would you like more of?

text: If you present someone with four options to choose from (and they can only choose one), should you say: "What would you like more of?" or "Which would you like more of?" Would the answer change if you were offering nouns (pie, coffee, etc.) or intangibles (power, speed, etc.)?


title: Is it proper to use dashes to set of parenthetical phrases in a comma-separated list?

text: I'm in need of a complex sentence that lists out three requirements, and the facts that satisfy those requirements. Here's an example of what I'm referring to, using the "motivation, means, and opportunity" elements of a murder: > The prosecution had all the evidence they needed for a murder conviction. > Alfonso had the motivation to see his friend dead--full control of the > company--,the means to kill him--a whole lab with poisonous chemicals--, and > the opportunity to do so--the dinner party. Is this a proper emdash and comma usage? I could use a semicolon instead, like so: > The prosecution had all the evidence they needed for a murder conviction. > Alfonso had the motivation to see his friend dead--full control of the > company; the means to kill him--a whole lab with poisonous chemicals; and > the opportunity to do so--the dinner party. But then the three requirements get mixed up with facts, visually, making the list harder to parse. A final option would be using parenthesis: > The prosecution had all the evidence they needed for a murder conviction. > Alfonso had the motivation to see his friend dead (full control of the > company), the means to kill him (a whole lab with poisonous chemicals), and > the opportunity to do so (the dinner party). But the use of parenthesis here seems out of place with the drama of the facts. Is it proper to use emdashes and commas as I did in the first example? What would be the best construction of the sentence?


title: How to understand "-metr-", as a root?

text: _-Metr-_ , as a root, from http://www.prefixsuffix.com/rootchart.php: > metr: admeasure, apportion. E.g., metrics, asymmetric, parametric, telemetry "Admeasure, apportion" means distribution. So I can't understand: how is this meaning of _-metr-_ demonstrated in the examples "metrics, asymmetric, parametric, telemetry"? _Metr_ , as a word, from http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/metr: > metr: meter (unit of length). measuring tape, measuring rule. I feel this meaning of _metr_ makes more sense in the examples "metrics, asymmetric, parametric, telemetry". So how shall I understand the first source?


title: Word for supplementary text detailing notation, assumptions and conditions

text: When setting out an equation, it is common to have a block of text that details the notation used, assumptions made and conditions under which the equation is valid. For example, Newton's Law of Gravitation needs some qualifiers if you want to use it to tell you the force on an object due to another's gravity: > _**F = (G M m) / d 2_** > > where: > >   * F = attractive force >   * G = gravitational constant >   * M, m = mass of two objects >   * d = separation of the objects' centres of mass > > > This only applies when the objects are not subject to relativistic effects > and we assume no other forces act on the objects. The word I'm looking for describes the text from "where:" to "objects". I had considered _rubric_ , which means more "special instructions", but I don't believe this applies to descriptive, rather than instructional, text.


title: Am I wrong here?

text: Our English teacher told us to frame a sentence using the word lively. I wrote: > He was a lively person But she said it was wrong and couldn't be accepted. Is she wrong, or am I?


title: Is 'thought it to be' grammatically correct?

text: Does > If man continues to scathe all of Earth and its seas, then this isn’t the > world I thought it to be make sense? Or should I just replace the 'to' with 'would'?


title: What's wrong with 'due to'?

text: Under defn 1 does http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/due_1 avouch: > Some people think that it is more correct to use **owing to** to mean > ‘because of’ after a verb or at the beginning of a clause, as **due** is an > adjective. What's the infringement here? Isn't **owing** also an adjective? What's 'more correct' ?


title: Is it necessary to discern between 'owing to' and 'due to'?

text: I recently wrote a paper, and the examiner picked me up on using 'due to' when apparently I should have been using 'owing to'. I understand that there is some difference between them, as was discussed here. My question is however, should I worry myself with using one in place of the other? Has their distinction fallen out of popular discourse?


title: What is the difference between "owing to" and "due to"?

text: "Due to" seems more common than "owing to" in modern English. Is "owing to" simply an old-fashioned way of saying the same thing, or is there a rule to using it?


title: Is 'already' + (simple past) + (time of action) correct?

text: meta: I asked this question yesterday but it was marked as a duplicate of a previous question. But none of the answers to the previous question answered what I wanted to know. So I deleted that question and added this new one with some additional details to make it more specific. * * * Is the following conversation correct? > A: _You will need to finish the report before you leave for the day._   >  B: _I **already** did it yesterday._ I am not asking whether _already_ can be used with past simple as opposed to present perfect. From what I know, we cannot use present perfect tense when time is mentioned and here we are mentioning the time of action. What I want to know is whether _already_ can be used with past simple where time is mentioned. For example: > A: _You will need to file your taxes before the end of this month._   >  B: _I **already** filed my taxes two months ago._ The second speaker in both of these cases wants to _a._ emphasize that the action has already been completed, and _b._ mention when it was completed. If this is incorrect, is there any other way to achieve the same effect?


