title: Synonym of malicious, but more "competitive"

text: The word I am looking for is to describe an intentionally harmful duplicate. Sort of an evil twin, but in a competitive way - one who'd "test your might" in an actual tournament to give you a lesson rather than give you advice how to improve. I like: **adversarious** , but it sounds too negative. **Customized** is too vague.


title: Is something half price or half priced?

text: When I walk into Shoppers Drug Mart the day after Easter and see cheap chocolate galore, should I announce it on my Facebook profile by writing it's "half price chocolate" or "half priced chocolate"? I've honestly written it both ways in the past and this has left me wondering if one form is more correct than the other.


title: "Next one" vs "next"

text: What is the difference between the "next one" and just "next"? Let's suppose we have a lot of people in a queue, and as one person comes, someone says "the next **one** is white, tall, has black eyes, is slim... etc". So I understand I needed to use "one", because I'm describing someone or something. Now, if it was just people coming in a queue, I could just say "next", no need to use one, since I'm not describing it or something. Did I get something right?


title: What is the origin of the idiom "one horse race"?

text: I heard that a one horse race means a competition which one particular person or team is very likely to win because they seem much better than the other people competing. Anyone know about the origin of this expression? why one horse?


title: How can I dedicate something to my family and make a special note of my wife?

text: In a formal media article that describes my achievements, I want to say something like the following: > I want to dedicate this achievement/award to my family and especially to my > wife for all the nights she stayed up to give me company while I pulled all > nighthers. The all-nighters seems a bit informal and student-ish and I am not a student. Is there a better/concise/formal way of saying this?


title: What's the English word for a short-lived feeling of euphoria?

text: This is a bit hard to put in words. Let's say you're just coming out of a theater after watching a movie. You're thinking about the movie you just watched. You're feeling that the movie was the greatest movie you ever saw (that you'll give it 10 out of 10). Some time passes, say a couple of days, and you're again thinking about it. This time, however, you're feeling that the movie was just okay, it wasn't as great as you thought two days before (that you'll give it 7 out of 10). My question is, what do you call what you were feeling earlier (or how do you put it in words)?


title: Pronunciation of Repo

text: How do you pronounce _repo_ when it means _repository_? Is it `ˈɹiːpoʊ` or `ˈɹepoʊ`?


title: What does “chemical Mickey” that drives a man to love-making mean?

text: I happened to read an old article about the mechanics of “human Love” which appeared in TIME magazine (Jan. 28, 2008) under the title, “The science of romance: Why we love,” and was drawn to the word, “Chemical Mickey” in the following sentence: > “At the moment of a kiss, there's a rich and complicated exchange of > postural, physical and chemical information," says (psychologist Gordon) > Gallup. "There are hardwired mechanisms that process all this. What's more, > every kiss may also carry a **chemical Mickey** , slipped in by the male. > Though testosterone is found in higher concentrations in men than in women, > it is present in both genders and is critical in maintaining arousal > states.” http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1704672,00.html I noticed that ABC News (Jan. 1, 2008) also picked up the similar research by incorporating the same word into the news; > “The man is sort of slipping a **chemical mickey** that acts as an > aphrodisiac on the woman," Kluger said. That kiss could potentially > determine whether a couple's genes are compatible enough to produce a > healthy offspring.” http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4147929&page=1 What does “Chemical Mickey” mean? Is the word, Mickey used as a metonym of a mysterious or powerful substance?


title: Proper use of “repertoire”

text: Could the word _repertoire_ be used to describe one’s behavior as a façade?


title: Parse tree of "the ports of Santo Domingo and Cartagena in present-day Colombia"

text: There is a Wikipedia article with the following line: > Drake sailed to the New World and sacked the ports of Santo Domingo and > Cartagena in present-day Colombia. Never mind the facts as we might know them; does the second part mean that Santo Domingo was sacked along with Cartagena, which is in present-day Columbia, or does it mean that both Santo Domingo and Cartagena are in present-day Columbia?


title: Plural of "copula", does "copulas" or "copulae" sound more professional?

text: When talking in linguistics topics about the word "to be" and its foreign language equivalents like Spanish "ser" and "estar", the name of this kind of special verb is "copula". But copula has two plural forms:   * Regular English plural: "copulas"   * Irregular Latin plural: "copulae" In a formal context as linguists might use, which sounds more "professional"? Does the Latin irregular seem "more correct and erudite" or "too pompous"? Please note I'm not asking for prescriptive vs descriptive debate or plain vanilla "most frequent" as a simple Google Ngram would provide. As far as I'm concerned both are correct, I just want to narrow it down to how professionals use it in the given context.


title: Alternatives for "similar to other studies"

text: When you want to compare the results of a research to other studies, you can use > **Similar to other studies** , the current study indicates that ... What are other alternatives for **'Similar to other studies'**? I can only suggest one another that is **'Consistent with the results of other studies'**.


title: Is it ok to use Er. if a person is engineering degree holder

text: Its usual that we see doctors use Dr. Title, but I have also seen engineers use title - Er. Is this practise allowed, approved? I have seen few name boards like that in India.


title: What does it mean to call someone a "tool"?

text: In this MSO question, the author refers to himself as sounding like a "tool". What does this mean? Specifically, the way it is used in the linked question implies that being a tool means being pompous or infatuated with oneself, whereas the urban dictionary and wiktionary write that it means one is being used without knowing it. Is the way it is used in that question an acceptable variant or did the OP make a mistake in usage confusing a popular word for a different concept?


title: Using the apostrophe when referring to a group

text: Consider these sentences. The first is as I sent it to an editor. The second is as the editor sent it back, corrected as he saw it. I almost sent it back with my first version, then added the 'from' to it as well. Which of these, if any, is correct?   1. "It has been a pleasure to watch Nadal play tennis this year. Among his peers, the only name that comes to mind is Federer's."   2. "It has been a pleasure to watch Nadal play tennis this year. Among his peers, the only name that comes to mind is Federer."   3. "It has been a pleasure to watch Nadal play tennis this year. From among his peers, the only name that comes to mind is Federer's."


title: Are there any rules for genitive case not indicating possesion?

text: My teacher, a native English speaker, was quite puzzled when I asked this and could not answer this question. Why there is: > child seat but children's love //why these are different > > developer's conference //why not developers conference, they do not own it > > rooms' furnishings The question is, how to tell when to use the genitive and when simple noun?


title: Word meaning "compellingness"?

text: I just came across a situation where a word meaning "having the quality of being compelling" would have been useful. The sentence was along the lines of: > He argued his case passionately. I think this demonstrates the > [compellingness] of Yale's philosophy degrees! I could've paraphrased to something like: > He argued his case passionately. I think this demonstrates how compelling > Yale's philosophy degrees are! .. but in this case I think it would've made the whole sentence more clunky. What I came up with in the end was 'vigor', but I don't like it; is there a word which more closely resembles 'compellingness' (which itself doesn't sound like a word to me, and the dictionary seems to back that up)?


title: How can I break English L2 pronunciation habits?

text: I keep making attempts to help L2 English learners break their strange pronunciation habits with tools like phonetic charts, but it seems like they just relapse. One of the big issues I deal with with L2 English learners in Japan is that they finish words with "o". For example, instead of saying, "Can you get me that?" They say, "Can you geto me thato?" They're trying to enunciate. I have a controversial way of teaching pronunciation that ends with consonants that seems to be effective, but people just relapse into the behavior of enunciating with the added o. One of my regular students often uses count pronouns with non-count words and says, 'It's a style of English speaking. So, it's okay.' Let's look at a specific example: walk vs. work. If you have people sound out 'werk' and 'wok', they sound spot-on. Unfortunately, after about 5 minutes, they're right back to saying "WAHELK" and "WHORLK", which just sounds terrible. How can I solidify their pronunciation?


title: Using quotes when referring to word as word

text: In the example > I did not think about using the word "about". I feel that the word, _about_ , should be wrapped in quotes. Is that correct?


title: "Vote goes for" vs "Vote goes to"

text: Do "My vote goes for…" and "My vote goes to…" have different meanings? Can they be used interchangeably?


title: Usage of the word "itself"

text: Is it correct to use the word "itself" in the following cases. I have seen many people using "itself" in the following cases   1. I read the note yesterday itself _(to mean - I already read the note yesterday)_   2. I met the doctor in the morning itself. _(to mean - I already met the doctor in the morning)_ if the usage of "itself" is itself wrong, what would be the correct usage or alternative to express the meaning mentioned in the brackets


title: "Life imitates art"

text: what does the phrase ""Life imitates art" refer to considering life is constantly evolving with new scientific advancements ?


title: Word meaning "extra added length" in woodworking

text: In Slovenian, we have a nice word for this called "nadmera" (literally "above measurement/dimension"). This usage is for woodworking, and it arises when working with solid wood. To simplify, it has a rough cut and the final cut: **The rough cut's dimensions are the final cut's dimensions plus the "extra added length"**. If there is no such word, what would be an equivalent, perhaps something like "rough cut extra"?


title: “Thank you for your kindness, but I am not fond of this”

text: Suppose somebody gives you something — for instance, a chocolate — and you do not like it, so you give it back to the person. Is it then correct to say something like this: > Thank you for your kindness, but I am not fond of this. Which I think means: > Thank you, but I don’t like it. I think it sounds formal.


title: Can you use "procure" to mean "think of"?

text: > He procured a proper way to fix his relationship. > > He thought of a proper way to fix his relationship. Are those equivalent? Is the use of "procure" here unnatural and weird? Or does it work well?


title: Can a possessive pronoun be used in a tag question?

text: Can we use possessive pronouns in tag questions? For example, > Your name is Ben, isn't yours?


title: Usage of the word "orthogonal" outside of mathematics

text: From the roots ortho (straight) and gon (angle), its meaning in mathematics is understandable. Outside of mathematics it has various meanings depending on the context:   * Debate - orthogonal: not relevant   * Statistics - orthogonal: unrelated   * Computing - orthogonal: isolated or partitioned There are other definitions. Most seem to imply a meaning of independence or separation. Does anyone know how it came to mean this?


