title: What are the possible meanings of 'hub' when it is included in the name of a website?

text: This is the definition of _hub_ : >   1. The central part of a wheel, rotating on or with the axle, and from > which the spokes radiate. > >   2. A place or thing that forms the effective center of an activity, > region, or network. > > https://www.google.com/search?q=hub+definition I was wondering what are the possible meaning of the word when it is included in the name of a website. Because it seems to me that any website can act as a 'hub' (a network/activity site). (One example is GitHub).


title: Usage of the word "denominator"

text: I have heard many historians use the word _denominator_. I know its significance in maths but when and why is the word used in other contexts? And what are its synonyms in those contexts?


title: How to refer to a space/community/website where people can post something and get feedback?

text: I want to create a community site where people can post their poems and get feedback, comments, and critique. I would like to know if there is a (monosyllabic if possible) word that refers to a place/website where you can post something and get feedback (metaphors are OK too). Any suggestions?


title: Is "a lot of" used generally in English, or is it colloquial?

text: I find a lot of people in Holland think 'a lot of' is too colloquial for use in academic work. Is that the case?


title: How do you call an event which is held every 4 years

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  If annual means one year, is there any word for two,three, four.. year ...like Olympic Games or World Cup. Is there a word to describe their periodical characteristic or just simply "every 4 year"? There are words like `Annual`, `Biennial`, `Triennial` (every 1, 2, 3 years) but `Quadennial` seems not to be a valid word.


title: Correct title given to the highest authority of described organization

text: I am wondering what the right title is of the highest authority of the organization that have these specifications:   * It's an organization that was required by the government office to show 1 million of the country's currency from the organization's bank account plus assets (house, vehicles, etc)   * The organization is registered at Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Trade and Industry and Intellectual Property Office As of the moment, the highest authority of the organization has the title "President" where I'm not really sure if it is the right title. I've been thinking that the "President" title is only given to a system of organization where the member elect the person. As far as I know, there is no election in the organization I have described above. I'm actually inclining to "Executive Director" as the right title to be given to the highest authority given to the the organization I have described above, but I am not entirely sure. This is the sole reason why I am asking about this. Can somebody kindly clear what is the appropriate title that is given to the highest authority of such organization I described above? Edit: I would not really say it is a company but more of an organization


title: Why is "victuals" pronounced "vittles"?

text: This doesn't make sense to me. Is it just laziness?


title: a network of engines that enables Vs that enable

text: ABC operates **a network of multilingual job search engines that enables** individuals to find suitable jobs across multiple countries. VS Recruit.net **operates a network of multilingual job search engines that enable** individuals to find suitable jobs across multiple countries.


title: determiner "the" followed by adjective - parts of speech

text: In English, adjectives usually cannot function as noun or pronouns, at least not to the degree it is possible in German where you can do it without thinking. > The old car sucked. The new is better. In English, we'd need a "one" here to make it grammatically correct. Now, in "Game of Thrones" they keep saying the following > By the old gods and the new. Here are my questions:   * Is this old fashioned English?   * Are there more examples like this?   * Is there maybe a rule when such constructions are possible? and finally:   * How is the grammatical analysis of this? What is "new" here? Is it considered a noun? Or is it an adjective with the noun missing?


title: Is "snoot" really a word? Where did it originate?

text: I have seen the word (or term) "snoot" defined as a person who is punctilious about words, grammar, punctuation, pronunciation, and allied linguistic skills. I'm told that snoot is less off-putting than such pejorative terms as grammar nazi, word nerd, syntax snob, or language police. David Foster Wallace called those terms "outright dysphemisms" and defined a snoot as "somebody who knows what dysphemism means and doesn't mind letting you know it." See Wallace, "Tense Present," Harper's, Apr. 2001, at 39.(PDF) But is snoot a real word or a coined term, and if the latter, how was it coined?


title: Use of "should have" in conditional sentences

text: In _Return of the Soldier_ (1918) I came across what appears to be a conditional sentence: > I never **should have** got this telegram if me and my husband hadn't been > down there last September and told the folks [...] who I was. Why have I never seen conditional sentences formed this way before, and why is it not covered in the relevant Wikipedia article either? What is the grammar behind it?


title: The penny dropped slowly

text: In Germany we have the saying "der Groschen ist gefallen", which exists in the English language, too: > The penny dropped. But there is also a variation for slower thinking, "der Groschen fällt pfennigweise", which would correspond to: > Ten pence drop a penny at a time. Is there any saying like this in English?


title: Abbreviation of "(a)synchronous"

text: How should one go about abbreviating _(a)synchronous_? Is the most correct form _(a)sync._ or _(a)synch._?


title: How to write previous surname when married?

text: What is the correct way of writing previous surname when married? E.g. John Johnson (former Davis) Is it correct to use 'former' or should it be 'previous' or any other word, or just '(Davis)' without any preceding word? Than you.


title: What is a "Web tailer"?

text: Yet another question from Salinger's _Ocean Full of Bowling Balls_. Holden writes to his brother from a camp: > Ask him if he ever read corinthans. Corinthans is in the bible and is very > good and pretty and Web tailer read me some of it. What does "Web tailer" here refer to? Is this a cultural reference, a typo, or a religious concept/post? Full context can be found here Google didn't give much due to the popularity of words "web" and "e-tailer". Google Books search wasn't fruitful either.


title: How to shorten "look at"?

text: I need to find a shortened format (abbreviation) for the words "look at" (to be used when referring people to another website). For example: > Example given → e.g


title: opposite of digital, but not analogue

text: I'm currently writing a security guideline for my company, and I need to make different rules for digital files and documents on paper. I was wondering if there were any good words to mean "on paper". Analogue is obviously not the word. Non-digital seems alright, but it somewhat give too much emphasis to digital files. It makes it seem as if digital is one thing and there's the rest, and that's not the case. I would really appreciate it if you could find the word that would fit just right.


title: How often are tonic syllables incorrectly chosen in English?

text: Understanding its accenting rules (though they've changed to worse very recently), it's quite rare to not know how is a given written word is stressed in Spanish. In French or Italian, the tonic syllable is always the last one, so issues should be infrequent as well (can't assure it though). English has no one of either assets so as a non-native speaker, it seems very likely to me that there are differences between social or regional groups in this regard. Is this true or not really?


title: "And" vs. "or" when specifying a collection

text: If I am looking for one or more of A/B/C, but nothing else, and I want to tell that to somebody, do I say "I am only looking for A, B, _and_ C" or "I am only looking for A, B, _or_ C"? An example with some context: > I would like some definitive information about frumblebumps. I am only > looking for articles, links, _[and | or]_ first-hand accounts. Does the "and" version imply that I am looking for all three and will not accept a partial set? Does the "or" version imply an exclusive or? If "and" is the appropriate word, then how do I differentiate that from the case where I _am_ looking for all three items as a set? If "or" is the appropriate word, then how do I differentiate that from the case where I am looking for exactly one of the items?


title: What is the meaning of "ugg"?

text: What does the word _ugg_ mean? Does it mean _made in China_? Here is an example from a Skype group of my company: > A: ... sesion ...   >  B: misspelling of session -> sesion   >  C: ugg! A is a Chinese, B and C are both native English speakers.


title: Can I use "way how to" to express a method of doing something?

text: I always thought that this phrase is wrong. That I can use either " _the way to_ do something" or " _how to_ do something". However, I find the phrase _way how to_ very often in various places and that puts me in doubt whether this is correct or not. Can you think of a proper usage example or are a lot of people just wrong when they use the phrase?


title: "how the data is accessed" and "how is the data accessed", which one is correct?

text: Of the two sentences “how the data is accessed” and “how is the data accessed”, which one is correct?


title: "Can have" vs. "could have"

text: One often hears primarily people from the UK using the phrase _can have_ in certain past tenses. What exactly is the difference between using _could have_ and _can have_? I used to believe that _can_ turns to _could_ in past tense, but from what I understand there is actually a case where _can have_ is correct usage and has a slightly different meaning from _could have_.


title: Does this type of grammatical construction give an ambiguous meaning?

text: A girl was found in a house belonging to one of two criminals; is it correct to express this in the following way: _The girl was found in one of the criminals' houses_. Does the plural use of 'house' suggest that the criminal in whose house she was found has more than one house? Or is it ambiguous meaning that he could have one or more houses? Another example: _The drugs were found in one of the men's cars._ ? Does the meaning suggest, as in the other example above, that the man in whose car the drugs were found has more than 1 car? Or again, is it ambiguous suggesting that he may or may not have more than 1 car?


title: Phonetically, "lanapeel," what is this word? (marine animal)

text: My fiancée, who speaks what might best be described as a “distinctly rural” dialect of American English (she sounds like she grew up near Larry the Cable Guy), has related stories to me of a marine animal she calls a _lanapeel_ (phonetically, like _banana peel_ ). This is (allegedly) an aggressive and venomous (or otherwise poisonous) fish or fish-like animal sometimes mistaken for a catfish or dogfish, with yellow and white coloring, and which is possibly able to convey itself on land if out of the water. I’ve had no luck finding any of several variant spellings I’ve tried, so I thought perhaps this word might be familiar to someone in this community. What is the word I’m hearing, if not _lanapeel, lanipeel, lanopil_ , or some such related term? Is it perhaps a common mispronunciation of the correct term, whatever that might be?


title: Why does "do you read me" mean "do you hear me"?

text: Why does "Do you read me?" mean "Do you hear me?" This phrase is used (in movies) during radio communication, for example.


title: Not only X but also Y are (is?)

text: At first glance, sentence 1 below seems more correct because there are two subjects. However, something seems more natural about sentence 2. Maybe there is something abbreviated, elliptical, or adverbial in sentence 2. In sentences of this structure, should the verb be singular or plural? >   1. Not only a book, but also a pencil are on the table > >   2. Not only a book, but also a pencil is on the table. > >


title: Difference between “undertone” and “overtone”

text: Is there any meaningful difference between the terms _undertone_ and _overtone_ with regard to an utterance in the sense of an implicit meaning?