title: Does the word "gentleman" retain the distinction "of leisurely lifestyle" anywhere in British English?

text: I've been watching a great deal many British period films lately, and having done so has made me grow acutely aware to the nuance of the word _gentleman_. Once upon a time, a gentleman wasn't just some ordinary man off the street, as we might likely apply the word to nowadays, oh no; the gentlemen I watch typically   * "go out to the country" to one of their palatial country homes   * have an "allowance" from some vast checkbook, and spend precious little time working   * have many servants to dote upon them and many sashes about their houses to summon those servants   * typically walk about in exquisitely manicured gardens and parks   * always have a "club" to relax in, and "society" dinners to attend to From what I can tell, a _gentleman_ isn't necessarily of aristocracy, or nobility; the primary characteristic of them all is that one needs to keep up _the appearance_ of not having to work, even if one does. And, what I've also noticed is that in the many films I've watched, up to the Second World War period, this distinction of _gentleman_ is always well observed by all characters present. So, if you'll excuse my long-winded digressions, I have a simple question: Is this usage still current anywhere in British English? Are there certain groups of people who still observe that not everyone is a gentleman, and that it requires a particular lifestyle?


title: Can the word "unsolicited" be used as a verb?

text: Consider the following: > He replied to us even when _not solicited/asked_. Can _not solicited_ be replaced with _unsolicited_?


title: Is this sentence correct? If wrong what is the correct form?

text: > I lie certain times(1) but not all the time(2). Should (1) be times or time? and Should (2) be time or times? What is the correct form of the sentence and why?


title: What does “media (news) disruptor” mean?

text: There is the following passage in the article titled, “Why disruptors are always white guys” in New York Magazine September 10 issue: > “It’s happening again. There’s a list of “ **media disruptors**.” It’s > predominantly white dudes. It need not be. And people are fed up. For, in > the new-media renaissance of the past few years, there are women and > minority “disruptors” everywhere if you only take the time to look. There’s > Jane Pratt of xoJane; Ben Huh of Circa; Sharon Waxman of the Wrap; Sommer > Mathis of CityLab.” And, it goes on and on. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/09/why-disruptors-are-always-white- guys.html Coincidentally, there was an article titled “ **News Disrupters** ” in Vanity Fair (September 10) that began with the paragraph; > “Who needs a boss anymore? The latest vogue in journalism is to leave cushy > jobs at established news organizations—or else establish an autonomous power > center within one.” http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2014/10/media- > industry-disrupters I can’t find neither “media disruptor” nor “news disruptor” in English dictionaries at hand, nor the relative definitions on google search. GoogleNgram doesn’t show incidence of “media, nor news disruptor.” Are “Media / news disruptor” internet jargons or new words? What do they mean in a short word?


title: To specify an object while using the phrasal verb "put on"

text: When the object is obvious, do you usually cut it out? Examples: >   1. Put your glasses on (your face). > >   2. Put your shoes on (your feet). > >   3. Put your watch on (around your wrist). > >


title: Term for aboriginal people of Canada in a historical context

text: The tribes that inhabited Canada before European contact are generally known as _First Nations_ today. From what I can tell, this term is fairly new. What term could I use to refer to First Nations people that:   1. can refer to indigenous people from different tribes, and   2. would have been understood by someone from the 1800s, and   3. would not be offensive to people today?


title: Origin of the expression "you can't make chicken salad out of chicken something else"

text: I discovered this expression: > You can't make chicken salad out of chicken _something else_ I heard this expression from one of the NBA basketball TV commentators on Fox Sports Oklahoma, who uses it in the affirmative, and uses _something else_ instead _shit_. He uses it when a basketball player manages to score from a play situation that didn't look good at all: > The player made chicken salad out of chicken _something else_. I would like to know what is the origin of the expression and where does it originate from. Any ideas?


title: Comma in a sentence just before the start of a list

text: If I am asking a complex question, I would write it like this: > Do you have, by chance, three pennies on you? Should I write a complex question that turns into a list without the comma? > Do you have, by chance: > >   * 3 pennies? >   * 2 shillings? > or like this > Do you have, by chance,: > >   * 3 pennies? >   * 2 shillings? >


title: A Semi-Independent Chapter (of an organization)

text: I have a chapter of an organization that would like to position itself as less strongly affiliated with the parent organization. They want to be under the umbrella but not as consolidated as full chapters are. Less guidance, less on message, less formality. Guesses on what they should call themselves? I'm looking for something like a semi-independent chapter.


title: Placement of "just" in "we just need minified and concatenated files"

text: I was talking to my client. I wanted to convey that "we need the minified type of files and the concatenated type of files; nothing other than that". I quickly wrote this: > we just need minified and concatenated files. Thinking on it later, I felt like perhaps "we need just minified and concatenated files", or perhaps "we need minified and concatenated files only", would have been accurate. I want to know:   1. Is the usage of _just_ appropriate in such a situation? Or should I use _only_?   2. How does the placement of _just_ modify the sense of the sentence?