title: Pronunciation of GUI in British English

text: I've heard a lot of Americans pronounce abbreviations like `GUI` as `goo-ey`. Is this the same with British English, or is it more common to spell out the word, like `gee-you-eye`?


title: Is "of which" a proper way to begin a relative clause?

text: > Germany is subdivided into 16 (federal) states, of which Bavaria is the > largest. The thing is that my dictionary is not perfectly clear about this, i.e. there is no direct translation available. Actually the direct translation according to the dictionary would be: > Germany is subdivided into 16 (federal) states, of these Bavaria is the > largest. However, this does not seem correct. Therefore, my questions are:   1. Is the first sentence proper English?    2. Are there better ways to phrase this sentence?


title: Sum up the users? Or sum up the number of users?

text: Let's say that there is a list of users and I want to know how many users are in the list. Would I 'sum up the users,' 'sum the users,' 'sum up the number of the users,' 'sum the number of users,' or something else?


title: Negatives with “a” or “any”

text: Are both these sentences correct?   1. There **isn’t a** cat in the kitchen.   2. There **isn’t any** cat in the kitchen.


title: Combining 3 sentences

text: I am struggling to combine following 3 sentences for a one sentence. I am doubted how to do it. Any suggestions please. > a) Most of the above methods often rely on the crown height model (CHM) > > b) Seek local maxima based on the CHM model > > c) Local maxima are the peak positions of the CHM


title: meaning of the "meant by"?

text: I often see questions started with "what is meant by...". What is "meant by"? Any trying to Google it returns nothing helpful. Thanks in advance.


title: Is it safe to equate 'less evil' to 'more good'?

text: We had a bit of a debate with this one. He, a native speaker (unlike me) went for: > "less evil" implies that you are comparing evil people and "more good" > implies that you are comparing good people I always felt that there's no difference. Am I on the minority of English speakers? Who is more correct between the two of us?


title: Do footnoting superscripts go inside or outside punctuation?

text: When using superscripts to indicate a footnote, do these fall inside or outside adjacent punctuation? If there is an answer, is that answer applicable worldwide, or just to specific regions or publishers? Does it matter what the particular punctuation is, including such punctuation as commas, colons, parentheses and other brackets, periods, and quotation marks? Does it matter whether the footnote applies to just one gloss1, or to an entire phrase _in toto_? Does the answer change if, instead of using instead of numeric footnotes, you use the traditional sequence of symbols (*, †, ‡, §, ‖, and ¶)2 ? * * *   1. OED: “A word inserted between the lines or in the margin as an explanatory equivalent of a foreign or otherwise difficult word in the text; hence applied to a simliar explanatory rendering of a word given in a glossary or dictionary.”   2. As enumerated on pp 68–69 of Robert Bringhurst’s _The Elements of Typographic Style_ (version 3.2); Hartley and Marks, 2008. Bringhurst goes on to say “But beyond the asterisk, dagger3, and double dagger4, this order is not familiar to most readers, and never was.”   3. That is, the † character at codepoint U+2020 DAGGER, also known as the _obelisk, obelus,_ or _long cross_. The classical plural of _obelus_ is _obeli_.   4. That is, the ‡ character at codepoint U+2021 DOUBLE DAGGER, also known as the   _diesis_ or _double obelisk_. The classical plural of _diesis_ is _dieses_.


title: Can the word ‘fillet” be used as a verb to mean criticize or ridicule?

text: There was the following sentence in the New York Times article titled “Marry first, Then cheat” dealing with François Hollande’s “mistress scandals”: > “Over good wine and small portions across Paris, there was appalled > discussion that Stephen Colbert, who had **filleted** Hollande’s shenanigans > on his show, was seated to the right of Michelle Obama at the state dinner, > in the magic circle with the president where Trierweiler would have been, > had she not been trundled off to the love guillotine.” > http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/opinion/sunday/dowd-marry-first-then- > cheat.html?hp&rref=opinion I was in understanding that the word, ‘fillet’ simply means “a piece of meat or fish without bones” as Cambridge English Dictionary defines. I checked other dictionaries: OED defines it as; n. a fleshy boneless piece of meat from near the loins or the ribs of an animal. vt.: cut (fish or meat) into boneless strips. Merriam-Webster defines it as noun: 1.a fleshy boneless piece of meat from near the loins or the ribs of an animal: 2.a band or ribbon worn round the head, especially for binding the hair. verb: to cut into fillets. None of the above quoted definitions seems to be applicable to the sentence, “Stephen Colbert filleted Hollande’s shenanigans on his show.” Though I’m assuming that ‘fillet’ is used in the meaning of “criticize” or “ridicule” from the context, I’m not sure. What does it mean? Is ‘fillet’ commonly used in such a way as a verb to mean anything other than a part of meat?


title: Something or other vs something or another?

text: Which of these two sentences would be correct?   1. I recall that he was out looking for something or another.   2. I recall that he was out looking for something or other. Basically, should I use "something or another" or "something or other"? Also, as an aside, should the question mark at the end of my previous sentence go inside the quotation marks or is it correct as it is?


title: What is the origin and earliest recorded usage of 'cock-up'

text: In informal British English, the expression 'cock-up' (c.f. the US English 'fuck-up') is used to indicate an error or problem in a situation. What is the origin of this expression and its etymology? Does anyone know of its use prior to the 1960s?


title: Are there names for consonant-shifts when suffixes are added?

text: I saw a spelling mistake on an SO question: _submittion_. That got me wondering, is there a name for the shift of _‑mit‑_ to _‑miss‑_ in _submission, permission, admission_ and so on? Are there other patterns like this in English words? (Not simple stuff like dropping an _e_ for _confuse/confusion_ ) and if so, are these patterns related to the language we took the word from?


title: Which ordinal indicator, if any, should be used on symbolic math variables?

text: Consider:   * “the _n_ -th root of _x_ ,” (or _n_ th)   * “the _a_ -th derivative of _b_ ,” (or _a_ th) and even more troublesome:   * “the _ϑ_ -th something…” (or _ϑ_ th… thetath?) Is there a rule for which ordinal indicator to use on a name, or symbolic variable? I have seen “n-th” used in various places, with or without hyphen, superscripted or not, but I cannot say the same for other variable names or letters. Is “-th” the preferred indicator for unknown quantities? Is it even acceptable to use one, or should the sentence be rephrased into “the something of order ϑ” whenever possible?


title: "Odin’s tears will drown the world of men on the day" — what does this sentence mean?

text: Here is the passage: > The skies will burst open and Odin’s tears will drown the world of men on > the day when JaVale McGee’s body syncs up naturally with his team on the > basketball court. > > Until that day, however, we’re going to sit back and enjoy living on a > planet where professional basketball players like McGee are free to flail. By the way, I know nothing about Odin.


title: Past tense of "backup"

text: Which is the past tense of _backup_?   1. backuped   2. backup-ed   3. backed up   4. backed-up The context is the following: > Due to the advent of cloud-based storage solutions, the data is **backed > up** in different countries reducing the risk of data-loss even if a tornado > **wipes-out** half of the surface of the Earth.


title: Page range abbreviation "pp.164–71" — a typo or a common shorthand?

text: I have to translate the following sentence into French: > Scrapers and abrasives are used to prepare the surface of a workpiece before > a finish (pp.164–71) is applied. I believe there is a mistake in the page range and think it should be: > pp.164-171 By any chance, is there any rule in English that allows to drop the hundreds of a page number when abbreviating a page range, or is this a mistake, as I do believe?


title: The wild flowers looked like a soft orange blanket _______ the desert

text: > The wild flowers looked like a soft orange blanket **___ __ ___ __** the > desert.   >  `A`. covering   >  `B`. covered   >  `C`. cover   >  `D`. to cover I chose `C`. I thought that 'looked' is a past participle and 'cover' would be the predicate. Why is 'looked like' the main verb and not a past participle?


title: "Combination" versus "Amalgamation"

text: I'm looking for the key differences between `combination` and `amalgamation`. The differences between their verb forms (`combine` and `amalgamate`) is just as acceptable to me. > **Combination:** the act or an instance of combining; the process of being > combined; (a more specific sub-definition:) the state of being joined or > united in such a way > > **Amalgamation:** the action, process, or result of combining or uniting These two, denotatively at least, seem very similar; are there any glaring differences that I'm unaware of? I'm looking for something that captures that `unity` and `harmony` of the combination's/amalgamation's end result, if that helps.


title: Is there a word, preferably a verb, that means to exaggerate a point, or idea, to the detriment of the point?

text: It seems that if such a word exists it would be rather useful. Often, whether listening to to certain people or talking with friends, I feel that certain ideas are willingly exaggerated for a certain effect--perhaps to elicit a "wow" response. But instead I am left feeling as though the deliberate exaggeration of the point was exactly what turned me off.


title: How do you pronounce ¹⁄₁₂?

text: Could you let me know how to pronounce “1/12” properly ?


title: Is "kekeke" considered an English word?

text: "kekeke" is somewhat of an alternative to "hehehe" or "huehuehue". From Urban Dictionary: > This is an onomatopoeia for laughter. Its origin is the Korean onomatopoeia > ㅋㅋㅋ, in which ㅋ stands for the "k" sound, like in raspy, stifled laughter. This obviously means it isn't English in origin but the question I have is whether it would be considered an English word when used in sentences like the following: > ATTACK THE BASE! KEKEKE! > > OMG ZERGRUSH kekeke Since it is an onomatopoeia, it "translates" perfectly into English. We can make the same sound and the connotation of such laughter carries over into English speaking cultures. Does this mean it is considered a valid English word? The simple question: What is "kekeke" with regards to the English language?


title: Where is the stress in the word "commenting"?

text: Where is the stress placed in the word _commenting_? Is it on the first or the second syllable? How do you pronounce it?


title: Is it bad to combine "only" and "several"?

text: It seems awkward to say "only several", such as "it is only several blocks away". I could use "only a few", which is non-awkward but seems to imply a smaller number. (the actual number of blocks is about 8) Is "only several" ok, or would you look for something else in such a case?


title: example vs. exemplary

text: I am not a native speaker. Looking at the dictionary both sentences could be correct. I think in the below example "example feature" is the right choice. >   1. These two **example** features are both optional. >   2. These two **exemplary** features are both optional. > What is correct word?