title: What is wrong with phrasing like "configure how"?

text: I'm doing some editing and one sentence I'm navigating says "You can configure how the thing appears." (That's a paraphrase.) I think it is wrong because "configure" is a transitive verb and needs a direct object. "How" is not an object. I'm not entirely sure that that's the clearest explanation of why this construction is wrong, however.


title: What is the meaning of the phrase ‘in timely fashion’?

text: > It was very disturbing to learn that Google will not open source Android 3.0 > **in timely fashion**. What is the meaning of _in timely fashion_?


title: Difference between "warrior" and "soldier"

text: Is there any difference in meaning between _warrior_ and _soldier_? Are they totally synonymous?


title: "stay home" vs. "stay at home"

text: Consider the following: > I'll probably stay at home. > > I'll probably stay home. Is the second sentence still grammatically correct? Is there any difference at all?


title: Meaning and origin of "That dog don't hunt"

text: Is _That dog don't hunt_ an American slang expression? What does it mean exactly and where does it originate? If possible, please give some examples.


title: Word for "disqualifier"?

text: Is there a word that would mean "disqualifier" if "disqualifier" were a word? Alternatively, let's say someone presents a list of qualifiers   1. x   2. y   3. z and says you do not qualify if any of them apply to you. I would call these "disqualifiers" but apparently that is not actually a word. What is the right name for them?


title: Pronunciation of "Blessed"

text: Is there any difference in meaning or usage when pronouncing "blessed" with two syllables rather than one syllable? Two: **bles** -id `[blɛsəd]` One: blest `[blɛst]`


title: Alternative to "skin in the game"

text: Is there an alternative idiom with the same meaning as "skin in the game"?


title: What's the difference between "buy up" "buy down" "buy" and "purchase"

text: What's the different between:   * Buy up   * buy down    * purchase    * buy When they're all supposed to mean "to pay money"?


title: Why is American English so wedded to the subjunctive?

text: In the sentence 'She suggested that they go to the cinema' there is no way of telling from the sentence in isolation whether it means that the speaker gave advice on attending a moving picture show, or whether the speaker believed that some people were already in the habit of enjoying cinematographic entertainment. The same is true in relation to an individual when the past tense is used, as in 'She suggested that he went to the cinema.' We depend on context to tell us which meaning is intended. Now, when we come to the third person singular in the present tense, I understand that American English distinguishes between the mandative subjunctive ('She suggested that he go to the cinema') and the indicative ('She suggested that he goes to the cinema') to express the two meanings. Why does American English insist on an inflectional distinction in the third person singular here when it is obliged to rely on context elsewhere?


title: "Unpleasant smile" vs. "unhappy smile"

text: Is an unpleasant smile the same as an unhappy smile? What does an unhappy smile look like? If they're not the same then what does an unpleasant smile look like?


title: Which is larger a "chasm" or a "gulf?"

text: For the meaning: > _figurative_ : a profound difference between people, viewpoints, feelings, > etc. Is a chasm or a gulf generally interpreted as being a larger difference? > **A:** The gulf between rich and poor has grown into a chasm? > > **B:** The difference is not merely a chasm, but a gulf.


title: What is the correct abbreviation of "continued"?

text: Assume that I give my work information in my CV with the date (year) intervals. My last position started this year and is continued at the moment.               Example Co.  ABC Manager    2012 - cont.      How should I abbreviate _continued_ here? Is _cont._ correct?


title: Meaning of "roll"

text: What's the meaning of _rollin_ in this context? > **Ridin** > > They see me **rollin** > > They hatin > > Patrolling they tryin to catch me ridin dirty > > Tryin to catch me ridin dirty > > Tryin to catch me ridin dirty This is from _Ridin'_ by Chamillionaire, featuring Krayzie Bone.


title: Where does the term "three sheets to the wind" originate from?

text: What is the origin of "three sheets to the wind"?


title: Prefix or adjective meaning "one and a half"

text: Is there a prefix or adjective that means "one and a half", as "tri-" or "triple" is for "three"? The exact usage I have is to describe "18" in terms of a dozen. Where I live they've started making 18-egg cartons, and the local grocer was wondering what name to give them in his computerised cash register, hoping for a single word. Even slang, informal or invented term would do if there isn't such a term already.


title: Searching for a literary term for “if this, then I’m a this” statements

text: I’m reading Shakespeare’s _Henry IV (Part 1)_ right now and I’m noticing that Sir John Falstaff has a propensity of saying “If this, then I’m a this” sort of statements. A few examples to clarify: > … An I   >  have not ballads made on you all and sung to filthy   >  tunes, let a cup of sack be my poison > > An I have not   >  forgotten what the inside of a church is made of, I   >  am a peppercorn, a brewer’s horse > > if manhood, good manhood, be   >  not forgot upon the face of the earth, then am I a shotten herring > > If I do not beat thee out of thy   >  kingdom with a dagger of lath, and drive all thy   >  subjects afore thee like a flock of wild-geese,   >  I’ll never wear hair on my face more Is there a particular literary term for these sort of sentences?


title: What is the name for a person who raises turkeys?

text: Some agricultural professions have specific names assigned to them. For example, a person who raises sheep is a shepherd and a person who raises cattle is a rancher. What would a person who raises turkey (or perhaps poultry in general) be called?


title: Simple Past or Past Participle

text: Between 1990 and 2000, the number of people living in the UK had increased from 10 million to 50 million, whereas that in Africa had decreased by 50%. or Between 1990 and 2000, the number of people living in the UK increased from 10 million to 50 million, whereas that in Africa decreased by 50%. (A graph that shows information regarding the world population between 1990 and 2000)


title: Why ride? Over ride or pilot?

text: * Why do you ride a horse and a bike, rather than drive it?   * Why do you pilot a plane, rather than drive it?   * Why do you drive a car, rather than pilot it? You can go for a ride in a car, but only if you're not the one driving it. As you ride a horse, does that mean the horse it really in charge? Follow that logic to riding a bike, does that mean the bike is in charge?


title: Is it acceptable to use "to be" to describe possession?

text: I recently was explaining a couple of Marathi phrases to my friend, and I realized that the language doesn't have the word "to have". We have multiple different ways of expressing posession, but I found a particular one rather interesting: When I want to say "I have a pen", I instead say "My pen is" (literally translated). The moment I translated it, I realized that this construct was pretty interesting. The verb "to be" is rarely seen without any object -- if at all. The phrase "My <something> is" in English sounds a bit poetic to me. I've never heard it being used myself, but it may be something that's fallen into disuse. My question is, is this a valid1 way of expressing possession? Is it OK to use "My pen is" in place of "I have a pen"? A more general question2 is: When is it acceptable to use the verb "to be" without any object? 1\. Poetic license aside 2\. Which may be too broad, so this is a bonus question :)


title: Which definition of "atheism" is the proper usage?

text: This seems to be a creeping problem in that two competing definitions are being used for the term "atheism" that aren't necessarily compatible with one another. One the one hand we have what appears to be the classical definition of "atheism" which describes it as the solid position that there is no God by describing at as the "belief that there is/are no God(s)" **Support** : Stanford On the other hand there are some selected groups (and many atheists that you ask on the internet will tell you) that the term is the "absence or lack of belief in God(s)." **Support** : Wikipedia Which definition is the proper usage? Are these competing definitions untenable and contradictory or can they be inclusively used as the Wikipedia article suggests? What are some of the implications of "lack of belief" definition? Under that definition would babies be atheists? What about animals? Could inanimate objects technically be described as "atheistic?"


title: “waste time" and " pass time"

text: In this sentence, why people say "if reading is to accomplish anything more than passing time, it must be active?" Why isn't "wasting time" a right answer?


title: Time: Move "backwards" or "forwards"

text: Let us pay attention to the terms **back** and **forward** in the quote below. > On the 4th of June they had the drill for independence day. But if you **go > back** further you'd find that around **mid-May** , they were nowhere near > planning the event. But if you **move forward** (to around the **end of > June** ) you should find yourself in shock with the level they've reached. Observe that I refer to **back** as going further into the past and **forward** , into the future. Strangely though, I found some colleagues (teachers in one of the scools I used to work with), using the words differently like this: > This is still September. So let's have our prize-giving around mid-November. > On the other hand, let's **move it forward** to around October. But then > again we don't want the sports event causing any trouble so let's **move it > backward** to early December. I find this very difficult to accept. They even argue that the 10th of a month is after the 5th and thus it's behind. Thus my question: Is this how the terms are used in most countries or is this unacceptable?


title: Why did /x/ change to /f/ in English?

text: As we know, the English language doesn't have the /x/ phoneme anymore (at least in an everyday kind of context*) and the sound seems to have been dropped in many words, such as in _light_ or _eight_. However, consider the following words: _laugh_ , _tough_ , _rough_ and _cough_. It strikes me as very odd that what was once a /x/ would turn into /f/; it seems much more likely to me that it would have shifted to /h/, /ʃ/ or even /g/ — but definitely not to a fricative at the front. My question is: **Has it been attested that /x/ shifted to /f/** in certain situations **? Is there an explanation for this phenomenon?** _laugh_ is _lachen_ in both German and Dutch with a /x/-like sound; _rough_ is _ruig_ in Dutch and _ruuch_ in Swiss German (both with /x/). So there is some relation between /x/ and /f/, but it perplexes me. (On an irrelevant note, I also notice that _shaft_ is _Schacht_ in German, but the whole `ft` vs. `cht` at the end of words seems to be more complicated and possibly independent from the /f/ in the words I mentioned in the second paragraph. There are some Dutch-German pairs where they systematically differ: { _kracht_ , _Kraft_ }, { _lucht_ , _Luft_ }, { _stichting_ , _Stiftung_ }. This is odd, too, but not in the scope of this question — or of this site for that matter.) * * * * disregarding all annoyed teenagers who use "ugh" excessively ;)


title: "be given offters of help" or "be given willingness of help"

text: In this sentence, " a woman is often given more___of help with her broken-down car when she is dressed attractively than when she is dressed less appealingly." The answer is "offers", but why not willingness? Is it because that the "willingness" is not written in a plural form?