title: Using 'very' with a noun

text: Are these correct ways to use _very_ with a noun? > She is the very girl I want. > > On the very year of 2012, comes the end of the world. > > This is the very company everyone wants to work for. What I understand is that _very_ can be used to emphasize the importance of a noun.


title: Is "fair-skinned" politically correct?

text: I have recently seen "fair-skinned" written to mean the opposite of "dark skin". In other contexts, "fair" usually sounds to me as judgemental, implying it is better.   _Example: fair weather_ Is "fair-skinned" politically correct?   Should I prefer another term? _Here is an example of the term being called questionable: First comment by heltonbiker tothis question._


title: "without needing to <verb> + ..." vs "without the need of <verb + ing> + ..."

text: I don't see which one is fits best: > it is awesome because you can do it **without needing to send** e-mails or > it is awesome because you can do it **without the need of sending** e-mails Also, are both correct or just one (or none...)?


title: "I beg leave to assure you" — letter by John Marshall

text: > Richmond May 1st [17]99 (Source of Letter) > > Dear Sir > > You may possibly have seen a paragraph in a late publication, stating that > several important offices in the gift of the Executive, & among others that > of secretary of State, had been attainable by me. Few of the unpleasant > occurrences produc’d by my declaration as a candidate for congress (& they > have been very abundant) have given me more real chagrin than this. To make > a parade of profferd offices is a vanity which I trust I do not possess, but > to boast of one never in my power woud argue a littleness of mind at which I > ought to blush. > > I know not how the author may have acquird his information, but I **beg > leave** to assure you that he never receivd it directly nor indirectly from > me. I had no previous knowledge that such a publication was designd, or I > woud certainly have suppressd so much of it as relates to this subject. Under Idioms, this page from the Oxford Dictionary says: > beg leave to do something (formal) = to ask somebody for permission to do > something Could someone please explicate and elucidate **beg leave**? I can't grasp how one would ask person X for permission to assure person X of something (particularly in this context). Wouldn't one just assure person X directly of whatever thing it is?


title: Where does the word “sh**” come from?

text: Once upon a time in America, particularly during the 1970s, if you asked an American whether they ‘fancied a shag’, they might well have thought of this: ![shag carpet pic](http://i.stack.imgur.com/3C6FE.jpg) And therefore declined the offer for fear of rug-burn. Meanwhile their kids, being still innocent, would have likely assented to the request, hoping that Scooby might be part of the offer: ![shaggy and scooby pic](http://i.stack.imgur.com/02bLB.png) But then the British Invasion poisoned all such bucolic memories once _Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me_ hit the American cinema: ![austin powers poster](http://i.stack.imgur.com/woZ6C.jpg) Lest any doubt remain about what is being discussed here, the following scintillating dialogue should wipe all those away: > Vanessa Kensington: Look, I know I'm being neurotic, but I can't shake off > this suspicious feeling about that Italian secretary. You know, Miss Fagina. > I don't want to sound paranoid, but I've had some bad relationships in the > past, and I have been known to be jealous. I'm sorry. > > Austin Powers: No, don't be sorry, baby. You're right to be suspicious. I > **shagged** her. > > Vanessa Kensington: What? > > Austin Powers: I **shagged** her rotten, baby, yeah! > > Vanessa Kensington: I don't believe you, Austin! I mean, she was repellant. > > Austin Powers: Saucer of milk, table 2. Meow. > > Vanessa Kensington: Well, did you use protection? > > Austin Powers: Of course. I had my 9mm automatic. > > Vanessa Kensington: You know I meant 'did you use a condom'? > > Austin Powers: No. Only sailors use condoms, baby. > > Vanessa Kensington: Not in the 90's, Austin. > > Austin Powers: Well they should, those filthy buggers. They go from port to > port. My question is, where did this sense of _shag_ come from? The OED calls this copulatory sense “of obscure origin” and provides a first citation dating from Grose’s _Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue_ of 1788, in which the modern sense is first given. But where does it **really** come from? Surely if it made a vulgar dictionary in 1788, there must be possible antedatings of the written not merely oral form.


title: "Flatly denied that he had copied" vs. "flatly denied the charges that he had copied"

text: > The student flatly denied that he had copied in the examination hall. The above sentence is not correct, I found that it must be "flatly denied the charges that". Am I thinking in the right direction?


title: Noun for both false positives and false negatives

text: > Algorithm X was applied to the data. There were neither false positives nor > false negatives. I'd like to replace the second sentence with > There were no _______. Which word covers both _false positive_ and _false negative_ and fits a technical report?


title: How to use 'persevere'?

text: I need to translate a sentence and I cannot figure out a good way to do so. Can I use the word 'persevere' like this, or are there better ways? > Vincas consistently deepens his knowledge, he is not afraid of any > difficulties that may arise, but perseveres **by means of** determination > and work. Do I need to change the highlighted part to anything else, or is it good as- is?


title: Do 'learn by heart' & 'learn by rote' mean the same?