title: Single word for 'circulation of documents'

text: There is a kind of technical/accounting term in Russian: _документооборот_ or _делопроизводство_. It describes the set of actions and processes for the purpose of formal document management in a large organization. For example, documents should be reviewed, approved, tagged, properly structured, have mandatory references, etc. Dictionary suggests to use "documents circulation", but I'm afraid that's not what I want. I expect there to be another word (or combination) I can use. Would you suggest any?


title: What is the difference between "building" and "making"?

text: I was just thinking about this — couldn't I say "I'm making a salad" _or_ "I'm building a salad"? (Though that does sound a little strange, I'm sure there are people who say that.) It might not be appropriate to say "I am making a bank in the Downtown area," instead of "I am building a bank in the Downtown area." Is there a rule at all for these two verbs?


title: What is the difference between a "ghetto" and a "slum"?

text: What is the difference between a _ghetto_ and a _slum_?


title: What is “rating oblivion” of TV shows?

text: *Today’s New York Times reported that Cable news channel, Current TV fired its star anchorman, Keith Olbermann as follows; “Current said on Friday afternoon that it had fired Mr. Olbermann — one of the nation’s most prominent progressive speakers — just a year into his five-year, $50 million contract. It was the culmination of months of murky disputes between Mr. Olbermann and the channel that he was supposed to save from the throes of _ratings oblivion_.” Though my professional background was advertising (long, long ago), I heard the word, “ _ratings oblivion_ ” for the first time. Does it mean “declining viewing rate,” or “rise of oblivion rate” of the show? Why is it “ratings oblivion,” not “oblivion rate (or ratings)? Is it a new advertising jargon?


title: Does the word "wizardry" have negative connotations?

text: The Free Dictionary defines wizardry as >   1. The art, skill, or practice of a wizard; sorcery. > The first part certainly sounds positive, but then the word sorcery is cited as a synonym. This word has the definition > Use of supernatural power over others through the assistance of spirits; > witchcraft. Ouch! Further, definition 2 of "wizardry" also sounds positive and exactly in line with what I'd like to express: > 2. > > a. A power or effect that appears magical by its capacity to transform: > computer wizardry. > > b. Great ability or adroitness in a pursuit: a pianist gifted with technical > wizardry. The word "sorcery" really seems like the odd man out in the context of a definition of "wizardry". So can the latter safely be used as a compliment?


title: Is "payless" synonym of "free"?

text: Does "payless" mean "for zero price", and "free" (as in beer)? I searched the dictionaries but could not find the word. I also wonder whether "cost-free" means the same.


title: Is it 'a usual' or 'an usual'? Why?

text: is it 'a usual' or 'an usual'? 'A usual' sounds more correct in my head ('Today was a usual day.') than 'an usual', but _u_ is a vowel. Which one is correct and why?


title: What is the meaning of "one of those shilling in the slot affairs"?

text: In _A Taste Of Honey_ by Shelagh Delaney I found this: > (She wanders around the room searching for fire.) "Where!" she says. She can > never see anything till she falls over it. Now where's it got to? I know I > saw it here somewhere . . . **one of those shilling in the slot affairs** ; > the landlady pointed it out to me as part of the furniture and fittings. Is it a metaphor? Does it just mean that it is something that costs money or is there a special meaning? On the Internet I could find different variations where instead of word _shilling_ were used _coins_ , _penny_ , _nickle_. Another example from the Internet: > This park stretches over 1,000sqkm from Torquay to Princetown and boasts > numerous picnic and barbeque spots. Some are **coin-in-the-slot affairs** , > others are push button and free of charge, while still others are the old- > fashioned kind: strictly BYO fuel.


title: Usage of the term "second cousin" in a formal setting

text: I am trying to write an engraving message for a Christening gift. I have been asked to be a Godfather of my cousin's son. I ideally want to put "from your Godfather and second cousin" in the message, because my name is Jamie and the other Godfather is also called Jamie. I am having an issue working out which way around to put _second cousin_ and _Godfather_. I want to put it grammatically correct. So far I have this: > Oliver on your Christening, with love from Godfather and second cousin Jamie


title: Should a comma be here or not?

text: > In that eternal moment it sounded like thunder, reminding him that today > time isn't on his side. versus > In that eternal moment it sounded like thunder, reminding him that today, > time isn't on his side. From what I understand and believe to be right, the comma isn't supposed to be there. The problem is that without the comma it's difficult to parse and during the first time of reading, the word "time" seems misplaced. Can I place the comma there and still be grammatical or should I rather not and let the reader parse the sentence without any help?


title: How often is "more often than not"?

text: A person, supposedly a native speaker of English, assured me that > I would say "often" means roughly 50-60% of the time, whereas "more often > than not" means 75-95% of the time, and is closer in meaning to "almost > always." Is that really so? It doesn't seem logical (but then, language rarely is). I do not trust the dictionary I usually use, and I'd like to get an opinion of native speakers who at the same time studied English in a university. If it is indeed the case, is it the same with "more rarely than not" and "rarely"? How productive is this model exactly?


title: He looks younger than his age

text: He looks younger than his age. How does one say a guy looks younger than his actual age?


title: "A and B both are" vs. "A and B are both" vs. "Both A and B are" vs. "Both of A and B are"?

text: >   1. A and B both are very good; > >   2. A and B are both very good. > >   3. Both A and B are very good. > >   4. Both of A and B are very good. > > Are there subtle differences between the four sentences above?


title: Why do we say “in” a movie but “on” a TV show?

text: When referring to a television program, my experience tells me that it is proper to use “on” whether I’m referring to an actor **on** the show or events **on** the show or anything. > Did you see Matt Damon **on** Saturday Night Live? The sketches **on** that > show are funny. With films, on the other hand, I always hear people using “in” for the same purposes. > Did you see Matt Damon **in** Good Will Hunting? The scenes **in** that film > are powerful. It could just be a trend that caught on in either case, but I’d love to know if there’s a definite explanation for this use of these prepositions or if there has been any scholarly work on the topic.


title: Should simple present "get" be used here, and why?

text: Here is the sentence: > You're looking for Bob. Nobody is sure where he is but you get some > suggestions. Why is _get_ used? I think it should be _got_ or _are getting_. Please explain if that's right. Update: This is from Murphy's "English Grammar in use". This text appears above a box where a person is asking where Bob is and people are replying with suggestions where he may be.


title: "The best and brigthest is..." or "the best and the brightest are..."?

text: I asked a question on another StackExchange site, and used "the best and brightest..." as a singular "noun"/expression. However, one of the people that commented used "the best and the brightest..." as a plural, and with two "the" articles. Who is right?


title: For to ask if this title is grammatical

text: Being in a country where Spanish is spoken natively, when folks speak English, I often hear them using phrases of the form " _for_ [infinitive]" (e.g., " _for to ask_ "). It strikes me – somewhat hesitatingly – as ungrammatical and as being rooted in a literal translation of the " _para_ [infinitive]" form in Spanish. But at the same time, the form has a certain familiarity to it in English. (Perhaps this is simply because I've heard this mistake so often that I'm starting to habituate to it.) To indicate purpose in this manner, the more common forms in English would be either infinitive (" _to ask_ "), or _for_ \+ gerund (" _for asking_ "). For those folks who are learning English and are interested in feedback, I would generally guide them away from using " _for_ [infinitive]" and towards these two forms. And yet I've occasionally seen the " _for_ [infinitive]" form used by folks who seem quite competent in their English (just noticed it here, which prompted me to ask the question). Thus this question is _for to ask_ : is such usage grammatical or not?


title: Has anyone here ever used the word "professionality"? (Or is it even a word?)

text: I've heard the owner of our school say the word twice. Urban Dictionary even has a definition for it: Professionality: The art of maintaining a professional appearance and attitude while projecting a tremendous amount of personality. e.g. Jason has the professionality to meet with clients and still be the life of the office. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=professionality An academic from the University of Leeds has even used the term in a journal article: Evans, Linda (2008) Professionalism, professionality and the development of education professionals. British Journal of Educational Studies, 56 (1). pp. 20-38. Yet, the word isn't entered in any of the major dictionaries. What do you think about this word? Do you ever use it? Do many people use it?


title: Word for "not able to be escaped from by struggling"

text: What is the word that means "not able to be escaped from by struggling"? I heard it many years ago and have forgotten it due to advancing age and mis- spent youth.


title: Use of "when about" as colloquial alternative to "approximately when"

text: If I wanted to ask someone approximately when they would be doing something, for example arriving, I could use > **Approximately when** do you think you could do that? Would the following be a correct and acceptable colloquial alternative? > **When about** do you think you could do that?


title: What is the term used for people who drive slow?

text: I always heard terms like _bikers_ , _racers_ , _car racers_ , which are specially used for the people who drives fast. But what do we call people who drive slow, or at normal speed, or very slow (for “senior citizens” who drive really slow)? _Drivers_ cannot be use particularly for these as it denotes everybody. So is there any particular term for these people?


title: What does this "some" mean?

text: **some** dozens what does this "some" mean? Please back up your answer.


title: One word to call people that attach their feelings to a concept

text: Is there a way to express in one word when people attach their personal feelings to a concept or an idea and then become very vehement at defending it because they consider it personal criticism. As they inject their own semantics and attribute whatever they want to the word. so if you criticize the label or what you think the label refers to, you criticize **their instance** of the label. In some way they become emotionally attached to the concept but how to say it in one word ? Object Oriented Programming is a good example of concept (is it even one ?) where people attach their feelings to it and then feel personally attacked when criticism arises.


title: What is the meaning of "tëuk" in this sentence, and "wizzle" in this other one? (might be Middle English?)

text: I'm reading T.H. White's _The Sword in the Stone_ to my daughter, and mostly I can find explanations for the historical lexicon (fewmets and corkindrills and so on), mainly relying on this rather useful site. But these ones stumped me, and the internet: "Tëuk" in this sentence: > "Us be'nt no common urchin" quavered the poor creature staying curled up > tight as ever. "Us wor a tëuk when little by one of them there gentry, like, > as it might be from the mother's breast" I'm guessing it's "taken", just from the context. Is the hedgehog speaking a Yorkshire dialect? I read it in my best broad Yorkshire. And "wizzle" in this: > If you are feeling desparate, a badger is a good thing to be. A relation of > the bears, otters and wizzles, you are the nearest thing left to a bear in > England. BTW I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in English, historical fantasy, where J.K.Rowling got her ideas from, and creative anachronisms.


