title: is letter “y” derived from “ij”?

text: It is my intuition, that the origin of the letter _y_ comes from _ij_ based on the usage in Dutch where it very closely resembles _ij_ in both sound and shape. I would go so far as to say it looks like a contraction. I am particularly interested in this right now, as a company has translated a foreign name into English, and included _iy_ in the name – which strikes me as unusual. If I were transliterating their name, _Bafiya_ seems wrong – and I feel it is better as _Bafya_ or _Bafia_. It is hard to justify my opinion, so I was curious about the usage of _iy_. I can not think of any words that contain _iy_ in them. Are there any?


title: Is it common to say "something was coming from front?"

text: I usually say it when I am supposed to describe something coming from front on roads. But somehow it does not feel natural even though it syntactically it is correct. so what is the natural expression for this?


title: Can “supposed to” be used to mean “considered to”?

text: I have a question regarding expressions like these:   * The new Al Pacino movie is supposed to be a good movie.   * Asians are not supposed to be good ball players.   * Whale is supposed to be the smartest animal on Earth. Are _supposed to_ and _considered to_ identical in meaning, or do they have different meanings altogether?


title: Is it appropriate to omit "will not be"?

text: Often, someone will say: > I'm not living in a senior's home! When the intended meaning is: > I will not be living in a senior's home! Is this acceptable?


title: Which preposition should be used after the verb “request”?

text: Which is correct?   1. _I would like to request you to refrain from shouting._   2. _I would like to request of you to refrain from shouting._   3. _I would like to request from you to refrain from shouting._   4. Something else?


title: What can be a different word for the use of 'obviously' when trying to make a clear statement?

text: Just trying to find another word or term for when making a clear statement without sounding to arrogant. For example, 'Obviously you shouldn't put your hand in a toaster because that's stupid' (Not a practical example of what I'm working on, but shows my point'


title: Mass nouns and counts nouns. Does getting it wrong ever matter?

text: Less/fewer, too much/too many, amount/number... When people get these things wrong, it bugs me. But I cannot think of a situation where mistaking a mass noun for a count noun (or vice versa) would ever introduce any kind of ambiguity. Is there such a case?


title: "Up to" vs "up to it"

text: What does the phrase _up to_ mean in the following? > That sketchy character is _up to_ something. > > That sneak is _up to_ no good. How does that differ from _up to it_ in the following? > I'm sick, but if I'm _up to it_ I may do the dishes. Or this: > I feel like I'm _up to_ my ears, trying to learn all these English idioms. Are there other uses of this phrase?


title: What does "cross" mean in the phrase "cross and crabby"?

text: What does _cross_ mean in the phrase "cross and crabby"? _Crabby_ means bad-tempered and unpleasant (Oxford Learner's Dictionary).


title: Is "guy" gender-neutral?

text: The plural "guys" definitely is, at least here in San Francisco — I'm often hearing all-girl companies here being greeted with 'Hi guys, how are you doing?'. How about the singular guy? Is it universally assumed that 'the guy who will be doing this' can be either guy or gal?


title: What is a feminine version of 'guys'?

text: I commonly use the word 'guys' to refer to a group of males colloquially. It's colloquial but not rude, off putting, condescending, patronizing (though I wouldn't use it with a group of men at a board meeting (hypothetically of course), unless I knew them). So, some that I would not consider as replacements would be   * buddies: too old-fashioned   * dudes: too informal   * boys: too patronizing   * men, gentlemen: too formal or false respect I realized that I had also been using it for any group of people, males and females, even just females. It worked for me and I didn't think of the gender implications, that women might not care for it. No one ever complained, directly or indirectly (rule of life: sometimes people don't complain about things they should). But it occurred to me (maybe by reading something that sparked realization) that the intended hearers might not all care for it. What might be a female gendered or non-gendered version of 'guys'? Some that I've considered don't feel right about (though these may be reasonable answers) are:   * dolls: too old-fashioned   * babes: too informal    * ladies: too formal or I've heard from women, too creepy   * women: too factual   * girls: too patronizing (as much as 'boys')   * everyone, you all: too bland   * y'all: perfectly non-sexist but too regional (might work, but not everywhere) Hopefully I haven't eliminated all the possibilities any suggestions?


title: Is it polite to say 'thank you guys' if both genders were involved?

text: Related: Is "guy" gender-neutral? Discussion about more formal version: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1620575 **Thank you** (thank you guys)


title: Can I use "you guys" when it includes gals? [Northeast USA]