text: Here in India, both the phrases _learning by heart_ and _learning by rote_ are taken to have the same meaning, i.e., blind memorisation without true understanding. However, some sources say that to learn something by heart implies that one knows something so well that it has been thoroughly internalised and imbibed. So is it wrong to conflate the two?


title: verbs not followed by that clauses

text: Where can I find a list of verbs like 'to want', which must be followed by an infinitive (other verbs by a gerund), but cannot be followed by a that-clause? I got from your website that there are Exceptional Case Marking verbs and Object (can't remember what…) verbs. Are there others? They are of importance to learners of English, as, in French, for instance, you must say 'I want that he does sth' and you cannot say 'I want him to do'. Thank you


title: Using an apostrophe; Centres or Centre's?

text: My sentence says > Coventry city centre's main transport links. but there is a red line under "centre's" in MS word. Is it "centres" or "centre's"? I thought that you use an apostrophe for belonging. Thanks in advance.


title: Do these two sentences mean the same thing or is there a grammar rule I am unaware of that distinguishes a difference?

text: What's the difference in meaning between the following two sentences and is one more correct than the other? > I was wondering if it's OK to once in a while come to Wednesday morning > running practices? > > I was wondering if it's OK to once in a while come to a Wednesday morning > running practice?


title: would+have+have...Is it correct?

text: So i watched this scene in the show called 'the vampire diaries' and heard one of the main characters say this line: 'And I would've gladly have given it to you...' Is that correct? Do people actually say that? I'm bit confused because I've always been good at understanding would+have. Don't really think I misheard.


title: "lie on the basis of" versus "lie at the basis of"

text: I often read in scientific papers a sentence of the form "X lies on the basis of Y." or "X lies at the basis of Y." to indicate that Y is caused by X in some fundamental way. Are both forms valid and common? (Maybe both are poor English?)


title: Write an e-mail to reply for a changed planing

text: I have write an email to replay on a changed planing sent by my english school and why i can't come. this is bellow what i wrote but i didn't send it yet, any correction or something to add or any inappropriate expression ? Mr. Julio, I am writing with regard to the next programed session that will take place on sunday 27th to inform you that's confusing with another pre-programed trip outside of France. I would like to be present and assist to the complet session, but as you know, it will be impossible. Hoping that my sincere apologies will be kindly accepted i miss the endining of the email and i dont know to end it (any expression please) Thanks


title: "Don't/Won't/Wouldn't want to"

text: When do we use each of the following? > I don't want to ... > > I won't want to ... > > I wouldn't want to ...


title: Why do exciting things "rock"?

text: > **Rock (v):**   >  **6.** Slang. to be very good, impressive, exciting, or effective: _This > show really rocks._ So where did this odd usage originate?


title: Is it incorrect to use non-comparative adjectives while comparing two things?

text: Is it required to use comparative adjectives while comparing two things like this? > Wireless networks, compared to wired networks, suffer from slow(er) > connection speed, long(er) delay, and (more) dropped connections.


title: An expression for "a little thing that adds to common good"

text: Like recycling, some little things together make a big positive impact. What's an expression for "a little thing that adds to the common good"?


title: What is the origin of the phrase "racing cert"?

text: I had encountered the phrase, “racing cert”, the other day, and I had to go look it up. The only definition I immediately found was one from UD: > English colloquialism. Born from gambling talk and used to indicate a > statistical or logical outcome that appears to be a foregone conclusion. It seems to be mostly related to horse racing, and used even in news articles as a jargon term (e.g. “Racing cert: The 400-year history of Perth racecourse”), but I had found no confirmation of that definition, nor explanation whence it came from exactly. If it has anything to do with so- called “racing certificates”, I could not even find meaningful explanation as to what that is, especially pertaining to horse racing. In other racing (auto, or sailing, for instance) it appears to be a sort of manifest clearing the participant (car or a boat) for the race after inspection, and for animals it also seemed to include veterinary check up. But I fail to grip how does that imply the “foregone conclusion”. _Note._ As of this note, I picked a winner, although I thought all three answers were very helpful in understanding, and I upvoted them all. There are some question still unanswered (When did the meaning of this phrase went from ironic to literal? Are there any other examples of usage of “racing certainty” around 1834 St. Leger Stakes?), and if others add or improve their answers, I might reconsider. but generally, good answers.


title: Where does the suffix "-tine" come from?

text: Where does the suffix **-tine** come from? For e.g., _Ovaltine_ , _Creatine_ , etc. all have a _-tine_ suffix. What is the meaning connoted to the noun attached?


title: "They perform" vs. "they are performed" in specific context

text: > Our experiments include simulated falls by several subjects. They > **perform** in a user-independent setting, where, for each test video, the > subject appearing in the test video does not appear in any of the training > data used to detect falls in that video. In the above sentence, is the usage of _perform_ correct, or should I use "they are performed" instead?


title: What does “key off” somebody’s column mean?