title: Which is correct, "cill" or "sill"?

text: When I was an architectural technician, I used the spelling **cill** (e.g. _window cill_ ). I knew of one architect who used **sill** and stated that this was the older and more correct form.   My Concise Oxford Dictionary gives both but is weighted more towards `sill`.   Which version is the more accepted?


title: When a person is completely entranced by the monotony of - for example - a road

text: I remember reading about a psychological effect that can happen to - for example - drivers, when they are driving on a monotonous road, where they are completely entranced by the monotony of that road. This most often happens at night, because it makes drives even more boring. The effect can lead to accidents because the driver is oblivious to what's happening around them. I just can't remember the word. Any ideas?


title: Word or phrase to describe relation beween yourself and a step-parent's ex-spouse?

text: Is there a word or simple phrase to describe the relationship between yourself and a step-parent's ex-spouse? Particularly, I'm seeking to address the case when the ex-spouse is a parent to your step-sibling. Example: Bob’s mother re-married to Alice’s father. How should one appropriately refer to the relation between Bob, and Alice’s mother? I’m trying to find something that’s appropriate for a relationship closer than “Bob’s step-sister’s mother” or “Bob’s step-father’s ex-wife” but not quite so close as to just call her “Bob’s mom”.


title: Meaning of "laughing on one side of the face"

text: These two children were talking, and one boy was assuring the girl that his big ball would fall faster than her ball, which was smaller. When I heard this, I was naturally amused, and laughed. The boy leaned over and whispered (children fashion),"Wait, till I do it, then he'll laugh on the other side of his face." So, what does "laughing on the other side of your face" mean?


title: "I am a legend" vs. "I am legend"

text: Which sentence makes sense, the first or the second? >   1. I am legend. >   2. I am **a** legend. >


title: What is the use/meaning of hedder as an alternate to header

text: I’ve been told that _hedder_ is an acceptable way to refer to a _header_ in journalism, but I can’t find any reference to it being a valid spelling or to whether it has the exact same meaning or might carry something like the distinction between _text_ and _copy_. Any insights are appreciated.


title: What does "Toff's error" mean?

text: "He's invited the wife and I" and other similar sentences are referred to as _Toff's error_. What is, precisely, the meaning of this term?


title: Vast amount of vocabulary in English books

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Are there 20,000 English words in the average adult's vocabulary? English is not my native language, but I use it on a daily basis. I started reading English literature about two years ago. Mostly I read science fiction and fantasy, but also read other books. Once in a while (several times per chapter) I come across words I need to check in a dictionary. That's all good, I keep learning more. But what I'm concerned with is that I bought a dictionary of 55000 English words, and by my experience I encounter words about once per chapter that are not in this dictionary. And that doesn't count slang or words with mixed endings. Just the words in their basic forms as nouns or adjectives or verbs and so forth. What I want to know is whether native English speakers have vocabularies of more than 55000 words or do they struggle as I do? I don't think they have such problems, because when I read books written in my native language, I don't.


title: What does it mean to "sniff at someone?"

text: The book series "The Wheel of Time" frequently talks about characters "sniffing" at someone. Here are a few examples: > “ ‘Poke the meekest dog too often,’ “ Elayne quoted, “ ‘and he will bite.’ > Not that Lan is very meek.” She got a sharp look and a sniff from Nynaeve. Or this one: > Her smile became a grin that made Elayne sniff disapprovingly It doesn't seem natural to think of someone inhaling air through their nose in these situations... So what does it really mean?


title: Is "X is known difficult to implement" correct?

text: Is either of the following correct? > X is known difficult to implement.   >  X is known to be difficult to implement.


title: What does “-bot” of “Obama-bot”, “GOP-bot” mean?

text: I came across the following sentence of the Time magazine’s article (March 22) dealing with the gaffe made by Mitt Romney’s adviser Eric Fehrnstrom who compared the frequent changes of Romney’s rhetric to an Etch A Sketch as follows: > It’s the type of meme that both conservatives and liberals gleefully > participated in, because it’s a much more light-hearted way to make the same > argument about Romney — that he has no “core,” as Rick Santorum would say — > without describing him as some sort of a pink-slip happy Steve Carell or > ruthless preprogrammed _GOP-bot_. I also saw “ _Obama-bots_ ” in the following quote from colesville.patch.com: > Does an extra $40 per paycheck (every two weeks) make a difference to you? > ... _Obama bots_ in the Senate killed the one year extension. The two month > extension was a compromise agreed upon by the Senate GOP, Senate Dems and > approved by Speaker Boehner. I don’t find the entry of _bot_ in English Japanese dictionaries at hand. Cambridge online dictionary defines _bot_ as > a computer program that automatically searches the internet for particular > products, compares their prices, and often gives customers' opinions of > their quality and Oxford Dictionary defines it as >   1. the larva of the botfly, which is an internal parasite of horses. >   2. Australian/NZ informal: a person who persistently borrows or cadges > from others. > However, neither seems to apply to Obama-bots or GOP-bots.   Is _bot_ an abbreviation of a certain word? Is “Proper noun + bot” a new usage? What does it mean?


title: Should you use past tense for a fact that still remains in force?

text: For example what variant is correct?   * He was the man who did that first.   * He is the man who did that first.   * He himself appeared in a film about his life.   * He himself appears in a film about his life.   * He was the strongest man ever when he was alive.   * He is still the strongest man ever even though he is dead.   * He said this in his letters.   * He says this in his letters.   * In this photo he looked healthy.   * In this photo he looks healthy.


title: Whether you need the word 'to' in the sentence - Which place do you want to go to?

text: Which sentence is correct and why?   1. Which do you want to go to?   2. Which do you want to go? I am a native English speaker and was asked this by a Japanese person. I think number 2 is not correct but I don't know the reason why, or if in fact I am actually right. Thanks!


title: "To compensate" or "compensate for"?

text: As I'm no native speaker, I wonder about the usage for _compensate_. I'm writing a title of a paper. Is it: > " _Compensating for X Effects_ " or > " _Compensating X Effects_ " ? In this case I want to express that the methods introduced in the paper decrease/get rid off the "X effects". The second one sounds to me as if the "effects" would get some kind of compensation. Yet, I'm not sure.


title: "To dress less attractive/flashy" to not "make yourself stand out as being more important than someone else"

text: I'm looking for (phrasal) verbs that describe these two actions. Imagine in a music concert, if yor're a guest singer that is invited by the main singer, you're usually going to want to dress less attractive/flashy than the main singer because you don't want to stand out as being more important and draw all the attention to yourself. So is there a verb/phrasal verb that describes "to dress less attractive or make yourself look less attractive", and a verb that describes "to make yourself stand out as being more important than someone else" or "make someone else appear less important/worse than yourself"? I.e. > He is [...] because he doesn't want to [...] the main singer.


title: A soft substance that can be used to seal a seam between a bathtub and a wall

text: I need to go shopping for a certain thing, but do not know a proper English word for it. It is a soft substance usually sold in a tube that can be used to seal a seam between a bathtub and a wall. It becomes harder and watertight soon after it is applied, but remains elastic enough so that it does not crack because of small bathtub movements. How is it called?


title: "Stack" vs. "pile" vs. "heap" of paper

text: What is the difference between _stack_ , _pile_ or _heap_ of something, let it be for example _paper_? CS+IT people might tend to use the word _heap_ , because there is a widely known datastructure by that name. So they might say "heap of papers". On the other hand I've heard "pile of papers", "pile of paper". Additionally Google Translate (I know it's not an authority, yet) suggests using "stack of papers". Are all of them proper but describe different sets/arragement/anything of paper? What are meanings, differences, which are proper? In the Free Dictionary, I find cyclic definitions for _stack_, _pile_, _heap_: > stack → An orderly pile, especially one arranged in layers. See Synonyms at > heap.   >  stacking → To arrange in a stack; pile.   >  pile → A quantity of objects stacked or thrown together in a heap. See > Synonyms at heap.   >  piling → To form a heap or pile.   >  heap → To put or throw in a pile. This makes me even more confused.


title: Separating Clauses in Garden-path Sentences

text: > While Nancy was dressing the baby played in the garden. I'm not sure where the first clause ends! After _baby_ or after _dressing_? Please, suggest some way I can improve that sentence.


title: Relative pronouns and Like doing or Like to do?

text: Hi everyone :) Please help me figure out these two questions below. I'm quite confused about them. > **1.** Choose the best answer: > > The princess was happy during the years **_** she lived with the fairy. > > A. when   >  B. in which   >  C. where   >  D. that I think A is the best choice but the key answer is D. I don't know why because I think in this situation "when" acts as an relative pronoun to express the period of time "she lived with the fairy" that made her happy. > **2.** Choose the one that has the most similar meaning with the initial > sentence > > I don't like anyone to tell me what to do. > > A. I don't like being tell what to do.   >  B. I don't like being told what to do,   >  C. I don't like to be told what to do.   >  D. I don't like to tell what to do. This one, I think both B and C are correct but the key answer is B. So what is the differences here? Thank you for your help. I'd highly appreciate that. =)


title: The obscure "they"

text: Any thoughts regarding the use of the pronoun "they" as a second reference to an inanimate object? For example: "The FAA suspected the batteries posed a danger to the safe operation of the aircraft, so THEY grounded the entire fleet." "They" instead of "it"? Really? I'm hearing this more and more in the news media. I know that people talk this way — I'll even include myself here — but I never expected to hear professional reporters use this construction.


title: How can "[blank] of [blank]" be condensed into one word?

text: Maybe I am not asking this the right way. For example, could " **illusion of pain** " be condensed into one word or by simply using fewer words? This is not to be "pain-illusion." That is too different. (Also, what is this one's name?) Lastly, even though there is only one example, the best answer is a general formula or just the grammar rule(s).