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Is "guy" gender-neutral? I'm in the Northeast USA. I'm about to email 3 people, 2 are women It is ok to say "I thought you guys would find this interesting" ? Does the sexual orientation (straight vs gay) make any difference ? (to be clear, I'm **not** suggesting it does, I am just adding that (true) factor in in case it affects any answer).


title: Proper Greeting for a Group of People

text: When informally addressing a group of people, is it OK to say, "Hi Guys" if one or more of them are female?


title: What is the exact synonym for the word "buddy" in female sex

text: two male people used the word buddy, how a boy call a girl with the same meaning as buddy


title: Term for the use of "you" to refer to "the hypothetical person in question"

text: My wife was discussing pudding consistency this morning and used a sentence along the lines of, "I only like the pudding you make". I blinked and asked if she really liked the pudding I make and she replied, "No, I mean the pudding you make, you know, like if I were to make some pudding". She was using the "you" in a sense of a hypothetical person, I guess, like saying, "That's what you do in a crisis" when commenting on a riot scene in the news. You're not using "you" to refer to the person you're speaking to, but rather a form of general humanity. Anyhow, is there a term for such a usage such that you might be able to answer, "Oh, sorry, I was using 'you' in the [term] context, not referring to you specifically"?


title: Single-word synonym for "immensely valuable"?

text: I am looking for some (may be rarely know to nonnative English speakers) synonyms for "immensely valuable" or "extremely valuable".


title: “ē” and “iː”: I want a tutorial

text: My English textbook use “iː”, and I find some online dictionaries use “ē”. Where can I find information about this phonics system?


title: Conjunctions and modal verbs

text: What is the correct version? > They have contacted me and discussed or > They have contacted me and have discussed


title: Changing Noun to Adjective using "of"

text: Is it possible to change Nouns to Adjective by adding " **of** " before the noun? Like: > of **help** = _helpful_ => not of any help = not helpful   >  of **interest** = _interesting_ => of a lot of interest = very interesting   >  of **problem** = _problematic_ => of a lot of problem = very problematic   >  of no **use** = not _useful_ => it's of no use = it's not useful   >  of no **importance** = not _important_ => It's of no importance to me = > it's not important to me I am wondering if there is any case where this method doesn't work. _**Update_** : Let me rephrase my question this way: Can this rule be applied to those nouns that already have a meaningful adjective? I mean, the noun `book` does not have any adjective, so I don't expect `of book` to be a meaningful adjective! My question targets only those nouns that have a known adjective. * * * _**Update 2_** : Some Ngram diagrams:      **"not important to"** vs **"of no importance to"**   **"not useful to"** vs **"of no use to"**   **"not helpful to"** vs **"of no help to"**   **"not valuable to"** vs **"of no value to"**   **"not interesting to"** vs **"of no interest to"**   * * * _**Update 3_** : I just came across the following sentence in wikibooks: > _**Of special mention** are the shift operators_ I think " **of special mention** " here means " _specially mentionable_ ". Doesn't it? * * * _**Update 4_** : Yet another example I found in here: > Please post any question that you feel is **of worth** and the reason why. I think " **of worth** " here means "worthwhile" or "worthy". * * * _**Update 5_** : A comment posted here: > Then two-step is **not of any use** to you. Two-step is for personal > computers and apps that only you would use. * * * _**Update 6_** : Another example from here: > Assuming all the devices in your signal path are **of** more or less > comparable **quality** * * * _**Update 7_** : Another example from a book I recently read: > **Of** what **use** is talking about interests, options, and standards if > the other side has a stronger bargaining position?


title: Use "Hi gents" in an e-mail?

text: I would appreciate if someone could tell me if it would be appropriate English to write "Hi gents" in an e-mail to fellow directors? It's in a very informal context.


title: Why do we use the definite article in the expression "quite the [noun]"?

text: Like: " _quite the singer_ ", " _quite the writer_ ", etc. while he/she is just a singer/writer and is not the only singer/writer, etc in that context.


title: What does the word “trip” exactly mean in English?

text: My question is whether “trip” means experiences on the way to one’s destination or experiences after arriving at the destination? Or can it mean both?


title: "What I have, I give [it to] others"

text: Can I say "What I have, I give others", or do I have to say "What I have, I give it to others"? In the latter case, the object is repeated: 'it' and 'what I have'.