title: The correct positioning of a sentence adverb in a sentence

text: >   * Three days? I think that it is not **simply** enough time. > >   * Three days? I think that it is **simply** not enough time > > What rule of grammar informs acceptable _word order_ in this case?


title: An expression that adds little information

text: There is a family of expressions called oxymorons which contain contradicting meanings. What about expressions that add little meaning like "fatally injured"? What are these expressions called?


title: "is to" + verb, "was to" + verb

text: I've got a sentence that I can't quite well understand. My problem in the sentence is the "were to play" part. How does it change the meaning of the sentence? Does it mean that this was an action in the past that had not taken place? The sentence is: > These Jägers were to play a significant role in subsequent events. Another one: > This was the beginning of a civil war between the Whites and the Reds that > was to last for nearly four months. Could someone help me to understand the idea of "am/are/is to" + verb | "was/were to" + verb | (etc..)? Any help would be appreciated! UPDATE: I've found an article on using "is to" + verb and "are to" + verb. Is the explanation right in this article about the usage of this form?


title: Possessive apostrophe for owner of owner of owner of

text: I've read Preferred way to apostrophise in case of dual or multiple ownership by distinct entities and "Nikki's and Alice's X" vs. "Nikki and Alice's X", but my question is a little different. Not sure if the title is correctly chosen or not. So the question is, if something belongs to a person, whose name I don't know for example, then I would say: >   1. It's my uncle's sister's nephew's object >   2. It's my uncle sister nephew's object > I suppose the first one would be correct, but it looks strange. Can anyone point to a rule that specifically states how to deal with the possessive apostrophe in those situations?


title: What's the word for when a word means what it seems like it should mean?

text: I'm not talking about onomatopoeia—I don't mean a word that describes a sound—I mean something along the lines of an aptronym, i.e. a perfect name such as Anthony Camera for a photographer (true story). What is the word for when a word just sounds like exactly what it means? I heard the word for this once, long ago, and have since forgotten it. "Push" and "Pull" might be examples, in that the sounds they form evoke the physical actions denoted.


title: Commas around non-parenthetical name like "The famous playwright, William Shakespeare, was born…"?

text: I commonly see commas used like: "The famous playwright, William Shakespeare, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon." It bothers me, but I'm curious to hear explanations of why this is done, and if it can be considered correct English. Is there any style manual that approves? I would accept "The famous playwright William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon" or "William Shakespeare, the famous playwright, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon". However, when phrased like "The famous playwright, William Shakespeare, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon", I read the name as parenthetical. But that sentence doesn't make a lot of sense with the name removed, as "the famous playwright" looks definite, but is undefined. It suppose it _could_ make sense in a context where the subject is mentioned previously, something like "Once upon a time, there was a well-known dramatist. The famous playwright, William Shakespeare, was born in Stratford- upon-Avon." In that case, the name really is parenthetical. But I've seen commas used this way without such a context, and often, I believe, in the very first sentence of a text.


title: Multiple comparatives of different types: how to choose?

text: I have an eight-month-old daughter. Her experiments in mobility led me to contemplate phrases like > the dirtier and messier, the better. What happens if one (but not both) of the adjectives before the comma is replaced with a word that forms a comparative with "more" rather than the suffix _-er_? For example, replace "messy" with "dangerous." Neither of the following sound quite satisfactory to my ear: > the dirtier and more dangerous, the better   >  the more dirty and dangerous, the better Is one of these actually correct? Is there some other solution that isn't coming to mind?


title: Is there a word for someone who has others do all their work for them?

text: In a way like a slave master. More though like say someone who had robots do all their work and they were never themselves productive and had no drive. If you've read R.U.R. you'll understand the question better. I'm looking for a word with more definition than just lazy. Update 1: It think I may actually go with drone if anything. I think that definition fits what I'm looking for the best. I also liked the definition of the British term layabout that one person mentioned, but I will probably use drone. Thanks for all the help and sorry if I was confusing or unclear. Update 2: I needed this word for use in an essay I was writing which I have now handed in. Thanks for the help guys. No more suggestions needed.


title: in case I won't *

text: A very quick question: Is it correct to say " **In case** I **won't** be able to watch that"? If it's acceptable to say that, what type of sentence is it? **UPDATE** : As a clarification, I want to say "Can you give me that in case I won't be able to have it later". Probably, it's more a supposition than a conditional.


title: What does "rooster tail"(ing) mean?

text: "The Winnebago galumphs across the landscape, scattering cows. It catches a wheel and sprays a rooster tail of red dirt." "catches a wheel"? And "rooster tail"?   1. If "Catches a wheel" means the obvious, what's the proper english term that describes that situation? ie., "A wheel catching"   2. What connotations do the latter line (rooster tail) of concern have? What does "spraying a rooster tail.." mean? What does it imply? Some sort of a pattern?


title: What is the reasoning for the idiom "in and of itself" having the meaning it has?

text: "In and of itself" is a phrase I find myself using all the time. But in and of itself, the phrase "in and of itself" has no meaning. That is, the individual words don't seem to contribute to the whole meaning of the phrase.


title: regarding the meaning of a phrase

text: what is the meaning of the following phrase? _once too often_ like **he did it once too often** Thanks in anticipation.


title: What you call the action of when someone does not do something for you quickly?

text: They give you a lot of excuses for not doing it but never actually say they won't do it.


title: Present, present, and present?

text: > Please **present** your next idea. > > Did you buy her a **present**? > > No vacancies at **present**. Do all the bold words have the same spelling, yet all of them have different meanings based on the context?


title: Period of time, a bit or a while

text: If I want to place my luggage at the hotel for a few hours, how is it best to ask if I can do this? Should I ask the receptionist: "Can I place my luggage here a bit?" or "Can I place my luggage here a while?" Which one is more correct?


title: What is the equivalent of "susceptibility" in medical literature, but to a healthy condition?

text: In medical literature the word `susceptibility` collocates with negative adjectives or nouns -- negative prosody. Likewise, the word `predisposing` factors or state is mostly associated with negative nouns: cancer, disease, and so forth. I want similar words, but for a healthy condition or a healthy phenomenon that _can_ take place in _some_ individuals after acquiring certain infection, let's call this phenomenon `H`. There is individual variation in displaying this healthy phenomenon. so similar to below sentences, but in the context of health rather than disease: > Some individuals are more susceptible to develop H in their stomach. > > Only subjects with a predisposing state will develop the H phenomenon. > > These factors are most likely to be responsible for having the > susceptibility to H in some individuals.


title: "What/When is the best time to call back?"

text: Which is better, and what is the difference? > What is the best time to call back? > > When is the best time to call back?


title: What's your name?

text: My question may not be related with English language. It might be more of correct usage. Which one of the following is correct? _Your name, please?_ or _Your **good** name, please?_ `// as if there is a bad name.`


title: What does "listing" mean?

text: In the following context, what does "listing" mean? I couldn't find its definition online, there were a few suggestions but none of them fit. > There has been considerable external demand to buy into it but this > privilege is currently exclusive to our current shareholders under their > preferred OPTIONs only. On completion of the **listing** , any OPTIONs not > exercised by our shareholders may be allocated to non-shareholders, > institutional investors and investment banks. In reality, this corporation > will ultimately raise more funds by selling its shares to the public prior > to **listing**.


title: Idiom for "very little, compared to real value"?

text: Norwegian has an idiom that means roughly "small change compared to the real cost or value", which would translate literally as "buttons and scraps". Is there a similar idiom in English? Some usage examples translated from Norwegian:   * "We cannot accept that our part of the country would be left with [buttons and scraps] while valuable resources disappear before our eyes" ( _Local politician in a discussion on oil._ )    * "Offered [buttons and scraps] - that's why we're going on strike" ( _Newspaper headline_ )   * "Unless they are in the porn or games business, media companies must accept that their future income from internet content will remain [buttons and scraps]" ( _Newspaper opinion piece_ )  If you are on the buying end the English idiom "for a song" ("I got it for a song") is pretty much the same, but I don't think it can be used in contexts like above. Is there an idiom that can?


title: What does "made it up on the spot" mean?

text: What does the phrase "made it up on the spot" mean?


title: What's the etymology of the word "zilch"?

text: What's the origin of the word "zilch" and how it came to mean nothing?


title: Where should the text in parentheses be placed?

text: In the sentence: > The constant IO::SEEK_CUR assumes that the offset is relative to the current > position (which may be negative). `offset` is meant to be negative, not `current_position`. Is the above sentence correct or is one of the following the correct one: > The constant IO::SEEK_CUR assumes that the offset (which may be negative) is > relative to the current position. or > The constant IO::SEEK_CUR assumes that the offset, which may be negative, is > relative to the current position.


title: Why call them infinite/finite verbs?

text: The _infinite_ , in my understanding, means huge/countless. So in what sense can we call a verb _huge/countless_?


title: Can a semicolon be used to separate questions?

text: >   * Did you see Survivor last night; it was crazy, right? >   * Did you see Survivor last night? It was crazy, right? > Can a semicolon separate questions? Which one is correct?


title: Worshippers of the rising sun

text: I heard the expression in the title once around 10 years ago, when my English teacher defined it to mean "people who worship wealth, success, and the like". I haven't heard anyone else use it anywhere else. And I can't find this anywhere on the Web today. I wonder if my memory of the expression is wrong or I was taught wrongly. Can you throw more light on this expression and its usage, if any?


title: Why do we say "[expletive] ALL" for "nothing"?

text: _Damn all_ , _Bugger all_ , _Sod all_ etc., etc. What does _all_ mean here? How did the expression originate? Was there a single original term (expletive or not) preceding _all_ in this usage? At the risk of overbroadening the question, does the underlying linguistic mechanism that gives rise to this expression generate others that are very similar? And are there close parallels in other languages?


title: What does "granular" mean in computer articles?

text: I have seen a lot of articles in which they use the word _granular_. For example this one : > The site has granular authorization checks for pages and directories. or this one : > Web controls, user controls, and resource access code are all partitioned in > their own assemblies for granular security What does this word mean in computer science ?