title: Ambiguous use of infinitive after "It's needed"

text: After writing this sentence, I found myself thinking that its meaning may be a little confusing to other people: > It’s needed to make clear some issues regarding absences. I used the phrase _to make clear &c_ to indicate **what** is needed. But every time I read this sentence, it seems like the phrase is being used to indicate purpose: the reason **why** it's needed. Is it easy for native speakers of English to understand this sentence? Additionally, how can one write sentences in a way that avoids kind of situation?


title: "Late to the party" vs. "late for the party"

text: I've heard both versions, usually in similar contexts. Which one is correct or more correct — or more prevalent — in the USA? > He: This deal ends at 7 p.m.   >  She: Sucks, I am late **to** the party.


title: Term for Values that are Separated By Periods

text: Examples: **_12.3.2_** OR **_192.168.15.100_** What would be the right term for the values that are separated by the periods? E.g.: The 2nd _XXX_ of **_192.168.15.100_** = **_168_**. Or the 3rd _XXX_ OF **_12.3.2_** = **_2_**. The idea of the word is similar to **_Compartment_** / ** _Part_** / ** _location_**. Thank you for your valuable inputs.


title: Avoiding "time-controlledly" as an adverb

text: I'm currently translating a web site for scheduling software from German to English. So there are many things that this program can do "time-controlledly" (if I translate literally). But this sounds very wrong to my ears, can this construction be used as an adverb? If not, how can I avoid it? Let me give some specific examples of more-or-less literal translations that I would like to rephrase to make them more idiomatic:   * "You can time-controlledly start and stop programs and services."   * "The program offers many built-in commands such as (X, Y, Z) that can be run time-controlledly and automatically".   * "The program will time-controlledly check your dynamic IP address and send you a mail each time it changed." I have tried to avoid this problem by using nominalized constructions (so that "time-controlled" modifies a noun instead of a verb) and prepositional phrases ("in a time-controlled way"), but all of this looks very non-idiomatic. I'm looking forward to some suggestions on how to deal with this kind of adverb construction in English.


title: Is there no subject in a sentence like "Under the tree is a dog"?

text: I was trying to find out sentences without a subject, only object, and I came across this where the poster gives following sentences as an example > Under the tree **is** a dog.   >  Next to the park **stands** a clock tower.   >  Underneath his jacket **was** his white tucked in t-shirt and jeans.   >  Deep beneath the sea **lies** the mysterious kingdom of Captain Nemo. Aren't the subjects in them: "the tree", "the park", "jacket", and "the sea" respectively?


title: Why does one "stand there like a lemon"?

text: I was standing around like a lemon the other day (meaning, standing doing nothing when I ought to have been a little more active) when it occurred to me to wonder, why does one _stand there like a lemon_? Does anyone know the origin of this term? I know that when you buy a poor-quality car it is said to be a _lemon_. Why does this particular fruit have such negative connotations?


title: Question concerning -ing ending in a sentence.

text: I am trying to understand why there is an -ing ending in amazing when used in a sentence like, "different countries have proven equally amazing". Is it because amaze is a present participle verb or is it functioning as an adjective and the adverb is modifying the adjective? Any help is appreciated.


title: What do you call an object that goes in a "slot"?

text: What do you call something that goes into a slot? "Slot" here would be (according to Wiktionary): > A narrow depression, perforation, or aperture; especially, one for the > reception of a piece fitting or sliding in it. Edit for context: I'm using the concepts in a software program I'm trying to write. In order to help the end users understand the end result, I came up with the physical representation of wooden boxes with an open top, called slots, with corresponding objects to go in these slots on a one-to-one basis. There would be many objects available per slot, but each object would only fit in one slot at a time


title: Unusual verb form: "While the parcels were bringing down and displaying"

text: In Jane Austen's 1815 novel _Emma_ , she writes (Volume 2, Chapter 6): > They went in; and while the sleek, well-tied parcels of 'Men's Beavers' and > 'York Tan' were bringing down and displaying on the counter, he said ... This verb form is peculiar. I would have expected to read that the parcels "were brought down" or "were being brought down". But as written, it looks like the parcels themselves are doing the bringing, rather than having it done to them. What is going on here?


title: Using Multiple Sics in One Quote

text: If a quote is rife with errors, can a single [sic] be used at the end of the quote rather than after each error? She wrote, "Your [sic] making me weigh [sic] to [sic] sleepy." She wrote, "Your making me weigh to sleepy [sic]."


title: Is there an English term for the concept of making grumpy noises like; "bah"?

text: In Swedish there's a word "fnysningar" which means "disaproved sniffs". I'm trying to think of a similar concept in English and I'm reminded of Christmas Carrol and Scrooge McDuck disapprovingly saying: > Bah, humbug! Is there a word for the concept of sounding out disapproval in this manner?


title: What do sales people mean by "don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle?"

text: Who coined this phrase, and what is the meaning behind it?


title: History of "System" in English language

text: When was the word "system" used for the first time in English? What was the usage of the word in that time? (in English) Does it have special meaning in Music? If yes, is the word widely used by Musicians? (I've heard the word was first used in Music for a special meaning).


title: "Enjoyment of" or "enjoyment by"?

text: A job description I am re-writing contains the words "facilitate the enjoyment of all visitors to the gallery." To me this says that the visitors are being enjoyed, not the gallery. Should it actually say "facilitate enjoyment of the gallery by visitors" or alternatively, "facilitate visitors' enjoyment of the gallery"?


title: Is there a word for the practice of fobbing off additional unwanted software on the downloaders of your free product?

text: Free software providers, including such giants as Adobe or Dell, will often try to make the downloaders download more than they are trying to download. Is there a name for this practice?


title: What is the name of the ɔʏ sound?

text: What's the English name of the _oi_ sound written as "eu" and commonly found in Germanic words like Deutschland, and names like Euler and von Neumann?


title: Should I use a comma in written instructions?

text: I'm writing a technical user guide for a piece of software and am not sure whether I should be using a comma or not when giving instructions. Which of the following is correct? > To add a new item click on a 'File' menu and then select 'Add'. OR > To add a new item, click on a 'File' menu and then select 'Add'.


title: Better way of saying "two people have worked on their stories together"

text: What is a better way of saying "two people have worked on their stories together"? Here's an example of a situation in which this phrase would come up: > A witness in a trial is suspected to have "worked on his story together with > the defendant" and therefore, he is likely to be untruthful when answering > questions. In this example, the witness is someone who would not benefit by > lying other than getting the defendant off the hook. Someone like a family > member.


title: Is there a verb meaning "to make similar"?

text: I'm attempting to document a change that will make two things more congruent. I'd like to use a word in this way: > This change [makes similar] the two items. The best I've been able to find by searching is "assimilate"; however, I feel that this word has unpleasant connotations in some cases and could be misconstrued. Is there a better word? For a little more context on this specific situation: I'm making the interfaces of two different software libraries more similar. They're remaining separate libraries, but they do nearly the same thing and are now more similar in their behavior.


title: Difference between "no more used" and "no longer used"

text: You can say _not used any more_ just as readily as _not used any longer_ , but _it is no more used_ seems quite wrong compared to _it is no longer used_. Why?


I've heard something like "young pop" as a synonym for "young man/people". Is it right? How do you spell "pop" in that context?


title: What are the capitalization / italicization rules for Betta fish?

text: I recently edited this question on Pets.SE regarding fish compatability. The original author used mixed capitalization of "Betta" fish, but did not capitalize "neon tetra". The Wikipedia entry on Betta states the following: > There is often much confusion in terminology regarding these fish. Siamese > fighting fish, B. splendens, are frequently sold in the United States simply > as bettas. Fish fanciers are thus often unaware that, as of 2006, there are > around 65 species classified within the genus Betta. A further source of > confusion is that while the generic name Betta is italicized and > capitalized, when used as a common name it is usually not capitalized.[4] Yet, throughout the article and even the citation above, Betta is either lower-case or capitalized and infrequently italicized. I'd like to chalk that up to poor article editing, but ultimately this leaves me confused. How should {Betta / betta / _Betta_ } be presented within the context of the question I linked, and likely standardized for future site questions? I'm asking here, not on Pets Meta, because the language subject matter experts are here.


title: What's the word for a loop that reverts direction after completing its cycle?

text: If I take a set of elements that can be put in an order, for example the numbers 1,2,3,4 what is it called when I visit the elements from the beginning to the end, and invert direction whenever hitting either the end or the beginning? After going from 3 to 4, the next number would be 3 again. This is distinct from a loop where direction is not inverted and the next number after 4 would be 1. At least that's how I see it. The context is programming.


title: Different way to refer to a 'lowercase' letter?

text: I am looking for a different word to refer to 'lowercase' or 'small' letters, but I am unable to find any such word.   * "Large letter �"; this is used by the Unicode standard for non-latin glyphs, and designates the other type "Small letter �"   * "Upper case letter �", which refers to the way pieces of movable type were stored in printshops, along with the designation "Lower case letter �" for others.   * "Capital letter �", similar to how you have a "capital city" or "capital ship"; this does not appear to have any sort of reasonable matching designation for small letters, though.   * "Initial letter �", which refers to the fact that the large letters are used at the beginning of sentences, proper nouns, and for the initial letters of the words in an abbreviation. This too does not appear to have a comparable way to designate small letters. A possibility is that one could refer to a lowercase letter as "Common letter �", which is neatly opposite both the "Capital" and "Initial" designations, however I have not seen this used anywhere, and I wouldn't want to make up my own word if it would confuse a reader. Does anyone know of a designation that is more directly complimentary to "capital" or "initial"?


title: using quotes around survey choices when reporting survey results

text: I am wondering about putting quotes around choices of a survey that are mentioned in survey results. for example would I do this: “Reducing claim overpayments” and “Detecting fraudulent claims” were also rated as top concerns, with 52% and 51% of respondents rating them in the highest concern category. I started to do this but then realized practically every paragraph in my document has something with quotes in it.


title: Is it a poor practice or is it incorrect to create a new paragraph that directly continues from the previous paragraph?

text: I am currently writing a test strategy for my sixth form Computing project. In order to meet the grading criteria I also have to justify my test strategy. I have the following text: > Although isolated, and although in this given scenario it is unlikely, the > invocation of the other subroutines could cause the code that retrieves the > system information to behave differently. There’s no doubt that the system > should be tested for this kind of behaviour using point-and-click testing, > in addition to the unit-testing, but the point here is that using a unit- > test it would be clear that the problem lies with something external and not > with the isolated code used for the unit-test if the test succeeds. > > Also, the client software collects all of the system information required > before sending the collected data back to the server. This can take anywhere > up to 10 seconds which would give somewhat inaccurate results which might be > bothersome if it was important that the data was very accurate. I feel uncomfortable creating a new paragraph here because it is a direct continuation of the previous paragraph. I feel like I should create a new paragraph here because the paragraph is getting quite long.


title: ... As likely to ... as

text: I am a student of English as Second Language. I would like to know which expression I can use to talk about a changeable or variable situation/person. I will try to make myself understood with an example. Mary is laughing out loud now but three minutes later she might start crying. Is it correct to say: "Mary is as likely to laugh as to cry"? Thank you so much for your help.