text: Mark Helperin’s article titled “Romney’s Conservative Critics” in Time magazine (September 28) begins with the following sentence: > “On “Morning Joe,” I _key off_ Charles Krauthammer’s column to talk about a > key part of Romney’s challenge: “ > > If you watch conservative media, read Krauthammer, watch Fox, or talk > privately with any Republican politician, it’s hard to find anybody, even > some people, as you all know, inside the Romney campaign, who think they’re > doing the right thing now, that they’re on track to win despite Governor > Romney saying that.” Though I find “key in,” “key on,” “key to,” and “key up,” I cannot find the entry of “key off” in any of Cambridge, Oxford, and Merriam-Webster dictionary, despite all of them register “off-key” as adjective and verb. Only wikitionary provides the definition of “key off” as a computing terminology meaning “to take as a controlling input datum.” What does “ _key off_ ” somebody’s column exactly mean? Does it mean to pay special attention to something? What is the currency of “key off” as a verb? Is it popular as “key in (on, to, up), or special to this writer in trying to key “key off” to “key part”? In other word, is this well-received English word?


title: Is this usage of "however" with an adjective correct?

text: Is the word "however" correctly used in this sentence? If not, how could it be rephrased? > This program, however comprehensive, hasn't been updated for a long time. Is there a better construct to say that a good attribute of an object is outweighed by a drawback?


title: What's the meaning of "large hug" in definition of "bearhug"?

text: Context: > I have an uncle who is huge and any time he hugs anyone in the family, it's > so tight that they are almost choked. We call this the _bearhug_ among the > family. Researching the term, and seeing its origins in wrestling > a wrestling hold in which the arms are locked tightly round an opponent's > chest and arms My question is on this definition > any especially large, tight or enthusiastic hug, usually friendly Does the **large** here imply the hugging person is bigger and stronger than the hug-ee (like a bear) or is it the length of time of the hug, or something else? Does the usage give the impression of Hagrid from Harry Potter? It does to me, but I don't know if thats the right idea.


title: Word usage of 'query'

text: Is there anything wrong in the following sentence : > I **queried** Sonia about her Personal Computer. The sentence is akin to : > I **asked** Sonia about her Personal Computer. Am I right ?


title: Mid next week, mid week

text: I see people write middle of next week as "mid week" or should it be "mid next week?"   What is the simple and correct way to write " the middle of next week". May I write - "I will send the package before the middle of next week" as "I will send the package before mid next week"?


title: What is the difference between "meaning" and "definition"?

text: They seem to be used interchangeably, yet somehow, I feel there is a difference. Are there situations when one would use "definition" above "meaning", or "meaning" instead of "definition"? For example: > He gave the definition/meaning of the word "blow". as well as > The dictionary gave definitions/meanings of all words starting with 'o'. In the second example, why does "definition" sound more correct to me? Is there a kind of distinction when to use one or the other?


title: Saying that the mail has an attached form filled up by me?

text: Let's say I'm writing a letter to a university and my mail has an application form attached to it. How can I say it in a more formal and concise way than "Please see the attached application form that I filled up." or "Please find attached my filled-up application form." I would appreciate it if the answer starts with "Please see..." or "Please find attached..." Thank you!


title: Is this usage of 'curiously' correct?

text: I recently used a sentence similar to the following: > Curiously, do you prefer black? Some people found it grammatically incorrect. That was a surprise, for I thought it was perfectly okay. Someone even came with an alternative: > Out of curiosity, do you prefer black? Is the second sentence actually better? Is there a real difference (bar the number of characters)?


title: Emphasis is put on relation of A and B, instead of/on

text: Having the following sentence, I'm not sure how to use prepositions after 'instead': > The emphasis is put on the relation between A and B, instead of on A and B > themselves. Is "instead of on" correct? Also not sure about the usage of "themselves here".


title: Using 'When' + past participle 2

text: Is this sentence (a caption for a question/article) grammatically valid? > 'Getting 403 http code _when routed_ to the site's root' When is it suitable to use **WHEN** \+ **PARTICIPLE Ⅱ**? Should I use _being routed_ instead?


title: Ambiguity when a sentence contains multiple possessive pronouns

text: I have a question related to another one that I have asked. In the following sentence, whose father is being referenced? > Billy’s friend and his father were there. In the following re-structured sentence, whose friend is being referenced? > Billy’s father and his friend were there. Clearly, there is ambiguity about the second (or subsequent) nouns. Is there a better way to structure such sentences to remove the ambiguity?