title: How to punctuate lists that are nested to three levels?

text: A basic list is punctuated like this: > The park has some bears, deers, and other animals. > > (bears) (deers) (other animals) When commas appear inside the items of a list, or when lists appear inside other lists, I often see semi-colons used, e.g.: > The park has: some bears; many deers, which are quite friendly, like to eat > camp food, and watch visitors; and other animals, most of which live in the > trees. > > (bears) (deers (friendly) (like to eat) (watch visitors)) (other animals > (live in trees)) When semi-colons appear inside the items of a list, or when lists appear inside lists of other lists, what punctuation can be used? > (bears) (deers (friendly) (like to eat (popcorn) (marshmallows) (chips)) > (watch visitors)) (other animals (live in (tall trees) (short trees)) Update: To clarify, I am not looking for a way to reword the sentences. I am looking for a way to punctuate the lists in these situations.


title: Meaning of "you just divided by zero"

text: This question comes out of curiosity. I have seen some people mention _you just divided by zero_. For example,   * http://thxforthe.info/2007/12/02/you-son-of-a-bitch-you-just-divided-by-zero-didnt-you/ The title says "YOU SON OF A BITCH – **You just divided by zero** , didn’t you?"    * A comment posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL0QGn4lx_Y : K4Kendetta says -"Donno what it is about this song, but it gets to me. As jjared said, I feel happy and sad at the same time...somehow. Loquat.... **I believe you just divided by zero..."** These two cases may or may not be in different contexts, but is there any meaning to the expression? I guess it means _you did a difficult task_. Is that true?


title: What does "standard that X builds to" mean?

text: > 'There is a standard that university builds to.' Does it mean that there is a document where rules how to build an university are written?


title: Word for number or word that reads the same when inverted or mirrored

text: The number I am thinking of is 80808. This is a palindrome. However, it is more than a palindrome, because it can be flipped or mirrored and will still read the same way. Is there a word for this?


title: Is "having a bowl" an idiom?

text: I'm translating an article about a Student Union that was remodeled and expanded. A section is titled "Having a 'Bowl'". This part tells about the expansion- two extra bowling lines for Game Center and a relocated wall. Is the word 'bowl' related to the bowling lines, or is it an idiom?


title: Why is a "splash screen" so called?

text: Wikipedia describes a "splash screen" as such... > "A splash screen is an image that appears while a game or program is > loading." and its purpose... > [Splash screens] are typically used by particularly large applications to > notify the user that the program is in the process of loading. But why is it called a "splash" screen? Why not "loading screen"? Where did this phrase come from, and how long has it been about?


title: Meaning of "stop for something"

text: > Q. Did the customers **stop for** narrow selection of food? > > A. The customers **stopped for wider selection of food**. Does it mean the customers just ignored or didn't shop for food?


title: How old is the expression "as if"?

text: It's a pretty simple question, but just to clarify, I am talking about the expression used by itself, not just in a sentence. So _not_ : > — Have you seen Ted?   >  — Yes! He flew through here as if his pants were on fire! But rather: > — Why are you denying it? You clearly like her...   >  — Me, like _her_? As if.


title: Which is the correct phonetic transcription of the word play, [ple] or [plei]?

text: In some books, the long "a" found in words like say, play, etc. are transcribed as /sei/, /plei/ respectively but in some others the same words are transcribed /se/ and /ple/. Which one is correct? Can we consider both? What is the standard IPA transcription of the long "a"?


title: Applicable to [object] for [purpose]

text: My question is about the word _applicable_. Is the following construction correct? > This method is applicable to [object] for [purpose]. For example: > Our method may be applicable to medium-sized lake for evaluating mid-layer > processes. If this is incorrect, is there a way to express the "for [purpose]" part of this sentence without changing the sentence dramatically?


title: "Added support for" or "added support of"?

text: If I add a new feature (called "feature X") to existing software, what do I say about the action? > I added support for feature X or > I added support of feature X ? Or something different?


title: Term or phrase representing all objects inside of a parent object

text: I am programming an iOS App and I have an alert popup that asks a user to confirm the deletion of a directory. I want to show the following message:               "DIR is not empty!      Deleting this folder will permanently remove all       [SUB-ITEMS/SUBDIRECTORIES/COMPRISING ITEMS/?????]!"      but I cannot think of the proper term for items (files/folders/etc) inside a directory. I would greatly appreciate any help finding the correct term or phrase for this message. PostScript: Are " _subdirectories_ " and " _subfiles_ " proper english words?