I'm designing a software to receive requests from users. In my request detail window, I have a field called "Requested By" to store the name of the person who made the request. However, "Requested By" is very hard to use in a message such as: "Do you really want to send an email to the requested by?" I'm looking for a noun to replace "requested by". So, my question is: What do you call someone who makes a request? The requester, the initiator... I have already rejected "Applicant" because in my case the user is not applying; he is requesting.


title: Correct use of tense

text: Can you please confirm which of the following three is correct? >   * I shared some ideas with Jon, which he **agrees is** a good solution for > the problem we are facing. >   * I shared some ideas with Jon, which he **agreed is** a good solution for > the problem we are facing. >   * I shared some ideas with Jon, which he **agreed was** a good solution > for the problem we are facing. > I get confused with which tense to use when something happened in the past that relates to something in the present or future.


title: Dangling -y on made up adjectives

text: Sometimes I adjective my verbs (as opposed to verbing my nouns), making up a new word in the process: > Friday nights are unwindy nights (unwindy night ~= night for unwinding) If I do this, is there any case for "dangling" the y off of the end of the verb like so: > Friday nights are unwind-y nights or is that _more_ confusing?


title: Can the word “personnel” ever be singular?

text: Can _personnel_ be used in reference to a single person? See the example below: > Testing must take place by a qualified personnel other than the requestor.


title: Has "may" become a formal version of "can"?

text: When I went to school I was taught that when asking for something you use "may I (have/do something)". "Can" was used only when asking if you are "physically capable" of something. These days I have a feeling that you can also use "can" where we would formerly use "may". I know the rules on "can/may" hasn't changed formally, but has there been a change in usage of the two? Do schools still teach pupils to ask for things with "may"?


title: Is there a word to describe a person who likes chaos?

text: I am wondering if there is a word to describe a person who likes chaos. By this I mean a few specific things:   1. The person is pleased to hear when chaos is created, or confusion emerges   2. The person will take opportunities to create chaos or confusion   3. The person enjoys taking part in chaotic or disorganized situations. I can't seem to think of a word to describe the type of person who would act in this way. I hope this question is clear. EDIT: Below gbutters sums up nicely: > What I wonder is if there is a word for a generally good-natured person who > just likes some good old-fashioned chaos. It seems like any person that > thrives on chaos would have to have some extra baggage.


title: What's the reason of having prefix "re" in the word "republic"?

text: Does that mean there was an even earlier form of government called "public"?


title: What does "constitute" mean?

text: It seems like the word is used in several different senses in the following excerpt: > I think that’s why I like the work of Michel Foucault, because the subject’s > always **being constituted by** external forces. Some people think that > that’s overly deterministic, that it removes the agency of the individual. > But I don’t really think it removes their agency. I think their actions > **constitute** the structures that shape them. I don’t know if that really > answers your question, but I always look at individual actions **as > constituted by** larger social processes and I think that’s why in my work > the global and the lo- cal are always together and they are not separate > processes. Is the following interpretation correct? being constituted by = being shaped by constitute the structures = create the structures actions as constituted by = actions as shaped by Also, I see the word used a lot in the sociological literature -- Does the word have a special meaning in sociology (or is it a ruse to appear intellectual)?


title: What does "has been loathe to fully distance itself from" mean?

text: The following sentence I read from Huff Post: " _Why Egypt Matters: The Implications Of The Protests_ " gets me quite confused. I've made the key problem boldface. Hope someone can explain to me the position of the Obama administration and what the boldface part means. > The Obama administration -- from Joe Biden, who refused to call Mubarak a > dictator, to Obama himself, who emphasized Egypt's role as an ally \-- **has > been loathe to fully distance itself from Mubarak** , and finds itself in a > difficult position, reports theAtlantic. The original link of the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/29/why-egypt- matters_n_815863.html#s232358&title=Strong_US_Ally


title: How to correctly use the present perfect tense

text: This link states that: > When you use the present perfect tense you have to be talking about a period > of time that you still consider to be going on. For example, if it’s still > morning, you can say, "I’ve shaved this morning." If it is afternoon or > evening, all of a sudden "I’ve shaved this morning" sounds really weird. "I've shaved this morning" sounds more like past perfect, and indication of specific time (in the morning) makes this sentence incorrect. Am I spot it on? Then what is the difference between the construct of past perfect and present perfect and future perfect?


title: Does the interjection "steady on!" mean something to a Brit?

text: More from the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' _Bleak House_. In this particular scene, one character, Sergeant George, is infuriated at another character, Mr. Smallwood, his petty landlord come to turn him out of his place of business; all the while Smallwood is reneging on a past agreement between the two men. The situation quickly escalates and George, a military man, and a man of honor, threatens Mr. Smallwood by leveling a pistol at him, causing Smallwood to cry out "steady on!", and hurriedly retreat from his mission of eviction. So my question is: What does this phrase, "steady on", mean? I got from context that it would cause someone angry to stop what they're doing, but does it mean something more exact outside this particular context? If it does in fact mean something, how do you get from the ambiguous "steady on" to the actual meaning of the phrase -- what's the thinking behind the "steady", for example? And finally, would the phrase be current today?


title: "All The Best" vs "Best of Luck"

text: I heard somewhere that if we wish someone _younger than us_ then say " **Best of luck** " and if we wish someone _older than us_ then say " **All The best** ". I don't know how much of this is true. Will you please describe the difference between the phrases and also which to use under the different contexts?


title: Are there alternative words for 'subcomponent'?

text: I have a situation as follows: > In a score, there are 2 main components - Section A and Section B. > > In each components, there are **subcomponent**. (Example: Section A have 2 > subcomponents - Section 1 and Section 2.) Are there any word(s) alternatives for the word 'subcomponent'?


title: Better expression for "is needed to be highlighted"

text: I want to emphasize A and B. So I wrote: "A and B are needed to be highlighted." I feel it is not natural. What would be better way in written English?


title: Meaning of "to grow a funny bone"

text: What is the meaning of the idiom _to grow a funny bone_? What does _funny bone_ refer to? Googling shows only places where it was mentioned.


title: Pronunciation of  "accept"

text: When I hear people say _I accept_ especially in the U.S., it sounds like they are saying "I except". What is the correct pronunciation?


title: Is "so" really coordinating here?

text: _So_ is known to be one of the coordinating conjunctions of English. So it can introduce an independent sentence or clause. Those are defined as containing a complete thought as opposed to the incomplete thoughts expressed by dependent sentences. I have my doubts as to whether _so_ in the following sentence is really coordinating > I did that so he could come.   * Is the second part considered to be sub- or coordinated or can _so_ be a subordinating conjunction too?   * If it is considered coordinated, doesn't that hurt the anyway suboptimal definition of what subordinate really is? I am asking because to me "So he could come" in this example does by NO means feel independent, neither grammatically nor semantically.


title: What determines whether a sporting event is a game, match, contest, or something else?

text: There are many sports and other events that are contested, but why are some contests called matches, like tennis match, golf match, and soccer match, and some contests called a game, like baseball game and football game? It's not a baseball match, or a tennis game, so is there a rule of English that differentiates a match from a game?.


title: What's the correct way to puncuate "Now, on with the show!"?

text: Title says it all. When I say it, I often pause after now. Not sure if it's correct to have the comma there or not.


title: "An Ewt" to "A Newt"?

text: What is it called when English speakers, over a long period of time, start adding the letter "n" to the beginning of a word by accident, due to use of the article "an"? For instance, I read somewhere that the word "newt" came from people mistaking "an ewt" for "a newt". I remember there is a term for it, but it's not coming to me.


title: Example for "so" as a subordinating conjunction

text: On a webpage called Daily Writing Tips there is a list of 25 subordinating conjunctions including _so_. The example they're giving is this: > “So sure were you of your theory about them, you ignored evidence that you > were wrong.”   * Isn't that an adverb here?   * Isn't the first clause in fact the main clause while the following two are dependent?


title: What are "modal-verbs"?

text: Are they the same as the "verbs-of-being" I was ~~forced to painstakingly memorize~~ taught in Middle School? I.e.   * Be   * Am   * Is   * Are   * Was   * Were   * Being   * Been   * Have   * Has   * Had   * Shall   * Will   * May   * Can   * Might   * Could   * Should   * Would


title: Somebody has posted a link to my profile in twitter. Could you tell me what he wants to say?

text: This guy posted a link to my profile on Twitter, could you tell me what he wants to say? ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/dQGKY.png)


title: -iola as suffix

text: My buddy says things like _cashiola_ instead of _cash_ and calls my _Mikeyola_ instead of _Mikey_. We are both native American English speakers, and my buddy swears other people say this. Is this precendented in common English, or is he just making this up? We have done some googling and we can’t find any words that seem to have this suffix in blogs or anything. _Cashiola_ seems to be a name.


title: Use of "antithetical"

text: > Since the Eastern Jin, parallel prose was used even for minor reports and > notices; in the Tang, it became the **antithetical** form. I'm confused about what this sentence is saying. Is it saying that in the Tang, parallel prose was not used?