title: "To charge (that...)" for "to claim/to assert" in AmE

text: While browsing my bilingual dictionary, Ed. 1985, I stumbled upon the verb "to charge" in a meaning defined as an Americanism [ _3(b) U.S.: **to charge that..._** _alléguer que..._ (to assert that)] without any further clarification. And so, I would like to know if "to charge" is currently used in the sense "to claim/assert" in modern day AmE, and also if it's appropriate in all but the least formal prose. Consider the following sourced examples: > Sarah Palin charged that Sen. Obama's tax plan is "so phony that it's > already starting to unravel"... source Critics charge that Mr. Obama misjudged Putin. source > Sen. Al Franken charged that "Republicans want to go back to the dark side > of the Bush administration". source When alarmists charged that the polar bear was being hunted to extinction... source > Glenn Beck, today, charged that Fox News is the home base for a horde of > liberals. source A registered nurse charged that there would be "legal genocide" if healthcare reform passes. source > Another doctor charged that such healthcare program are a bargain only for > people with two or three young children... source One critic in the New Yorker pointed out punctuation errors in her own work; another critic -- this time a teacher -- charged that... source > The humanities professor charged that Cattell had a lifetime commitment to > fascist and eugenics causes and should not be given the award. source Arthur Bester, a former teacher, charged that the diminished emphasis on fundamental intellectual discipline was anti democratic... source Ngram source http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charge


title: What does “another” mean in this sentence?

text: If someone says “Tom broke another lamp,” does it imply that Tom already broke a lamp or that another lamp was previously broken by someone?


title: What's the English version of the German "oder?"

text: In German, you often add the question word _oder_ after a statement (", oder?") to ask whether the statement's correct. What is the equivalent of _oder_ in English? I always begin sentences with this scheme and then don't know how to finish them. Must I change my question structure for such questions? I know that you can ask whether a statement's correct by asking a negative like this: > You were in school last week, weren't you? With this, you also have to restructure your sentence in most cases How about this?: > You were in school last week, right? Is this structure used often or is this just a bad solution to the problem?


title: Can an object be assigned to multiple *categories*?

text: I am thinking about the very generic word _category_ and was wondering: Does the definition of the word _category_ relate more to kind of a box (an item may only be in one and only one box at a time) or more to some kind of a tag (an object may have multiple tags)?


title: If you send an email that you already sent, can you say you "resent" it? Same as "resenting" someone?

text: I resent my email. I resent my mother. I resent my email to my mother. Odd, isn't it?


title: Word for a person with the same opinion on everything?

text: There's a person I know who has the same opinion on everything. It never wavers from "very good" e.g. > That was a very good movie > > Brazil played a very good game > > The weather was very good yesterday They're not really an optimist per se, as a term such as the one I'm looking for could easily apply to someone with the opposite "very bad" opinion of everything. What I'm wondering is there a particular term for someone who has the same opinion on everything? * * * This is a similar (but not the same) question, and although some of the answers here (such as yeasayer) could work in certain contexts, they don't fully answer my question.


title: Word for varied with equal spacing

text: I'm looking for a less clumsy way to say: > The phase advance in the measurement plane was varied between the corrector > lenses and the measurement screen. Also with the additional constraint that the variation has to be equally spaced which is defined in the next sentence. I would prefer to put all the information into one sentence. The context is a scientific paper.


title: How can I rephrase "the best tool that reaches every corner of the world"

text: I'm doing some proofreading of a text written by a non-native English speaker regarding a project. This text is in the project's mission statement, saying they want to create a tool that will be used globally, especially in underdeveloped countries. I don't like this sentence, I think "the best tool that reaches every corner of the world" sounds translated, but I can't think of a better way to phrase it while conveying the same message. I thought of changing it to something like "an exceptional tool that reaches every corner of the world" but "exceptional" is not "the best". I thought of saying "the best tool for (whatever) that reaches every corner of the world" but I cannot sum up this huge program in one or two words as it has a huge number of features. Ideally I want to be able to change "the" to "an" with an appropriate word, but any other suggestions are helpful. Update: I wanted to upvote more answers but I apparently don't have enough reputation. There were some good suggestions, but I wanted to keep my language simple as it'll be mainly non-native speakers reading this text. Thank you all for your help.


title: What is the difference between "Employment" and "Job"?

text: I cannot understand the differences between the nouns (they both seem to mean "work"). For example: when we hire an employee, we have to define payroll and benefits for them. So which word better describes payroll and benefits, "Employment" or "Job"? Any help would be appreciated!


title: Why does "mash me a fin" mean loan me/give me five dollars?

text: I've heard mash me a fin used before and understood it to mean "loan me five dollars"; however, I don't understand why mash me a fin means loan me five dollars. The only example I could find of it was here in the Jive Dictionary: http://www.cabcalloway.cc/jive_dictionary.htm. Does anyone know why mash me a fin means loan me five dollars?


title: "is" or "play" for a role?

text: i heard someone say "Music is such an important role in my life." I have always thought "role" should be used with "play / have / take", so it goes like "Music has an important role in my life." Is it possible to say like the first sentence?


title: a word for an unfamiliar situation

text: Is there a single word for an unfamiliar situation or a better way of wording this? If a situation is unfamiliar to you.


title: How do you call the part of the food stand that displays the food?

text: How to you call this? ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/mMWpE.jpg) Like for using an a sentence like: > On the front, the [...] displayed all kinds of sushi.


title: Is there a verb in "Possibly the more possible possibility."?