title: Something causes a lot of initiatives

text: I’m translating a movie about basic income, from French to English. In this movie, someone says that basic income would make people do a lot of new things, that it would create a lot of initiatives. If anyone knows French, the exact words are "Il y aurait une floraison d’initiatives." (There would be a "flowering" of initiatives. I don’t think I can use "flowering" this way, in English, but I think you can see what is meant. It’s like, an explosion of initiatives, you see.) So, I’m trying to put a word, or words, there, rather than "flowering". How would you say that?


title: Is it wrong to pronounce "pizza" as "peedtza"?

text: I was extremely mocked by colleagues (good humor) when I said the word " **pizza** " in the middle of the conversation. Given my accent, the way I pronounced it was closer to " **peedtza** ", with a slight hint of that " **d** " that I never noticed myself until they brought it up. They were saying it should be pronounced " **peetsa** " with no " **d** " or " **z** " in there. Is my pronunciation absolutely wrong? Or could it be pronounced like that as well?   I don't know if that matters, but we are in America, so a comparison between British and American English is welcome. I can take criticism, so be as blunt as you want!


title: Is it right to call a job which has begun to bore you a "plain" job?

text: What is the best english adjective to identify a job in which you always do the same things over and over and so eventually get bored from it? I read somewhere the sentence "I have a plain job", "I am doing a plain work"...do these sentences mean what I am searching for? Or is there another better adjective? I don't like "boring" because it already identifies your final state, after you have experience in the job. Maybe at the start you found it amazing because it is something new...so I think "boring" is not the best word. edit: maybe "static" would do?


title: Term for someone who acquires an image

text: What is the best word to describe someone (a person) who acquires a digital image with any instrument (which could be a digital camera, microscope, telescope or any other instrument that will produce an image)? I was thinking of the terms "imager", but a simple Google search gives me the definition "software or equipment that makes images". "Photographer" is, I consider, too narrow. If such a term does not exist what is the smallest way to describe this concept? "image creator"?


title: "Less" vs. "Fewer" when referring to a percentage of a countable quantity

text: Judging by the consensus over at this question, one should use "fewer" over "less" for countable quantities. What about in this situation? > [Less or Fewer] than 10.7% of the people were happy. Here, a percentage is not countable (because it is a real number of arbitrary precision), whereas the noun "people" is countable. My instinct tells me that "fewer" would be preferred, because the percentage must always correspond to a rational number (which is countable)—unless of course fractions of people can be happy!


title: Word for beginning a statement with a disclaimer / caveat / hedge when you are worried you might say something incorrect

text: For some reason I am convinced that such a word exists, that I've heard it used in classroom settings, and that I'll recognize it when I see it. But I have no idea what it is. I tried googling this elusive word and failed miserably; I asked a few friends, but they couldn't think of it either. Help! Suppose someone says: "Well, I don't know much about this topic, and I could be wrong, but XYZ." I feel there's a word to describe the opening that leads into XYZ. It's a sort of hedging: you aren't fully committing yourself; you're worried about being wrong. I can almost hear a high-school teacher saying "Don't start an answer with a ___." Any ideas?


title: What does "wherein" mean exactly?

text: I have encountered _wherein_ several times in many texts, and the general meaning of the texts was quite evident given the context. However, I do not know the exact meaning of _wherein_ ; a dictionary search returns "How, or in what way; Where, or in which location; During which" (Wiktionary). But what are the contexts it can be used in, and is there any weird way it is being used sometimes? (I realised by now that English can be tricky.) Also, are there any differences concerning this word between American and British English (my preferred)?


title: "Friday afternoon" vehicle

text: New-car buyers often fear that they're getting a "Friday afternoon" vehicle! What does a "Friday afternoon" vehicle mean?


title: How can I describe preparing before travel?

text: If I am preparing before my travel and I pack my things, how can I better describe this process in conversational speech, "packing up one's things" or "I pack up one's things"?


title: make vs incur in this sentence

text: > Like humans beings We incur into mistakes. > > Like humans beings We make mistakes. What's the correct sentence in British English?


title: basketball expression 'from downtown'

text: In NBA basketball, TV commentators use the expression "shoot from downtown" when a player shoots beyond the 3-point line. What is the origin of this expression?