title: what's the difference between Transfer, Transport and Transmission as the noun

text: Here are some examples FTP is short for File Transfer Protocol, while TCP is short for Transmission Control Protocol, the layer in which TCP resides is called Transport Layer. What's the difference of them?


title: Should the English word for noodles be ''lamen'' or ''ramen''?

text: The Chinese word for noodles is _lamen_ , or _la-mien_ , and the Japanese also call it _lamen_ , using their hiragana/katana syllaby. So the word is spoken with the _L_ sound in both China and Japan (Taiwan, too), not the _R_ sound. However, modern English spells it and speaks it as _ramen_ and I wonder: was this an editing/spelling mistake made by Japanese or English editors in the 1950s? Ask any Japanese person in Japan and they will tell you it's really _lamen_. Why did English-speaking countries turn it into _ramen_ and is there any way to turn it back to its correct spelling and pronunciation: _lamen_?


title: How to use the term "Inline link"?

text: I am writing a Terms of Service for a website and I am wondering if both of these examples are correct:   " _Inline_ link **to** an image"   " _In-line_ link **of** an image"      _Inline linking (also known as hotlinking, leeching, piggy-backing, direct linking, offsite image grabs)_                 <img src="picture.jpg" />


title: "No A or B" vs. "Neither A nor B"

text: I wrote "No error or issue since 2013". I feel this is natural when I say so. But, in written English, because of the first "No", I wonder the "or" should be changed to "nor". Or, maybe "Neither error nor issue since 2013" will be better. What is better? Thanks in advance!


title: To or For? What's the rule?

text: As an ESL learner I always mess up using prepositions. It’s been especially difficult to understand when to use _to_ or _for_. Are there any rules about this usage?


title: teenage-free - meaning

text: > I would like to dedicate my portions of this book to my wonderful wife, Dawn > Etta Riley. She has been supportive of me in my personal endeavors, and > although some of them don’t pay off, she still supports my efforts of the > ones that do. I love you, Dawn, and look forward to the **teenage-free > years** with you. To our children, too, I would like to dedicate this > effort: Daniel Tomas Walker, Charity Margaret Marie MacIntyre, Michael Peter > Walker, and Simon Peter MacIntyre (just to get their names in print). Could you please explain what the expression teenage-free years means?


title: What does the slang term "Joe Gland" mean?

text: In the 1985 novel Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle I came across the following paragraph: > They took out identification cards. Clybourne glanced at them, but Jenny > thought he looked at them superficially. He was much more interested in the > visitors than in their papers. Doesn’t miss a detail. **Joe Gland** , thinks > he’s irresistible. Then a bit later: > They both act that way. Of course. Not Joe Gland, just a Secret Service > agent doing his job. From the context I understood this "Joe Gland" to mean something of a self- important, maybe vain man attempting to look good in front of a woman, but I wasn't entirely sure (it doesn't really make sense), so I checked in Google, and found very little: facebook profiles, the book itself, a tweet and a forum post; so I thought I'd ask it here. What's a Joe Gland? I suppose it's US slang, popular primarily in the 80s or earlier, or maybe never really widespread. What does it mean, when it was first used, what's its etymology?


title: Fetched later/deferred and gotten now

text: I have two questions.   * Is there a noun for something which should be deferred?   * What would be the opposite for something which should be "fetched later"?


title: What's the origin of the idiom "on the same page"?

text: What is the origin of the idiom _on the same page_? This is the definition of the idiom from Wiktionary: > In broad agreement or sharing a common general understanding or knowledge > (common in office environments). _I want to make sure we're all on the same > page with the game plan for the Acme account._


title: Epiphany and lightbulb

text: Given that "epiphany" derives from "epi-" [on, above, to] and "phainein" [to show] I was wondering if there's any connection between the cartoon representation of an epiphany (a lightbulb over one's head) and the word.


title: The right, concise way to indicate current enrollment in multiple specific master's degree programs

text: EDIT: I originally titled this **"Master of Architecture student" or "Master of Architecture candidate"?** My apologies if the question was unclear, I couldn't think of a better title at the time, I hope this title is clearer. I'm not asking the definition of "candidate" vs. "student". Despite being a less common usage, "candidate" _is_ sometimes used to describe students who are working towards a degree. My question is about achieving the correct formal tone and concision for the context: a business card. A full sentence seems inappropriate in such a context, and I'm hoping to avoid acronyms because they are typically meaningless to those outside the discipline. * * * I'm looking for the right, concise way to indicate current enrollment in multiple specific master's degree program on a business card. I sometimes see " _candidate_ " used for master's students, but it seems much more common for PhD students. Does " _candidate_ " denote something more specific than " _student_ " in this context? Furthermore, if one were enrolled simultaneously in two master's programs, would it be appropriate to combine the two into " _Master of Architecture and City Planning student_ " or " _Master of Architecture and Master of City Planning student_ "?


title: "to enable you to see" or "to enable you see"

text: " _to enable you to see the..._ " " _to enable you see the..._ " Is one more correct than the other? The first sounds more natural to me, but I can find references for both usages.


title: Proper punctuation in abbreviation of Nota Bene

text: Which of the following are "correct" ways to abbreviate Nota Bene?   * N.B. blahblah   * n.b. blahblah   * NB. blahblah   * nb. blahblah   * NB: blahblah   * nb: blahblah   * NB blahblah   * nb blahblah   * (etc.) Authoritative sources would be much appreciated.


title: Dropping the second "the" in sentences: the X and the Y vs. the X and Y

text: Is there any difference between these two examples? > 1. (Both) the Senate and the House of Representatives are legislative > bodies.   >  2. (Both) the Senate and House of Representatives are legislative bodies. Is dropping the second "the" correct form? Do the two examples have the same meaning, making it but a stylistic choice? What about in these two examples: > 3. (Both) the Olympic and the Paralympic Games...   >  4. (Both) the Olympic and Paralympic Games...


title: Is shipping included? (missing modifier, serial comma usage)

text: I'm not sure if there is a clear answer to this. Is the "collect & return delivery cost" included in the $15 fee or is it impossible to tell? Could it be fixed with a serial comma? "All unsuccessful repairs are refunded minus a $15.00 fee for the engineer's time and the collect & return delivery cost."


title: "to not get" vs "not to get"

text: I came across this sentence in an article, "As she speaks of her family, friends and life, it's difficult **_to not get_** that 'feel good' mood." I'm wondering if the following sentence could also mean the same: "As she speaks of her family, friends and life its difficult **_not to get_** that 'feel good' mood." So my question is, does "not to get" and "to not get" mean the same?


title: Adjective meaning "with good visibility?"

text: Example: > There was a bright moon in the sky. If it weren't for the fog, the streets > would have looked incredibly [...]. I can't think of the right adjetive (aside of _clear_ ). Any other suggestions?


title: What expression are these titles alluding to?

text: There are two episode titles from two separate shows that are written similarly:   * From Castle: _The mistress always spanks twice_   * From Doc Martin: _The GP always rings twice_ Episode titles are usually clever plays on words, so I'm assuming the two titles are alluding to a common expression. What expression (or other cultural reference) are the titles making a reference to?


title: How would you call a word that doesn't exist or translate well into another language?

text: I've run into this situation several times, being a native Spanish speaker. There are some words you just can't translate into another language.   Is there a particular word to describe this? I'm not refering to idioms. Also, if its a noun, people tend to use them by surrounding them in quotes. Is this appropiate? Example: > I arrived at around 5 pm and had some _quesadillas_. ## Edit: I also meant to cover words that exist in English, but cannot be translated into another language. Example: > There isn't a word for "drive-thru" in your language.


title: I've finished my studies and currently looking for a job?

text: I'm writing my first CV (resume) before applying for some jobs. Is the following sentence grammatically correct? > I've finished my studies and currently looking for a job


title: should one invert syntax for the verb "do" in a comparison?

text: Which sounds better: When Canadians do initiate conversations, they tend to be more reserved than Americans do. When Canadians do initiate conversations, they tend to be more reserved than do Americans.


title: Where does the phrase "fall into two camps" come from?

text: "People fall into two camps" is a common phrase used to describe two groups of people with opposing or different views. Where does it come from?


title: How did "replace" come to mean "put something in the place of"?

text: Replace has several meanings, but a common one is "to put something in the place of," as in, "After drinking your cola, I replaced it with a beer." The way in which _replace_ , which seems to most obviously mean "to place again," came to be used in this manner is a mystery to me.


title: Wording and Capitalization of Western food

text: I have two questions on the following sentence: > Have you ever been in a foreign country for half year without eating western > food? Q1: Do I need to capitalize **Western** ? Q2: Assume the writer is Asian, and he used "western food". Could you understand the phrase "western food" in the first place? If not, how would a native speaker write it?


title: Percent or per cent

text: How should I choose between writing "percent" and "per cent"? For example: > He sold 42 **percent** of his stock in the company. or > He sold 42 **per cent** of his stock in the company. Are there different styles which I can choose from as long as I'm consistent, or is one of these correct/incorrect in some specific situations?


title: "No, I hadn't." vs "No, I didn't."

text: Which is correct option to the following & Why: Did you have lunch at home yesterday? (1) No, I haven't. (2) No, I hadn't. (3) No, I didn't. (4) No, I don't.


title: i want the solution of spelling problem

text: i want to make a thesis research on the topic of "spelling problems of the students" .Many students have confusion like **_letter \ leter_** ,,,,, **_spealing \ spelling_** ,,,,, **_little \ littel_** ,,,,,, *** slotuion \ solution*** .Is this a fault of teachers or the student's memorization problem? What should the solution?


title: Are there specific rules to build expressions with or without articles?

text: In English, there are lots of expressions built using articles like:   * at the station   * to the cinema   * play the piano   * have breakfast (no article)   * take a bath   * take a shower Are there specific rules or tips to help determine whether or not to use an article before the noun? Or do we always need to depend on a dictionary?


title: It has a meaning vs. it has meaning

text: Sometimes I'm really confused with articles. I'd say 'everything has a meaning' but it seems that for some reason most people tend to say 'everything has meaning' instead. However, I've come across phrases like 'it has a meaning' as well. Hence, I'm not sure which one is more correct. Is it even correct to 'it has a meaning' in any context? And if both versions are correct, what is the difference?