title: "1st Prize" or "1st Rank"?

text: I was just updating my CV when I noticed the following lines in the 'Interests and activities' section: > ● 1st Prize for ‘Best Performance’ in State Drama Competition.   >  ● 1st Rank in inter-colleges ‘Antyakshari’ competition. So I have a few questions:   * Can "1st Prize" and "1st Rank" be used interchangeably, or is one more appropriate?   * Are both sentences grammatically correct?   * Can I get some more strong sentences instead of these?    * What is the English word for 'Antyakshari'? (This is just for users understand **Hindi** )


title: expression "to catch a chill"

text: Can the expression "to catch a chill" be used informally today or has it already past its peak in usage? I have seen it mentioned referring to people living in the 19th century.


title: Adjective/noun to describe a small but extremely useful thing

text: I'm looking for an adjective/noun for a thing (e.g computer) that is small/not fully functional compared with other, similar such things, but whose performance is extremely advanced. [Updates] My English may not be good enough to express my idea, but I find @sameyeam's is the best fit for my unclear question. "Pared down and **streamlined** , the thing's great performance has been unleashed by shedding features you don't need." Also helpful: **Streamlined emphasizes efficiency and ease of use** more than specific but powerful functionality. I'm still looking for an noun to describe it. **Peppy** may be a fit, but I need more suggestions.


title: Difference between nation and folk/a people

text: I'm not sure if this questions belongs in the philosophical forum or here, but I'll give it a try anyway: what is the difference between nation and people? Is there an overlapping meaning or do they just happen to coincidentally exist on the same instance? Or is it even an exact synonym? note: I'm not talking about the meaning of nation as country.


title: What is the origin of the rule for omitting the suffix of a hyphenated word?

text: I can't remember where or how, but I was taught that one can/should omit the post-hyphen (suffix?) part of a word if it is being grouped with another hyphenated word with the same post-hypen portion. For example, this sentence: > Is the project low-budget or high-budget? Becomes: > Is the project low- or high-budget? However, I've rarely seen this done by other people, and was wondering if perhaps it's a localized thing. What's the origin of this rule? Is it commonly accepted? Does it have a name?


title: Should pronunciation of the r in "heart" be the same as r in "rabbit", in UK English?

text: My 5 yr old daughter was given a task by her teacher to "find as many things as she can that have the sound r" with examples of rabbit, barrow, and ruler (all r's were underlined in the 3 words). She was criticised by the teacher for answering with the word "heart", because "it's the sound r not the way the word is spelled". This bugs me because I'm not 100% sure whether it's correct! We are in New Zealand, and I have to admit we generally pronounce words like heart and harder as haat and haada. If we were to use (reasonably) strict UK English, would the r be carefully pronounced or can it be essentially silent?


title: Regarding the "i" in "think" vs "bit"

text: This is a phonetics question. I am teaching English as a Second Language. In phonetics, we all know the "i" in "think" is a "short i" sound. Additionally, the "i" in "bit" is a "short i" sound. However, when many of my students pronounce "think", "link", "stink", and so on - they pronounce the "i" in those words in an unnatural fashion (as if they are taking the "i" directly from other "short i" words and putting it into these words). To my ear, and my pronunciation, the "i" in "think" is far different from the "i" in "bit", even if it is short. In the same way, the "i" in "-ing" is different from the "i" in "bit" (or "sit", "grit", "fit", etc.). I believe this has a lot to do with the "n", but I'd like some technical explanation regarding the nuances of the system and how I can explain different pronunciations of a "short i" sound (instead of just having them listen and repeat).


title: Use of the word 'lawmaker' when referring to elected representatives

text: Over the last few years I've noticed more news stories referring to elected representatives as 'lawmaker' rather than Senator, Congressman, Member of Parliament or whatever specific title they might enjoy. I presume that it must be a matter for a local style guide that various organisations habitually use it; I first noticed it with Bloomberg (e.g.), but if you search any major news website, you will probably see examples. In many situations the people being described are more than just lawmakers, they represent a constituency, sit of committees of oversight and similar roles that are at least as important as making laws. In the UK, they are members of Parliament, not just 'lawmakers'. I have taken quite an irrational dislike to the word and I'm looking to make my opinion more rational. Why should 'lawmaker' be used, given that it seems to represent only a part of the responsibilities of the people generally described?


title: Is there an idiom about wasting money and a window?

text: Is there an equivalent to the french idiom > _Jeter l'argent par la fenêtre_ which means throwing money through a window? (I'm not sure about the translation, especially _through_.)


title: "I went into a restaurant, and the waiter..."

text: "We went into a restaurant. And the waiter introduced us to seats upstairs." In this sentence, when the speaker said "the waiter," does it necessarily mean there was only one waiter and he/she showed them the way to upstairs? "We went into a restaurant. And the waiter in black tuxedo with a red necktie introduced us to seats upstairs." Is this sentence, on the other hand, telling the reader that there was either only that waiter alone or several waiters were there but that particular waiter led them to the seats?


title: "Latch onto [something/someone]" for "obtain, get (hold of) [something/someone]" in AE

text: I just rediscovered the colloquial expression "latch on to [something]" online and would like to know the story to its meaning of "obtain, get", which is presented by CD as AE and CE. > http://www.thefreedictionary.com/latch+on > > http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/latch+onto What I wish you could tell is if this idiom is appropriate for any sense of "obtain, get hold of" (i.e. come into possession, get, acquire, procure, find, as through effort or request). Or is it only suitable for specific contexts, and for certain registers but the most formal ones? E.g. He latched onto a fortune in the fur trade. source I latched onto a good book about repairing plumbing. source I have to latch onto a hundred bucks by Friday night. source I don't know where Jane is. Let me try to latch onto her. source She had already latched onto a new job with the Colorado Association of School Executives... source Or they managed only in their memories, from a time when people latched onto a good job and then did everything in their power to keep it. source I, however, latched onto a good little portable typewriter, which I brought with me back to France. source I even latched onto a nice little leather Coach bag which I think is going to be a good Pad carrier. source Meanwhile, the golfing world will have to latch onto a substitute, a fill-in, someone to pack the galleries. source


title: Respectful alternative to "Madam"

text: _Madam_ is the word to call a woman with respect. Of course it has another meaning. Is there another word used to call a woman with respect?


title: Quoting Inexactly

text: How does one quote something inexactly, for example, changing the tense of the sentence a bit. For example, with the quote > _enlarge our thoughts and free them from the tyranny of custom_ I want to instead use > _enlarges our thoughts and frees them from the tyranny of custom_ Is giving an inexact quote okay?


title: "...that ultimately make your life." Or "...that ultimately makes your life." Which one is right?

text: > Life is too short to regret of not “living your dreams” that ultimately “ > **make** your life” Or > Life is too short to regret of not “living your dreams” that ultimately “ > **makes** your life” Which one is right? The whole sentence is, "Life is too short to regret of not 'living your dreams' that ultimately 'make your life'." Please correct where I'm wrong... :) or if it's right? Would be very grateful..


title: Where does "Don't bogart that joint" come from?

text: I've looked on Google for several minutes, but I can't find a plausible reason, nor any immediately useful things to follow up. (I understand _"Don't bogart that joint"_ to mean _"Pass the [cannabis] joint over to me!"_ ). Any explanations as to where it came from?


title: When do we say 'problem' or 'difficulty'; when do we say 'issue'?

text: My car has a funny knocking sound in the engine, so I telephone the garage. What do I say? 'I have a problem with my car'? or 'I have an issue with my car'? My cousin is suffering clinical depression. Is this an 'issue' or an 'illness'? My computer keeps crashing. I call the support people. Do I say my computer has an issue or that it is not working properly? The dinner is burning in the oven. Sorry, dear, there is an issue concerning tonight's meal? Right or wrong? A child is being bullied at school by an older child. Is this a 'pupil relationship issue' or is it 'child abuse'? My neighbour's dog keeps barking and keeps us awake at night, so eventually I go to the neighborhood mediator. Do I tell him there is an 'issue with the dog', or that the 'bloody dog needs shooting'? If there is dog's muck on the recreation ground where children play, is this an 'issue' or a 'disgrace'? The word 'issue' has become ubiquitous, and things that were once 'problems' and 'difficulties', or needed fixing, are now 'issues'. Sooner or later I am going to bawl down the phone at someone who says 'I understand there is an issue with a delivery of a parcel to your address'. Yes, there's an issue alright, it hasn't been delivered! When is a problem a problem, and a fault a fault, a breakdown a breakdown, a failed delivery a failed delivery, and when is it an 'issue'? Your ideas please.


title: A word for showing a bit of anger that you are not satisfied with what is offered?

text: "Thanks for your favor" means that you don't need it, but here actually you would like to take what is being offered but you are not at all satisfied and would like to resign yourself to what is being offered. Please also tell me a word, in the opposite case, that you would not like to take the offer, and show off a bit of anger. A phrase other than - "thanks for your favor, I don't need it".


title: What does "Blast" mean?

text: I'm having trouble understanding this word's meaning. On Google Translate, it means _explosion_ or something like that. But when I see that word in a sentence, there's no relation, at least for me at my current knowledge. For example, what does this sentence say? > In August, Java was blasted as an unsafe plug-in that should only be used... (Source: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/10/19/apple-kicks-java-out-browsers- in-os-x-update/)


title: Is 'of' as in 'drink of' an old usage?

text: > I drank **of** the jar. Is this ' _of_ ' an old usage?   But I can't find the proof for that.


title: A noun adjunct / the possessive case

text: Sometimes it’s possible to use _either_ a noun adjunct _or_ the possessive case. > **the shop door**   >  **the shop’s door** However, in certain phrases it’s not OK to do so. > the _ship’s crew_ (the _ship crew_ is **wrong** ) The questions are:   1. How can one find out what to use in such cases as “the shop(’s) door” when a noun adjunct option and the possessive case option are available?    2. How can one know which option is wrong in order to avoid the construction “ship crew”?   3. Is there a difference in meaning between (a) the shop door (b) the shop’s door?