title: Meaning of the phrase "I could tell"

text: Context: * * * I was so happy I felt tears starting in my eyes, and then she up and hugged me. I think she could tell.


title: "In a while" vs. "for a while"

text: I recently got a message that says > Haven't heard anything from you in a while. I always thought that the right way to say this would be to use _for_ insdead of _in_. Are both versions correct? Would there be a difference in meaning?


title: What does "is there any book around ..." mean?

text: > Is there any book around which I can read? What does the above sentence mean?   1. "Is there any book **available in the market** which I can read?"   2. "Is there any book in **this room/or nearby** which I can read?" How do I distinguish between these two meanings of _around_?


title: Is this Quote grammatically correct?Own Lines

text: I posted a Quote on a social networking website : > It's GOOD to post famous and touching Quotes on FACEBOOK. > > But "UNDERSTANDING" it and then clicking ' LIKE ' ; is even GREAT. One of my friend pointed out: it's not grammatically correct. May I know what is wrong with it?If something?


title: "Washroom", "restroom", "bathroom", "lavatory", "toilet" or "toilet room"

text: I've always been confused by the terms _washroom_ , _restroom_ , _bathroom_ , _lavatory_ , _toilet_ and _toilet room_. My impression is that Canadians would rather say _washroom_ while Americans would probably say _bathroom_ or _Saint John's_ in the same situation. I guess the difference here is not only in different kinds of English, but also in whether one is referring to a room in their house or in some public place. Which do you usually use? Please specify the difference if you use more than two from those six with different meanings, and also where you are from (i.e. what type of English you speak).


title: "Majority" is to "plurality" as "minority" is to what?

text: This analogy may not be quite accurate but I think I can get my point across with it. I was reviewing some obesity statistics:   * Obese: 35.9%   * Overweight but not obese: 33.3%   * Neither overweight nor obese: 30.8% There is no majority. "Obesity" is the plurality. Is there a specific term for "neither overweight nor obese" as the smallest minority?


title: Rail vs railway

text: What's the difference between _rail_ and _railway_? Hold your horses - I know I can consult a dictionary on this one, and I have, but it's still not clear to me which of the two I should use in combinations. That is, if taken alone, _rail_ is a means of transport, and _railway_ \- the tracks plus the infrastructure. More or less. However, I get confused when it comes to combinations like _rail infrastructure_ OR _railway infrastructure_? _Rail transport_ OR _railway transport_? I'm looking for a simple rule of thumb here, because so far I have relied on Google hits.


title: Is "you've coming from" a colloquialism?

text: In the Take That song, Never Forget, the lyrics run "Never forget where you've coming from". Was that a mistake, or is it a colloquialism (or something else) to say "you've" instead of "you're" in this context?


title: Singular vs Plural number 21, 101 & etc

text: When talking about number 21, 31, 101, 1231 & etc ( ends with "one" ), should we use singular or plural word for units. E.g. should I say "21 apple" or "21 apples"? Or, "101 apple" vs "101 apples". I believe the singular form should be used as we say "twenty one apple", or "a hundred and one apple". Also, what about time? Hours, minutes, seconds? Is it correct to say "21 minute ago"? Thank you!


title: Plural/singular with certain numbers

text: There's one aspect which is confusing me, especially because of how it's done in my native language which is ukrainian.   So question is how singular and plural forms are used with numbers ending with 1.   \- 1 view. No questions asked.   \- 11, 211 views. No questions asked either.   \- 0, 2, 5, 13, etc views. No questions here either.   \- 21, 101, 91 **view** or **views**?   In ukrainian, it will be 21 view, 101 view and 91 view. What is right in english?


title: Do we say and write 21 / 31 / 41 item or itemS?

text: I've been wondering, since these example numbers end with 1, isn't it natural to use the following noun in its singular form? From what I've been seeing around on the web this does not seem to be the case. All numbers except for 1 are followed by plural nouns. In some languages you do need to use the singular form with the numbers ending with 1. How is it supposed to be in English?


title: Adverb placement: "There is still" vs. "there still is"

text: I believe the following sentences are grammatically correct and that perhaps the latter has an emphasizing effect on _still_ in certain contexts.   * There **is still** some time left.   * There **still is** some time left. I thought the adverb placement rule that adverbs must come after the _be_ -verb (source) is not absolute but rather like a guideline. My friend claims that in spoken English, the second example is fine, but in written English, it is technically ungrammatical. My questions are:   1. Are both sentences _grammatically_ correct?   2. Am I right to think that there are many cases of adverb usage that do not follow the typical adverb placement rules such as the one mentioned above?  Thank you for your input.