text: I uttered the phrase "Possibly the more possible possibility." and wondered whether or not there was a verb in it, and therefore, whether or not it was actually a sentence at all? Did I mean "It is possibly the more possible possibility." and, therfore, the verb is "is" or "to be"?


title: Infinitive without "to"?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb "help": with or > without "to"? Today I found this headline on bbc.co.uk > How one family is helping their son win the fight. which made me wonder when exactly it is allowed to omit the _to_.


title: Is it correct to say "John helps you talk with people"?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb "help": with or > without "to"? Sorry if this is a stupid question, but English is not my first language. For me it seems that it is incorrect and it should be: _John helps you **to** talk with people_. But I'm wondering if it's correct without the _to_?


title: use of "to" after "helping one"

text: What is correct: > helping one to accomplish the dreams? OR > helping one accomplish the dreams? The question I have is about the use of **_to_** in the first sentence?


title: Different sentence structures

text: I helped him to get it done. I helped him get it done. Which one is better and the reason for preferring one over the other.


title: "Help rule out" vs. "help to rule out"

text: > **Duplicate of:**   >  What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb "help": with or > without "to"?   >  “Could help avoid” vs. “could help to avoid”   >  “Helping you do something” or “Helping you to do something”?   >  Infinitive without “to”?   >  Is it correct to say “John helps you talk with people”? My sentence fragment possibilities are >   * ... can help rule out false alarms >   * ... can help to rule out false alarms > I feel like both are technically correct, and that the latter sounds somewhat more formal while the former may be a little more clear. I often come upon the general issue of when to use "to [verb]" or just "[verb]" — is there a general rule? Is only one of them _actually_ correct? (Even if someone can explain how to describe the difference between these cases would be appreciated, i.e. "infinitive vs. ___ _" )


title: "Helping you do something" or "Helping you to do something"?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb "help": with or > without "to"? In the phrase "Helping you to master Russian", is it correct to use "to" before "master"?


title: Does "help" take the preposition "to"?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb "help": with or > without "to"?   >  "Help rule out" vs. "help to rule out" I've seen the verb "help" be used transitively and intransitively - in the latter case, followed by the preposition "to" - in various sentences. For example, these should have identical meaning: > I'll help you do it. / I'll help you to do it.   >  Jim helps run the shop. / Jim helps to run the shop. Should it be used intransitively in this way, though? If we have a transitive version, doesn't it make sense to use that instead if we're using this verb with an infinitive? It also seems to me that using "help" intransitively in this way can lead to ambiguity; for example: > It helps to buy holidays. ... could mean that some previously stated thing helps with the process of buying holidays, or that buying holidays - in general - helps something. What would be the more likely meaning of the above sentence?


title: "Could help avoid" vs. "could help to avoid"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  "Help to do" or "help do"? Is it correct to say: > The right sitting posture could help you avoid back problems. OR > The right sitting posture could help you **to** avoid back problems.


title: Is a bare infinitive acceptable as the object of a verb?

text: I came upon the phrase, "writing helps develop a child analytically thinking." Is this grammatically correct? Is it OK to use just _develop_ instead of _to develop_?


title: Help me get vs help me to get

text: Example sentences:   * I think that studying another day will help me to get a higher mark in the test   * I think that studying another week will help me to improve my qualities This is how I would say these sentence, but now I am unsure whether this form is correct or not, because I see many people use the other form ("help me get").


title: Two verbs used consecutively

text: Is it correct to say > Tsunami coupling in the code 'helps determine' human casualty i.e., is use of multiple verbs consecutively correct? Also, is it 'help determine' or 'helps determine'?


title: Helping improve or help To improve

text: Is "Helping Improve Lives"ok or should it be "Helping TO improve lives?"


title: Is it acceptable to use "become" without "to" before it?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the correct way to use infinitive after the verb “help”: with or > without “to”? I will use a condensed version of the actual sentence I'm working on: > We offer services throughout the county including helping families become > familiar with free counselling in their cities. I'm not happy with the 2 "-ing words" next to each other, but I'll deal with that later. A boss told me I ought to put in the _to_ before _become_ which is what I'm asking about here. It seems it could be used either way.


What does it mean when too much formality can appear menacing? Consider the responses when one asks for a lemon: > "Do you have any lemons in your fridge?"   * "No, sorry"   * "Nah"   * "No, I don't think so."   * "Nope."   * "Why? Do you need one?" These responses seem normal or even friendly for some reason. Yet, if I ask, > "Do you have any lemons in your fridge?" and the response is   * **"No."**   * **"No, I don't."**   * **"Why?"** These sentences seem different in tone. Something about their length makes them seem much more hostile. Is there a name for what I'm talking about?


title: Compound subject whose parts are joined by "and" and verb agreement : when is the singular correct?