title: What does "sex sells" mean? (and its origin)

text: The meaning might look obvious but I'm asking in a broader sense. Is it only pertaining to sex in advertising and is it only related to selling products? What is the origin of this phrase? When did it go beyond advertisement industry? Did it gain a broader definition and widespread usage with the increasing popularity of internet?


title: What's the origin of "rob someone blind"?

text: To rob someone blind either means to steal freely from them, or to overcharge them: >   1. Fig. to steal freely from someone. Her maid was robbing her blind. I > don't want them to rob me blind. Keep an eye on them. >   2. Fig. to overcharge someone. You are trying to rob me blind. I won't pay > it! Those auto repair shops can rob you blind if you don't watch out. > How did this idiom come about? The construction of this idiom doesn't seem obvious to me, so was there some history to this idiom, or is it based on a special meaning of "blind"? Also, what does the "blind" refer to, the manner of the robbing, the results, or something else?


title: Plural of table leaf

text: In the context of a table leaf, what is the correct plural term, "table leafs" or "table leaves"?


title: Origins of the south-western Pennsylvania slang word "Yinz"

text: A common slang word used in south western Pennsylvania and the forefront example of of what is commonly known as "Pittsburghese" is the word: ## Yinz Pronounced: > | yinz | Or alternatively it is less commonly used in long form, **Youins** : > | ju ɪnz | To use it in a sentence would be similar to the slang conjugation **Y'all** when addressing or questioning an unnamed or understood group of people informally in a sentence. > Are yinz comin' out to our place before we head to the Steelers game? > > Are y'all coming to the speedway for the NASCAR race? As a native of Pittsburgh, we proudly use this word in conversation despite the seeming confusion and disdain that outsiders seem to have for this word. Two separate friends, one from Boston and one from Brooklyn, both criticize me when I use the word as well as other common regional differences like "this task needs finished..." or "I left the warsh rag by the sink". They say it makes me sound unintelligent and that I should teach myself to lose regional diction for the sake of my career. I was often curious about the origins of the word. With south western PA being an old melting pot of original English/Scotch/Irish settlers, Italian, Polish and Slovak immigrants coming to work in the steel mills, I have heard from Italians that it came from the Polish, while the Polish claim it was from the Italians (I am mostly Italian and Polish by blood so I have both cultures in my family). Others still claim it was a derivation of African-American slang that everybody picked up because all of these different peoples worked closely in the same factories and mills. Is there an official analysis on the origins of this word or is it forever to be a mystery lost in cultural history?


title: Is the connotation of "naughty" always sexual?

text: Does the word "naughty" always have a sexual connotation if it is used between adults? I'd like to use it in a notification-text of a smartphone app, e.g.: `No naughty apps selected`, where it's supposed to refer to things like Angry Birds that you shouldn't play during work/class/etc. It's meant to be playful rather than sexual. Is this usage possible?


title: "Come through with" for "come up with" in AE

text: Does _come through with_ sound like a perfectly acceptable idiomatic alternative to _come up with_? > "He came through with an answer, not immediately, that made so much sense." > – source


title: Terminology for multi-cause changes

text: Is there any terminology or wording to describe the type of fundamental change of a system that is not the result of a single cause, but rather caused by many influences at interplay pushing from several directions that jointly make the status quo unsustainable, reaching a tipping point to force change? So in a way, the opposite of a simple cause and effect relationship in say physics, and more the sort of causation in society or politics.


title: During the "Cold War", did Americans/Westerners call it such?

text: I am old enough to remember the fall of the Soviet Union, but not old enough to have had any interest in world affairs in the times before. Did Americans/Westerners refer to the "Cold War" by that name _during_ the Cold War? Note: I am not asking about the origin of the phrase. I'm sure it was coined long ago. Specifically, it seems odd to refer to the historic event in a present sense, especially since the Cold War was marked by a _lack_ of war-like activity. Saying "the war in Afghanistan" makes sense, because it is happening, and war- like things are taking place. But in the modern context, saying "the Cold War" refers to an era, not an event (or set of events). In short, did people, during the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, or Eighties, commonly refer to the the state of Western-Soviet affairs as the "Cold War"?


title: why is "their" the wrong usage in this sentence?

text: Why is _their_ in the following sentence wrong? > The modern American family differs in many significant ways from their > nineteenth-century counterpart.


title: How is the usage of 'during' as opposed to 'while' explained?

text: "While" is a conjunction and "during" is a preposition, but how is the different usage explained? For example, why can the following not be said: > "While the project I learnt a lot." Obviously, it has to be "During the project..." but why? Preposition plus noun and conjunction plus noun plus verb, or what?


title: Did they "ask" or "pose" a question?

text: I am currently in the process of writing a paper in computer science and I wanted to know if I solved a question _posed_ by those guys or _asked_ by them. > When should I use " _posed a question_ " and when should I use " _asked a > question_ "? In specific, my sentence is currently the following: > [...], thereby answering a question posed by Scientist et al. in the > negative.


title: "Is left untouched" or "was left untouched"

text: Which is correct? > My book was left untouched for so many years. or > My book is left untouched for so many years. Well, until now, that book is really untouched. So does that mean that just because the situation is in present tense, I should use "is left untouched" even though "was left untouched" sounds right to me?


title: What is the English word for the stones used in Indian weighing balance?

text: There are stones of 1 kg, 500 grams, 100 grams, or 50 grams used in weighing balance. What are they called in English? These weighting stones are normally used by vegetable vendors.


title: "not as" versus "less"

text: English speakers seem to prefer "less powerful" over "not as powerful", and "not as big" over "less big". There's at least a ten-to-one ratio in both cases—See this Google Ngram. There also seems to be a trend over time where English is moving from "less" to "not as", but I'm most interested in current usage. Is there a rule for which adjectives we use "less" with, and which we use "not as"?


title: "Poems" or "poetry"

text: Can _poems_ and _poetry_ be used interchangeably, or is that incorrect usage? In normal conversation, they are used as synonyms often.


title: Is "study major subject" correct?

text: Is "study major subject" correct? Accoding to some dictionaries, there are some alternatives to "major": special field (of study), specialty and major. In addition, I'm not sure whether I should use "learn" or "study". For example, in the following sentence, which word in the brackets is correct? > Freshmen must take various classes of general education before {studying OR > learning} their {specialties OR major subjects OR speical fields}


title: Looking for a verb that would be the opposite of smear, from a political/public relations point of view

text: I'm looking for a single word that would mean the opposite of smear. Specifically, I'm looking for it in the context of a verb being an action that an entity has at his disposal. So you might have a dirty snook who has "Smear 4", or the ability to lower someone's public relations rating by 4 points. If you were the victim of a "Smear 4" you would need to hire your own consultant with "Unsmear 4" to get your public relations back to where they were before the smear campaign was run against you. Clearly, "Unsmear" is not a viable term. I've reviewed a number of thesauruses, but nothing really jumps out at me. The closest I've found is either flatter or glorify, but neither convey what I'm looking for. I'm looking for something that evokes images of kissing babies, attending ice cream socials, and other typical PR boosting stuff.


title: Where did the phrase "you're welcome" come from?

text: "You're welcome" as a response to "thank you" makes absolutely no sense. You're welcome to what?


title: Newspaper vocabulary for news positioning

text: I'm looking for a term that In Brazilian Portuguese we call "diagramming", which is used to characterize the work of positioning news in a newspaper, setting image places and text flow of a page. In our case, this is done in Adobe InDesign. The desired use is for a web application of similar behavior, where users will be able to schedule news for different positions and sections of a website.


title: Word for when two people type the same thing at the same time in chat

text: I have the distinct feeling there's a word often used when two people type the same thing at the same time in Internet chat contexts. Not necessarily _exactly_ the same words, but closely related. Maybe I've even come across it myself but forgotten it. All I can think of now is _"Snap!"_ , but that sounds a bit lame in this day and age (who plays cards nowadays, with all these video games?).


title: Why is there a drastic difference in meaning between *amused* and *bemused*?

text: I'm sorry if this is a duplicate, but I have yet to find an exact match by search. Both words use the same root of muse, which as a verb means to lose yourself in thought, ponder, etc. So, clearly _bemuse_ trades upon this usage, with _be_ as an intensifier of a prefix meaning to really be lost in thought, bewildered, nonplussed, etc. Why, then, is _amuse_ to entertain? The _a_ prefix here means at (as derived from the Middle English and Old English). And, if one were _at muse_ , you would think them to be at a state of bewilderment, lost in thought, etc. Or, is this meaning of muse related to the nine goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology who preside over the arts and sciences, and it means that you are at the muses? It just strikes me as strange to mix an Middle English prefix with a Roman concept. I guess it would suffice to say, I'm bemused by this one.


title: What is the opposite of "Boon"?

text: If I grant someone a **Boon** , I am granting them a temporary positive effect. If I were to grant someone a temporary negative effect, what would an adequate word to describe that be? I was initially drawn to **Bane** , as it's another four-letter B-word, with a negative connotation, but I'm not sure if the two terms are inherently equitable. Is this an appropriate usage of Bane? Is there a better word entirely?


title: Origin of burning ears

text: Ive often heard people say: "Your ears are burning." Specifically after someone hearing people talking about him or her. I'm curious what the origin of this is. There's got to be an interesting story behind this one.


title: Do other suffixes exist for locative and directional 'adverbs'? eg here hither hence

text: Years ago from JRR Tolkien's The Silmarillion, I learned the delightful suffixes -ence and -ither in the word meanings:   1. hence: from this nearby place   2. hither: toward this nearby place   3. thence: from that far place   4. thither: toward that far place   5. whence: from the place   6. whither: toward the place Recently, as a joke to use the words, I sent a friend an SMS message: _"Later I'll arrive at your place. I will go hence thither, and return thence hither. Haha"_. Now in creating this question, I realized ... there is at least one more suffix, "-ere":   1. here   2. there   3. where I haven't thought about it as a member of a set of 3 until today, because it's in everyday use. While "-ence" and "-ither" have all but vanished, and so when someone uses them, it makes a spoken or written sentence more interesting. So, do other suffixes exist or is there an essay of discussion about these and related terms somewhere out there? Extra thought: "-at".   1. What   2. That   3. not sure if ever there's been a word starting with H for "nearby", however, everyone knows the idiom "this, that, the other"... so I could suggest "this" instead of "Hhat".