title: "... nor X either" and "... or X either"

text: My question is: are the following sentences acceptable in English? > "I have never had a car, nor a bicycle either" > > "I have never had a car, or a bicycle either" I am not asking what the best structure is (probably "I have never had a car, nor a bicycle" or "I have never had a car, or a bicycle"): just if the two structures above are acceptable. My understanding is that the structure "... nor X either" would add strength to the sentence (at least in a conversation if not on a written document).


title: A word for someone who you feel uncomfortable with

text: I need to find a word for someone who you feel uncomfortable with - like awkward. Someone who you like, but can't really have a normal and comfortable conversation with. Maybe even someone who makes you feel self-conscious, though that's not what I'm really aiming for...


title: Using "strong" for song

text: Can we say "strong song" or should we say "powerful song" ? I want to imply that that it's vocal performance is powerful but then I thought "strong" is for describing something physical not a song maybe.


title: After this "as", are there any words omitted?

text: > “He is still out there somewhere, perhaps looking for another body to share… > not being truly alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die; he > shows just as little mercy to his followers **as** his enemies.” (Harry > Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) I’ve been told three ways seeing **as** : (1) After ‘as’, ‘ _he shows to_ ’ is omitted, (2) ‘ _to_ ’ is omitted, (3) nothing is omitted. And now I’m very confused about how to read the _as_. Is ‘as’ a conjunction or a preposition; is there any omission after it or not?


title: A title or descriptive phrase for someone who likes to share

text: I'm building a mobile app that has a series of achievements that may be awarded based on the users interaction. The app itself is an easter egg hunt. One of the achievements is for sharing (via Facebook, Twitter, SMS etc). What would be a good title or badge for someone who often shares or attempts to persuade friends to join them? An example of a different achievement: "Night Owl" - 10 Eggs collected between the hours of 9pm and 4am.


title: How to differate between different event types

text: I am trying to translate a part of a web application and I am unsure which describes the situation precisely. The context is theatre.   1. event: for a public audience a performance of a theatre performance    2. event: only "interal audience" like the actors etc. e.g. used in internal trainings or trips or rehearsal Which words would you use? Currently, I use for the first one Event and would like use this for second one, too. But I think, unique naming is important.


title: What is the best term to designate a member of a sodality?

text: At first I would have thought that a member of a sodality would be identified as a _sodalite_ , but if that usage ever existed, it has been completely erased by the mineral of that name. I'm looking to mirror a usage where a member of a fraternity is a brother, a member of a sorority is a sister, a member of an initiatory order is an initiate, and so on. How can I say "Bob is an X" such that X designates Bob as a member of a sodality?


title: What's the term describing regarding things/animals as humans?

text: I believe there's a special word for it but I can't recall it. What would be a proper name for the phenomenon of regarding inanimate objects (or animals) as humans in terms of properties? E.g. talking about a door that's been hurt or a chair that is sad. Alternatively speaking of dogs smiling or cows taking a coffee break with friends.


title: "Being ran", "being runned" or something else?

text: The past tense of _run_ is _ran_. However, you couldn't say something was being "ran" poorly i.e. the business was ran poorly. However, saying "runned" would be wrong as well. What would be the word to use in this instance: > **The government will be prevented from being _ ___ __ ____ properly**.


title: "However, this book is anything but" meaning

text: What's the structure and meaning of this sentence in the following text: > A friend lent this to me before I headed over to Italy and France this > summer. I was a bit skeptical at first as he's heavily into the technical > aspects of architecture. _However, this book is anything but_.


title: What does the -st word ending mean and is it used in any modern vocabulary?

text: I know there are plenty of words that use the -st ending: wouldst, whilst, unbeknownst, etc. but I'm not really sure what it means to add an -st suffix to a word. What does it mean to add the suffix? How can I tell what words can take the -st suffix? Are there any modern words that can take the suffix and not have people look at me in a strange way?


title: Can I use the word "precipice" to mean "cutting edge"?

text: For example can I say, "Working for Apple in the 1980s, surrounded by innovation, it felt as though I was on the **precipice** of computer technology"? I would like to find a good word here to replace the horribly clichéd _cutting edge_.


title: Meaning of "to fall smack on her overextended haunches"

text: In a tutorial on ballet classes, I came across the following sentence: > Once a star is born, she is given every imaginable opportunity **to fall > smack on her overextended haunches.** I do not understand the meaning of the fragment in bold.


title: "Hard" vs. "hardly"

text: I have always found the pronounced distinction in meaning between "studying hard" and "hardly studying" a bit amusing. What is the origin of the word _hardly_? How is it etymologically connected to the word _hard_?


title: Difference in usage of terms "company" and "firm"

text: In a meaning of officially registered and bounded business unit. Like "Microsoft" or "Apple" or "ZARA" or copy shop round the corner.   In some books on management/entrepreneurship authors use both words interchangeably without understandable logic. Somewhere I heard that "company" is mostly about a smaller _business_ than "firm".   I tried to ask people around me (they are actually not native English- speakers, but more close to them than me - Netherlands) but their proposals sometimes were almost opposing.      In some cases ex. "law firm" it's more like a set phrase, but what could be a general approach?


title: Why do all negating words start with the letter N?

text: Maybe this question is stupid, but I came to wonder: > Why do all negating words start with the letter _n_? This is the case in all languages I know of.


title: Word meaning to interrogate in a "mild" manner?

text: Example: > The police started [...] the little kid. In this case, I think _interrogating_ is a little too severe. I thought of the word _questioning_ but I think this can cause confusion (could mean they are _questioning his motives_ ). Any suggestions?


title: It's so cold that if it rains it'll snow

text: I want a replacement for _rains_ in the above, as it doesn't really make sense since it won't rain, it will snow. I think I could use _precipitates_ but I wouldn't use that in conversation as it seems overly wordy.


title: To lose by theft

text: Is there a specific term for the loss of something by theft, or the non- specific suffering of theft? I am looking for something like "lose" but more specific.


title: Is there a short phrase that expresses sincere thankfulness to someone who takes time to help me?

text: When I want to express my thankfulness to someone who takes time to help me, I would say: > 您辛苦了 in Chinese, or > お疲れ様でした in Japanese. Imprecisely, this means: > You have taken a lot of time and might even have suffered some pain in > fulfilling a certain thing (which is related to me, or even completely for > me). So, you must be tired afterward. (Please accept my sincere thanks.) Is there any short phrase in English expressing this meaning? Google gave me a translation of "您辛苦了" to English, which is: > You have worked hard. But I don't think this is proper, because to my understanding, this sentence is more a judgment than a way of showing gratitude. I think there might be no similar expression in English, because of cultural differences. But please tell me if there is any.


title: The curious etymology of "pie"

text: The English have been enjoying pies for centuries. But where does their name come from? For such an apparently humble word, _pie_ has a mysterious etymology. > **pie** pastry c.1300, from M.L. pie "meat or fish enclosed in pastry," > perhaps related to M.L. _pia_ "pie, pastry," also possibly connected with > _pica_ "magpie" (see pie (2)) on notion of the bird's habit of collecting > miscellaneous objects. Not known outside English, except Gaelic _pighe_ , > which is from English. In the Middle Ages, a pie had many ingredients, a > pastry but one. Fruit pies began to appear c.1600. Figurative sense of > "something easy" is from 1889. Pie-eyed "drunk" is from 1904. Phrase pie in > the sky is 1911, from Joe Hill's Wobbly parody of hymns. Pieman is not > attested earlier than the nursery rhyme "Simple Simon" (c.1820). Pie chart > is from 1922. Seriously, _magpies_?! Is it perhaps related to the flat breads _pitta_ and _pide_ or Slavic _pierogi_? Is there a common PIE origin?


title: Does the word 'melao' have any special meaning when it is used as a name?

text: Yesterday, I told an Indian my English name is 'Melao', he smiled and asked me if there's any special meaning. In fact, I get this name from a song with Latin style -- 'Corazon De Melao', I think it's legibly. So, I wonder if there's any special meaning in English-speaking countries when it is used as a name? Or what's your feeling when you hear a boy with a name 'melao'? Thx in advance.


title: Voice mail text: "Please leave a message after the..."

text: I am wondering: Is "Please leave a message after the signal" American English? You will most often hear "...after the tone" in the UK, I guess.


title: "They don't use either of them" versus "They don't use any of them"?

text: **If** there are only two alternatives, which is more correct, > "They don't use either of them" or > "They don't use any of them"? I am pretty sure than "any" is more correct, but can I use either "either" ?


title: "Right" and "Left" and "Top" and "Bottom"

text: We normally say to my right and to my left. If something is located to my top or bottom how would I say that? Say, I am lying on the floor, **to my right there is a wall** , **to my left there is a desk*** and to my top/bottom? Should we use top and bottom or is there a better way of saying this?


title: What does it mean to 'read the text opposite'?

text: In my English learning book the exercise often reads: > Read the text opposite and answer the questions below. What does the word 'opposite' mean in this sentence?


title: "put away in my pocket" vs. "tucked away in my pocket"

text: > Those things are always put away in my pocket. > > Those things are always tucked away in my pocket. Do these mean the same thing? The first sentence makes me think of the action of putting something away, but the second sentence makes me think that the action has already been done, and those things are already in the pocket.


title: Can 'one' replace an antecedent?

text: Over at Judaism.SE someone asked a question with the title > (1) What is the source for not walking with one's hands behind his back and someone else edited it to read > (2) What is the source for not walking with one's hands behind one's back commenting (in the edit summary) "antecedent-pronoun agreement". Ignore, if you please, the gender-neutrality issue. I'm asking here about the ability of _one_ to serve as a pronoun replacing an antecedent. To me, _one_ cannot replace an antecedent that appears in the text, so it needs to be replaced by a pronoun (like _him_ ) just as a noun or name needs to be. Thus, the original question title was correct. Obviously, to the user who edited this question that's not the case: rather, _one_ is just like any other pronoun in that it can replace an antecedent. In this case, and in fact usually, it replaces only _one_ itself. Which of us is right, according to common practice? according to style guides and grammars? Wikipedia says "Either form is considered to be correct in formal English."