text: I am in doubt as to whether the subject-verb agreement of the second sentence of this paragraph is correct : > Unfortunately, there is no such thing as the ideal home workshop because > most people are limited by the space available and by their budget. > > However, the information and diagram here acts as a guide to help you > formulate a sensible workshop layout and a machinery “wish list”. I suppose if the compound subject is seen as a single unit, then the sentence can be considered as correct. A little further in the same book, another sentence has a singular verb with a compound subject : > Alternatively commandeer a garage, or build yourself a substantial workshop > if outdoor space and permission allows – however, do consider the impact of > machinery noise on your neighbours. Can "outdoor space and permission" be seen as one thing, or would this be considered a mistake ?


title: Difference between "governorate", "province" and "state"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What are: province, territory, protectorate, state…? Canada has provinces, the US has states and Egypt has governorates. What's the difference?


title: Can I use “You say Tomato, I (we) say X,” in the exactly same manner as “We agree to disagree,” in day-to-day conversation?

text: I found an interesting phrase, “You say Tomato, I say X” in the headline of the article of Time magazine (June 9). The headline and lead copy read: “You say Tomato, I say Bailout: How Spain agreed to be rescued. Knowing how bailouts doomed the governments of other countries, Madrid insists it has accepted a massive "loan" to recapitalize its banks. Others, however, are calling it as they see it.” I found out also that “You say Tomato, I say Bailout “ is a twist of the phrase, “You like tomato and I like tomahto;” in the verse of the song by George and Ira Gershwin, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off." (1937) through Google. It says the song was a pretty old, of 1937. Is this still popular phrase that I can use in day-to-day conversation, or even at a formal meeting to express “We are different in opinion”? For instance, people’s opinions are sharply split in Japan today as to which should come first, government’s spending cut, or consumption tax increase. Can I say to our govenment “You say tomato, we say government’s spending cut”?


title: "As a side note" vs. "on a side note"

text: What is the difference between > "as a side note" and "on a side note"? Are they interchangeable? Which one is preferred over the other?


title: Pluralization of Germanisms

text: The German noun "Ansatz" is widely used (at least) in physics and, less frequently, in math texts in English. I have seen it always in singular though and now I must use its (English) plural. The German plural of this word is "Ansätze". Which of the following plural forms is the right one for the Germanism "Ansatz"?   1. Ansatzs (perhaps the expected one)   2. Ansätze (too exaggerated?)   3. other unexpected, like "these Ansatz are..." (unchanged)


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

text: I know it's no longer used much, having been replaced by the more clinical "cleft lip". The spelling makes me suspect it's named for the animal, as rabbits have a similar feature on their faces, but couldn't find any decent evidence thereof.


title: How to make a citation for a sentence that is used in my own context?

text: I have read something from an author and I think I would like to use part of his idea in my own context. But how should I cite the author so that it isn't misleading? Let me give an example. Suppose I have read this and wanted to use this idea from Dunne & Raby in my article: > Critical design uses designed artifacts as an embodied critique or > commentary on consumer culture. Since my article is written in my own context, I may end up using the sentence this way: > The design of Product X is an embodied critique on the consumer culture. Now, if I were cite Dunne & Raby: > The design of Product X is an embodied critique on the consumer culture > (Dunne & Raby, 1999). This may appear as if Dunne & Raby said that Product X is an embodied critique on the consumer culture when they were actually commenting about something more general. I can't put quotes either since I'm lifting it entirely from its original statement. Would how I have cited the author correct in the form of APA citation? If not, how should I cite it so that it would be clearer?


title: Find the error in this sentence?

text: I have the following sentence from SAT practice. Fran **(A) would be happy** to assist Brad, had he **(B) simply** requested help **(C) early enough to give** her time **(D) to complete** her own assignments. There is either one error in this sentence or no error at all; the error must be within the parts in bold (A, B, C, D). Is there any error in this sentence? Thanks!


title: I need a single word meaning "to keep silence"

text: The Hermitic tradition names four powers attributed to the Sphinx: to know, to dare, to will, and to keep silence. I am looking for a short word which means "to keep silence" to use in a graphic design along with the short words for the other three powers. My current design drafts use "know", "dare", "will", and "hold", but "hold" doesn't quite fit the intended meaning; and neither does "hide". Both "hold" and "hide" physically work well within the design, however. An ideal candidate would be similar in length to the other three, be a single word, and not be outright silly. (I.e., "zip it" would could fit, but it is two words and idiomatic, although it is short enough to fit within the design constraints.) In context, the phrase "to keep silence" refers to "a prudence which nothing can corrupt and nothing intoxicate" in the words of the occultist Eliphas Lévi.


title: Is there a word or expression for a small crush on someone?

text: I am not very sure if the word _crush_ ("an intense and usually passing infatuation") can be used between two strangers. For example, a man sees a beautiful woman for the first time in his life. Could he have a _crush_ on the woman? It seems to me that the word _crush_ is too strong. If I want to express a feeling in the heart–some small movement in the heart caused by seeing the woman–what word would I use? It's just a temporary flash in the heart. It seems the heart is moved by some force. How does English address such feelings other than by saying: "I had a _temporary heart-moving crush_ on you"?


title: Why can't I say "I have a brown hair"?

text: Why can't I say, "I have a brown hair," to describe the colour of my hair?