title: How is a person I've affiliated called?

text: What's the right terms to define:   * A person who is an affiliate in a company, who brings to the company other affiliates   * What are the people he affiliated called in relation to him   * What is he called by them E.g. Affiliate, affiliates, referer P.s. the word affiliate is surely related here. I guess it's referring to each person relating to the company. I'm not sure about the inverted relation.


title: English phrases/expressions and their meanings

text: In English we have expressions/phrases that come from the combination of two or more words, conjunctions, etc. These expressions have their own metaphorical meanings, which could be used in specific contexts. Could they also be used in non metaphorical context with their literal meanings or are they strictly tied up to those specific meanings and contexts? To give you a few examples: > _Come down to the line_ (of a race) be closely fought right until the end. > (Oxford dictionary) Could it also mean that someone literally comes down to the line? > _What's up?_ informal 1 what is going on? 2 what is the matter?: what's up > with you? (Oxford dictionary) Could this also mean **what is up** (up in the ceilings for example)? > _Sum up_ 1 one reviewer summed it up as “compelling”: evaluate, assess, > appraise, rate, gauge, judge, deem, adjudge, estimate, form an opinion of. 2 > he summed up his reasons: summarize, make/give a summary of, précis, > outline, give an outline of, recapitulate, review; informal recap.(Oxford > dictionary) Could we say: To **sum up** all the revenue it will become a large sum of money?


title: "Example where" or "example in which"

text: I think both are correct but is that true and what is the difference between them (if there is any)? > This is an example **where** you can see that... > > This is an example **in which** you can see that... or in a question > Can you give an example **where** A is the opposite to B? > > Can you give an example **in which** A is the opposite to B?


title: What's the female equivalent of "suitor"?

text: I'm looking for a word which could satisfy the usage of "suitor", except it would be used to indicate female "suitors": E.g.: > She had a host of suitors eagerly awaiting her favour... Now, I want a word that could fit in this sentence, except it would be about females: > _He_ had a bevy of ?????? eagerly awaiting _his_ favour...


title: Conversion to reported speech with multiple events

text: Which of the following is the correct conversion to reported speech? > Ms. A said: “She gave up on the justice system and on the government. That's > why she committed suicide.” > >   1. Ms. A said that she _had_ given up on the just system and on the > government. That's why **she had committed** suicide. > >   2. Ms. A said that she _had_ given up on the just system and on the > government. That's why **she committed** suicide. > > Doesn't the first conversion makes it confusing as to which action happened first?


title: "True" vs. "right" vs. "correct"

text: I noticed that, in the dictionary, the words _True_ , _Right_ and _Correct_ can have a meaning resembling _accurate_ or _exact_. ODO says: > **True** ( _adj_ ) = accurate or exact.   >  **Right** ( _adj_ ) = true or correct as a fact.   >  **Correct** ( _adj_ )= free from error; in accordance with fact or truth. and I'm writing about allegations made against a politician. I'm considering saying: > _The allegations made against [politician] were **true** (or **correct** or > **right** )_. I would like to know:   1. Is there a difference between those three? Would you imagine that allegations made against the politician are true has a slightly different meaning from allegations made against the politician are right or allegations made against the politician are true? (I have searched in ELU and read the post right vs. correct which doesn't help much to identify the difference particularly in this context).   2. All of those three words have other meanings in the dictionary. For example, right has other meanings like _denoting or worn on the side of a person's body which is toward the east when they are facing north_. If all these three words are essentially the same meaning, is there any reason I should avoid using one word or the other?


title: Meaning of "by appointment to"

text: Yesterday, when I was looking a bit closer on a teabox from Twinings, I noticed the phrase: " **By appointment to her Majesty the Queen**." According to google and my dictionary this phrase means: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/tmqvP.png) Okay, so far so good. My question now is, can this phrase " by appointment to" be used in other contexts as well? I only found is in combination with the British Queen. (It's just that the "to" was a bit confusing to me at first. If this phrase could be used in other contexts, could it only be followed by personal names and nouns?)


title: Etymology for the phrase "Go to hell"

text: I've learned the meaning of "Go to hell" from the dictionary as _"used to express angry rejection of someone or something"_ , I am curious about its etymology. If any body knows, please explain it to me. I have done my part of research by Googling "etymology for go to hell meaning". I got few sites like www.etymonline.com. However,they aren't helpful much.


title: How to name a routine interruption in the work of some system that is deliberately done in order to find some possible weak points in the system?

text: How would you name a routine interruption in the work of some system (let's say a subway or a railroad) that is deliberately done by the workers on a regular basis in order to find some possible weak points in that system that might cause its breakdown? I am sorry for the long title - don't know how to put it shorter. Please, re- phrase and edit it if you feel you know better.


title: Meaning of 'cf.'

text: > it refers to a discrete life form that has properties of mind (i.e. > experience and character, **cf.** sentience)


title: Why does this sentence sound odd?

text: I'm trying to write a tagline for my live blogging service, and this is what I've come up with: > Live blogs that are a breeze to write, a pleasure to read and are actually > updated in real-time. Is that correct grammar or should it be > Live blogs that are a breeze to write, a pleasure to read and actually > updated in real-time. The completions 'a breeze to write' and 'a pleasure to read' both follow '... that are'. So why does 'are actually...' sound better to me? Doesn't that repeat the 'are'?


title: What is the meaning of 'though'?

text: Okay, of course I've used different popular online dictionaries and the translation makes sense in the most cases. Sometimes I find usages of 'though' where I don't get the meaning of the word. An example I've found on twitter > That face, though. [Image of a dog looking weird] The tweet came without any context or conversation. When I translate this example to my native language - german - this makes absolutely no sense. At least for me. So is the above usage some kind of _slang_?   What is the meaning of though in this case? For the completeness an example that makes absolutely sense for me > Though he tried very hard, he failed the course.


title: What is a word for doing something that you don't want to do?

text: I am reading Of Mice and Men, and I am trying to come up with a word that describes how George manages to shoot Lennie at the end of the book. I have come up with _Self Discipline_ , and _Overcoming Weakness_ , but none of those really seem to suffice. Any suggestions would be great!


title: What is the etymology of the word shivereens?

text: Merriam Webster states that shivereens is the synonym of smithereens but there's no mention of the origin of the word.


title: What do “The great whatever this is,” “It can’t double dip if it never comes back up.”mean?

text: The surreal world in the New York Times article depicted by a seasoned editor at Harper’s Magazine who was laid off recently and experiencing bitter world, under the title, ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Unemployment’ was entertaining as well as relevant to me. However I can’t understand phrases, “The great whatever this is,” and “It can’t double dip if it never comes back up.” the writer quoted in the following sentence. Are they 'so called' buzz words? Why do you need to place ‘up’ after ‘never come back’? Can somebody teach me what do these two phrases mean? > Lately it seems people have grown inordinately fond of using the word > surreal to describe circumstances and events that are in fact only new and > confusing. Take for example last week, when I had the misfortune to be laid > off after six mostly satisfactory years from my job at Harper’s Magazine. My > friends and relatives insisted almost in unison that I admit to the > surrealism of falling victim to what another friend has taken to calling > “The Great Whatever This Is,” and which I like to refer to as the “It Can’t > Double Dip if It Never Comes Back Up.”


title: Is the expression "done right" proper grammar?

text: Suppose I have the sentence: "This is a website done right." It sounds wrong, but I cannot find any grammatical rules that confirm my suspicions. Am I just crazy or is that improper grammar?


title: Looking for a grammar book

text: Is there any English grammar book which describe how to talk/write English instead of understand English? For example instead of detailing all situation where "would/will" is used, describing all different way to talk about past (or now, future, etc.) I mean a book which I can refer to to find out all different way to talk about past or how to ask/request politely.


title: What's another name for a circular continuum?

text: A continuum is anything that gradually changes from one thing to another. But I want another word that describes something that changes gradually and whose opposite extremes are actually one and the same. Have you ever seen one of those apple charts that describes the many different varieties of apples from sweet to tart? Here is an example. They call it a spectrum, but a spectrum is not necessarily circular. If the best answer to my question is "circular continuum" or "circular spectrum", so be it. But if anyone can think of a better word or phrase, I'd be interested to hear it.


title: What does "strike home" mean?

text: What does "strike home" mean in this sentence?: "This example ought to strike home for you"


title: Can a non-literary object have a "subtext"?

text: Dictionaries associate--with more or less affirmation--that _subtext_ is "the implicit or metaphorical meaning (as of a literary text)". Can a subtext however apply to meaning conveyed by something other than literature, i.e. through aesthetics?


title: Is it correct to omit number suffix on dates?

text: If I have a date written: **Saturday 16 December** is it correct ? Or does the grammar oblige me to add the number suffix to 16 making 16th as in: **Saturday 16th December** ?


title: When do I use a question mark with "Could you [please] ..."

text: A sentence like > Could you please pass me the pepper shaker is not really a question. Should I use a question mark or a period to end this sentence? What about: > Could you let me know when the meeting begins   >  Could you tell me when the meeting begins   >  Could you let me know if you are attending the meeting   >  ... Any guidance? Is there a general rule?


title: 1970-ish: Is it an accepted word? If so, what does it mean?

text: _Modish_ , _youngish_ , _girlish_ are accepted words. Is _1970-ish_ accepted too, or even understood to be an English word?


title: But you got to make me change my mind. - what usage of "get" is this?

text: I am trying to understand the usage of the "get" in the sentence: > But you got to make me change my mind. I guess it is not "have got".


title: Antonym for the verb “subordinate”

text: I'm looking for some sort of antonym for the word subordinate, to be used in a sentence such as > She [verb] these principles above all others. It's being used in an academic paper, so it shouldn't be too clunky.


title: Is this sentence structure truly awful, or not?

text: I sometimes hear comments on this sort of sentence: > **In some cases,** we find the solutions are actually. . . . The comments are to the effect that one should not to put _In some cases_ at the beginning because a sentence should always lead with the subject, like this: > We find the solutions to some cases are actually. . . . But the first sort of sentence seems to appear everywhere, so does the comment not to use forms like that make any sense?


title: "can you not do it?" means?

text: This sounds like "you cannot do it" to me, but according to the context, I was wondering if this means "cannot you do it?". Which understanding is correct?


title: Is "field field" a correct phrase?

text: In this thread, there's an example based on the dual meaning of the word _field_. field = a specialty   field = an area to be filled Given the above, while still not very intuitively easy to understand, I wonder if it's **correct** to say: _"Have you seen the field field?"_ when referring to a discovery of a text box to be filled out by the actual name of ones professional specialty. **EDIT** I've noticed several replies trying to help me with the reformulation, which I appreciate. However, and I'm to blame for not being clear enough probably, the question is really whether it's correct or just awkward to use _field field_. The reason for this is the following.   * The first _field_ is a string that a user of a computer program inputs elsewhere. It can be used in a range of various context. So, I have no control of it what so ever. Besides, if we change _field_ for _industry_ , it's possible that somewhere in the program, there's a situation where we get _industry industry_ instead of the current _field industry_.   * The second _field_ is called that way per industry standard. When **describing** it to a human being, we can use synonyms and explanations but in the context of computer programming, one's expected to use **the** name even if it may sound awkward. So we get something like " _it fell of a truck truck truck_ " (referring The Simpsons).


title: 'Today afternoon' vs 'Today in the afternoon'?

text: Which adverbial phrase of time is more grammatically correct: 'Today afternoon' or 'Today in the afternoon'?


title: "Easy-to-make-typos" alternative?

text: Is there a good, compact word or phrase that would explain one's ability to make typos? I mean, I'm trying to write something like this: > Now you can use this feature without either non-predictable XML, or **_easy- > to-make-typos_** "magic strings" It regards a fluent API project.


title: Latin-derived verbs

text: Are all Latin-derived English verbs regular? For ex. decide, arrive add -ed in their past forms. Are there any specific rules to follow? To spend is irregular: why? Does it depend on when these verbs entered the English language? Thank you


title: How do we pronounce the acronym CMYK?

text: How does one pronounce the acronym _CMYK_ , in the color model sense. If there is more than one pronunciation, how popular is each of them?


title: "put the idea out of my head" or "pull the idea out of my head"?

text: I want to know, what expression is more correct:   1. "How can I put the idea out of my head?"   2. "How can I pull the idea out of my head?" What I'm trying to say is, "how can I extract the idea from my head and make it a reality?"


title: accent used by the character Christopher Foyle

text: The accent used by the actor Michael Kitchen, who plays Christopher Foyle in the U.K. series Foyle's War, is not one of the standard "stage English" accents we often hear in the U.S. Is this a recognized accent associated with a particular region or social class in the U.K.?


title: What does "being in hell" mean in this title?

text: I read an article titled "Working with Bill Gates Was Like 'Being in Hell,' Allen Says" and I don't understand what "being in hell" means. There are two meanings in my opinion.   1. When he worked with Gates, it was like working in Hell.   2. When he worked with Gates, he worked very hard. What's the real meaning of "being in hell" here?


title: Put your shoes on and Take your coat off

text: I have often heard the following statements when someone talks about shoes, cloths, etc. I don't know which one is more appropriate or grammatically correct. >   1. Hey, put your shoes on. >   2. Hey, put on your shoes. > >   3. Take off your coat, please. > >   4. Take your coat off, please. > Any thoughts? Can we also say "take out your coat"?


title: Another unique way to say "other end of the spectrum"

text: Something like "on the other hand" but unique or with an interesting twist.


title: "As I was to learn was the case with so much in Iran, everybody just turned a blind eye."

text: I came across a sentence while reading a book and couldn't figure out both the meaning and the structure of it at all. The sentence is: "But, as I was to learn was the case with so much in Iran, everybody just turned a blind eye." What's confusing me is the first part, "as I was to learn was the case with so much in Iran." I guess it's the inversion of " With so much the case in Iran as I was to learn." Am I right?


title: The opposite of "crash" for a stock?

text: I'm looking for a single word that describes that action of making a stock price go up by a lot in a short period of time. The opposite would be "crash" which makes the stock price fall by a lot in a short amount of time. **Edit:** I'm going to try to clear this up. I'm not getting confused about for _which_ action I'm looking for a word. I am making a game in which players interact with a virtual stock market. However, there is an "admin" who is in complete and total control of the market, which _does not exist in the real world_ , and I understand this. I do not need words that describe the stock price suddenly rising or falling. I need words that describe the **action of causing** the price to rise or fall. I realize that this does not happen in the real stock market, but it does happen in my game.


title: What preposition goes after “directed”?

text: Is there a comprehensive explanation of which prepositions I should use with _directed_ , and why?   * directed at   * directed to   * directed on   * directed onto   * directed in   * directed into   * directed toward   * directed towards   * ... ? I have found two possible answers, but they look just “partial” in my case:   * Question directed to someone or at someone?   * “Directed at” vs. “directed towards”


title: What is “the quantum politician”  and how does "filled with aluminum powder" apply?

text: There was the following statement in the New York Times’ (March 31) article titled “A Quantum Theory of Mitt Romney” > The recent remark by Mitt Romney’s senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom that Mr. > Romney could change his political views “like an Etch A Sketch” has seemed > an apparent admission by a campaign insider of two widely held suspicions > about Romney: that he is a) utterly devoid of any ideological convictions > and b) _filled with aluminum powder_. > > The imagery may have been unfortunate, but Mr. Fehrnstrom’s impulse to > analogize is understandable. Metaphors like these are the only way the > layman can begin to grasp the strange phantom world that underpins the very > fabric of not only the Romney campaign but also of Mitt Romney in general. > For we have entered _the age of quantum politics_ ; and Mitt Romney is the > first quantum politician. From the phrase _quantum change_ meaning revolutionary change, I guess _quantum politics_ means “rapidly and drastically changing politics”, and _quantum politician_ means “a politician who is adaptive to the quick change of situation, or very quick on the feet.” But I have no idea what Mitt Romney is “filled with aluminum powder” means. What does it mean? Are "quantum politics / politician" and "filled with alminum powder" popular" words or just examples of purple verse?


title: Capitalization of words with dashes in titles

text: How would you capitalize a word in a book/article title when that word has an en dash in the middle of it? For instance, should "protein-protein interaction" be capitalized as "Protein-protein Interaction" or "Protein- Protein Interaction"?


title: A science-verb? Sciencing?

text: Is there a verb to the word _science_? Could you say _sciencing_ (i.e. "in the Process of making/generating science")? Of course there is the word research, which is both a verb and a noun. But in the noun form, "research" and "science" seem to differ a bit if you ask me.


title: Why do 'get' and 'have' work similarly in 'get/have sth done" but differently in 'get sb to do sth' and 'have sb do sth'

text: Why do 'get' and 'have' work similarly in > I got/had my car repaired. but differently – that is are not complemented in the same way although they still mean the same – in > I got someone to repair my car. and > I had someone repair my car.


title: Would the word "dehumidifier" be another word for "heater"?

text: A salesman told me that they do not call heater (not water heater that you use in bathroom but it is the one that warm up the air around) a heater. They call it `dehumidifier`. Anyone kind enough to tell me whether the word `heater` can be called `dehumidifier`?


title: Where can I find a list of common phrases?

text: I'm not so good at english, and I would ask if someone knows a website that lists the most used english ways to say, like for example, "eat the bullet" or "with a grain of salt". I've done some research about it, but the only thing I got is Urban Dictionary, but unfortunately it's not easy to find the phrases; it would be great to have a vocabulary of "ready phrases" (for poor-english people like me:-)


title: Why are they called 'Junkets''

text: Why is definition used to refer to this specific business as shown in the extract below, and what is its literal meaning ? _The island's idiosyncratic “junket” system helps to bring rich Chinese to Macau. Junkets are middlemen who lend high-rollers money, arrange accommodation and are paid around 40% of the casinos' take in return._ junket


title: Is this sentence grammatical and punctuated correctly?

text: Does this sentence need to be broken up by a semi colon, conjuction, or a period? Is there a modifier error here as well? > The peasants were the least free of all people, bound by tradition and > fettered by superstitions.


title: How to say "older" or "oldest" when talking about time?

text: I have several time attributes, like "modification time", "access time", etc. And I want to compare these attributes for some objects: > How to find the object with the [word meaning "oldest"] modification time? Or: > Take the first object that has [word meaning "newer"] access time than > others. What are the words that fill the blanks? **Update:** To clarify the confusion about the way of comparison, I provide an example. Let the first object have the modification time "7:00 1/2/2014", and the second "8:00 1/2/2014". The first object was modified earlier — it has "older" modification time than the second one. The second object was modified later — it has "newer" modification time that the first one.


title: Why is an apostrophe used in the genitive “-’s”?

text: The English possessive isn’t a contraction, but rather a relic of the grammatical case system, so why is an apostrophe used in (most) forms of the possessive?


title: "Against traffic" or "Against the traffic"

text: The following first sentence comes from Wikipedia, which 'the' is not used before 'traffic', while the second one comes from BBC, which has 'the' before 'traffic'. I wonder if both usages are correct or not? If yes, is there a difference between these two sentences with and without 'the'? If no, which one is correct ? >   1. For cycling in particular, collisions at intersections (defined broadly > as "not only the junction of two roadways, but also points where driveways, > sidewalks, or paths meet a roadway, or where sidewalks or paths meet a > driveway") while traveling in the wrong direction **against traffic** has > been determined to be over three times more likely for wrong-way cyclists. > >   2. The van was then spotted joining the M4 at junction 15 (Swindon east), > driving **against the traffic** towards London on the westbound carriageway. > >


title: It's funny that you should say that. Why "say" not "said"?

text: There's an exercise in Murphy's Grammar in use unit 34. "It's funny that you **_should say_** that. I was going to say the same thing." Why not use past tense "said" but "say" here? Another should question. The book says use "I should" to give somebody advice. such as: "It's very cold this morning. I should wear a coat when you go out." Feels a little weird. Is this kind of grammar still used commonly today?


title: "Pardon me French"

text: Even though the phrase _pardon my French_ is used much more often, I do constantly run across _pardon me French_ as well. What's the deal with that? Wikipedia does have an entry on Pardon my French, but it doesn't mention the variant with _me_ at all. Urban Dictionary has entries on both variants, but sure enough it doesn't bother to explain why they coexist. It appears to me that _pardon me French_ must be the original expression, and _pardon my French_ a later variation thereof, since there's no reason why anybody should be willingly tampering with the perfectly fine _my_. Then again, what do I know. So I'm asking you.   1. Which one is the original phrase?   2. Either way, what's up with the _me_ variant? I can't think of any other phrase in contemporary English where _me_ is used to mean _my_ , can you?


title: "Nominator" or "Numerator"?

text: Consider the fraction 3/7. In Mathematics, "7" in the expression is called "denominator" of the fraction. But in the case of "3", some people call it "nominator", and some call it "numerator". Which one is true and more commonly used?


title: I am perplexed by this sentence

text: I want to know which sentence is correct "you take a optimistic view of life" or "you take an optimistic view of life"


title: Singular/plural in "no X since" vs "no Xs since"

text: I commented against an earlier question “No A or B” vs. “Neither A nor B” that in contexts such as _The system has had no **error** since 2013_ native speakers would invariably use the plural **_errors_**. As I see it, the two extremes for singular/plural usage here can be typified by, for example,... > 1a: _I've had no **food** since Monday._   >  1b: _I've had no **friends** since leaving school._ ...where my first thought was we use singular **_food_** because it's a mass noun. I may be wrong, but I'm guessing that's what underpins my increasing aversion to the singular noun forms in... > 2a: _I've had no **trouble** since switching to Linux_ (at this end of the > list, plural seems unlikely to me)   >  2b: _I've had no **difficulty** since switching_   >  2c: _I've had no **problem** since switching_   >  2d: _I've had no **error** since switching_ (at this end, only plural works > for _error, setback, issue,_ etc.) (The example is totally made up - I'm actually having all sorts of problems with Ubuntu Linux! :) * * * But that "mass noun" principle doesn't seem to help when I consider... > 3: _I've had no **boss** since becoming self-employed_ (where I strongly > prefer the singular) What's going on here? Am I wrong about the "mass noun" distinction in the first place? Is there something else involved that makes #3 a special case?


title: Article or no article: "at the price of a higher workload"?

text: The finer points (the infamous 10%?) of when to use indefinite articles still manage to elude me sometimes. Does the article "a" belong in the following sentence or not? > However, [foo] yields [bar] at the price of **a** higher workload for [baz]. Bonus question: Which rule applies here?


title: What's the difference between "regime" and "regimen"

text: The title says it all, really.


title: What's the difference between 'reliant', 'relying' and 'dependent'?

text: I wanted to say that someone's project has some dependencies on my previous work and that project reuses some part of my work. Which word or phrase should I use?


title: For people, can you say "a British" like you can say "an Australian"?

text: According to Wiktionary, you can't use "a British" to refer to individual British people, though you can use it to refer to a race of people as a whole, but you can use "an Australian", and this matches what I already suspect. I can't think of a good Google Ngram query to confirm this. Is this the case? And if so, why is there a difference?


title: Telephone Conversation

text: When you call an acquaintance and she is struggling to recognize you what do native speakers say to make sure that she recognized him? > Person A: Hey, this is Joseph from the math class. > > Person B: hmm[thinking...]. > > Person A: [Trying to emphasize] Did you recognize me? Or Have you recalled > me? What do you guys think is a good of way of asking this?


title: Can I use 'I wish I were there' in this situation?

text: There were workshops a few days ago. I couldn't be there. I'm watching photographs from that time and I'm wondering what I should use. 'I wish I were there' or 'I wish I were be there' or something elese?


title: What does “stand to” mean in the sentence, “China’s Health Ministry stands to profit from the industry’s growth?”

text: I found the following sentence in an archive of the Financial Times articles dated August 29, 2007, which was titled “Chinese? Don’t get ill.” “The problems of the health system are tangled up in the country’s larger policy conflicts. How much of a role should be allowed for the market? The health ministry, which _stands to profit_ from the industry’s growth, is resisting giving too much ground to the private sector.” As I can’t get the exact idea of Chinese Health Ministry “ _stands to profit_ ” from the industry’s growth, I consulted the meaning of “stand to” with several dictionaries; Neither of Cambridge or Merriam-Webster Dictionary registers “stand to” as an idiom though both carry “stand up to stg” as an idiom, Oxford Dictionaries provides the definition of “stand to” as; Military stand ready for an attack, especially one before dawn or after attack. Example: Orders come to the guardsmen to stand to. Sanseido’s Wisdom English Japanese dictionary carries “stand to” as an idiom meaning “stand ready for.” The freedictionary.com defines “stand to” as “to rise to (or maintain) an upright position on the feet. To me, none of the above definitions does seem to comfortably fit to the context of the line, “(Chinese) Health Ministry, stands to profit from the industry’s growth. What meaning does “stand to” have other than “stand ready for” as an idiom? Or it’s not an idiom, it’s simply a verb (stand) ＋to do (profit) - from the industry growth.


title: Why do we use plural when we say "blow someone's brains out"?

text: My simplistic thinking is that each person has one brain, so why do we say "blow someone's brains out"?


title: When to use "verb to be"/"do" in question?

text: When I ask questions like "Are you tried?", "Is he usually come on time?", is it grammatically correct or not? Can I ask "Do you tried?" and "Does he usually come on time?" What rules apply when I ask questions like this?


title: What is the difference of “Has it right” from other affirmative expressions such as “It is right,” “It holds, “and “It makes sense”?

text: When I posted a question about usefulness or “unuseful-ness” of using Latin phrase in conversation and writing yesterday, I got an answer saying “If you did not know the meaning of a specific (Latin) phrase, it may be likely that many other people do not recognize that phrase, so it’s best to avoid it,” from someone, followed by the other user’s comment, “ _This answer has it right_.” As I’m not familiar with the expression, “ _Someone (or something) has it right_ ,” I checked the usage of the phrase on Google, and found the following example:   * The tea party _movement has it right_ : Don't spend more than you have. - newsmax.com.   * _Obama has it right_ in deficit plan. His deficit- cutting plan is not perfect, but close to it. It's fiscally smart and politically smart. - realclear politics.com   * Why _the Supreme Court has it right_ on violent video games. - live.com    * Which _political party has it right_ for current retirees? - retireplan about.com I also checked Google Ngram to find that the usage of ”has it right” had been low and stayed flat since 1840 up to 1980, but after 1980 it started to rise sharply. I don’t think I’ve learned this expression in English textbooks I’ve read. What is the exact meaning of _“(Someone) has it right_ ” and what is the difference of it from other affirmative statements such as “It is right (appropriate),” “It holds,” and “It makes sense,” by meaning and by nuance? Why can't it be simply "It (movement, decision, remark, answer) is right"?


title: Short alternatives of the word Authentication and the word Authorisation

text: As a programmer I use the word Authentication and the word Authorisation in my code. I'd like to find nice abbreviations or alternative words for each of them that   * are not ambiguous and    * has reasonably large 'psychological distance' between. i.e. they don't look too similar i.e 'Auth' is not OK because it is ambiguous. At the moment I have just removed some letters   * Authtictn   * Authristn Any suggestions? * * * Update: Since this question is now under threat I have moved it's gist to: http://www.eatmybusiness.com/food/2014/02/08/short-alternatives-of-the-word- authentication-and-the-word-authorisation/272/


title: Why use "modestly" to describe Moller in this paragraph?

text: I have copied this excerpt from a NPR news transcript below > ALSOP: Isn't it nice? It's very pleasant and sunny and sounds like spring > time. And, you know, it really belies the enormity of this piece and what's > about to happen and the fact that Moller even gave it the subtitle - he only > used it for the first two performances - but the Titan, **modestly** , as he > always did, of course. Is Titan, Moller here? And do the last few sentences means something like: "Though this is a masterpiece which he should be proud of, he is still humble"?


title: What are these symbols called? ~ ` ^

text: What can I call the following symbols? # ~ # ` # ^


title: Is "to play with one's feet" usable in English?

text: I'm Belgian (Flemish) and over there we have an expression: "met iemands voeten spelen". Google translates it as I would: "Playing with one's feet". Googling around for a minute or so does not give me any results. So I was wondering. Do native English people understand what it means? In Flemish it means something like: to tease, to joke around, to fool around... not sure if those are correct English.


title: Correct pronunciation of "Qty"

text: How to pronounce "Qty"?               ku-ti-ai      or               ku-ti-why


title: Using quotation marks to describe technical terms

text: Consider: > DNS has a similar feature, but instead of “Work,” “Home,” and “Fax,” it has > special record types that indicate which IP address you want from the > server. I'm British, but am publishing in the US. I'm aware that in British English, these commas would go outside the quotes surrounding Work, Home and Fax. In US English, they should go within the quotation marks. My question is, does this example look odd to Americans? It looks terribly chaotic to me, but if that's solely because I'm used to a different convention, then that's no problem. If it does look strange to Americans, how would you recommend including these terms in my sentence? Is it perfectly valid to just italicize instead? Another example: > In this case, “litmus.com” resolves to “199.182.122.119”. Placing the period within the quotation marks actually makes the statement incorrect, from a technical perspective. Should I just refrain from trying to quote technical terms? Is there a convention for including terms such as those used above?


title: "Has yet to be a total success."

text: What does mean a sentence "Intervention that has yet to be a total success"? Does it mean the success is not total or that there will be total success soon? Or the total success was planned but difficult to achieve?