title: What does the word "shipping" mean?

text: What does word "shipping" mean? I've seen this word in many Internet shops.


title: Why is the "ph" pronounced like a "v" in "Stephen"? Is this the only word like that?

text: While I know how _my_ name is pronounced, I've run into many non-native english speakers who have stumbled over this unique exception to English. Even in the female name, "Stephanie", the _ph_ is pronounced as _f_. What is the etymology of "Stephen" and is there any other instance of _ph_ being pronounced as _v_ in either American or British English?


title: Is there a word for "a point in time"?

text: I'm looking for a simple word for a point in time for the name of a database column. The column is for "datetime" objects and it feels wrong to call the column "date", since that implies that the column only contains dates, and similarly it feels wrong to call the column "time". General programming principles dictate that it's also a bad idea to name a column simply by the value type it contains, so I don't want to name it "datetime". Is there an English word for a "point in time", independent of whether we're talking about time of day, date of year or millennia? I want the word (X) to fit into the column name "creation_X". If you have another idea of a good naming choice I'd love to hear that too. * * * Edit: The table column in question should specify when the data was recorded. Think of it as a data point for Google Analytics. A row contains, for instance, site visits for 12:00 to 13:00 on 2013-01-01, so the field "time_span" is set to "hour", and the field for column X should be set to "2013-01-01 12:00:00". I can't figure out what to call the column though.


title: Would the "Cavendish drawl" be considered a dialect?

text: I was reading the biography _Georgiana_ , by Amanda Foreman, and came across a description of what she calls the _Cavendish drawl_ , an accent of sorts that was spoken by the Cavendish family. One blog refers to it as a _patois_ and wrote that: > the Foreman biography quotes various examples of the phenomenon called > variously ‘Cavendish drawl’ and ‘Devonshire drawl’ both of which terms, even > taking into account her mention of “bal- _cony_ , con- _tem_ -plate” and “ > _cow_ -cumber”, are no doubt less appropriate than the third one ‘Cavendish > patois’. He goes on, > In the OED Murray remarked in 1885 “Till c1825 the pronunc. was regularly > bælˈkəʊnɪ; but ˈbælkənɪ..., ‘which,’ said Samuel Rogers, ‘makes me sick,’ is > now established.” ... OED dodgily gives the con`template stressing in second > place (as an allegedly current usage) even tho retaining Murray’s century- > plus-old comment that it “begins to have a flavour of age”. > > On cowcumber it gives his 1893 remark that such a pronunciation was “still > that recognized by Walker; but Smart 1836 says ‘no well-taught person, > except of the old school, now says cow-cumber ... although any other > pronunciation ... would have been pedantic some thirty years ago”. **Other > items of the patois Foreman quotes are yellow, gold and spoil presumably > pronounced as /jӕlə, guːld/ and /spaɪl/ and a “baby-talk” style you > pronounced with its yod dropped.**... Except for this last item, these were > all probably merely old-fashioned. For example Wyld's _History of Modern > Colloquial English_ (1920/36 p. 239) sed of goold that “It was a very usual > though by no means the only pronunciation in the seventeenth and eighteenth > centuries among good speakers.” Whether or not this way of speaking was old-fashioned, it was (according to Foreman) used in the Cavendish household, and was at least partially adopted by people of that social circle. Wikipedia says that a dialect is: > a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of > the language's speakers.[1] The term is applied most often to regional > speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as > social class. A patois, again per Wikipedia, is: > any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not > formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, > and other forms of native or local speech So how would the "Cavendish drawl" be linguistically categorized? Is it a dialect? A cant? Something else?


title: Plural noun to refer to a list of types for it?

text: If I have a noun with a list of different types it can be, should this noun be plural? For example, a "stage" can be a "planning stage" or a "play stage." Which of the following is correct? > Planning and play stage > > Planning and play stages To clarify, these are two separate stages. Plan then play.


title: How to use "until now/so far" in the past tenses?

text: I know that "until now" indicates that something changed. > No messages have come until now. _Now the first message arrived._ But what about using it in the past, for example in reported speech or just meaning in the past? > It was not clear to me until now. _The whole sentence is meant to refer to > past, e.g. describing what happened during my studies._ > I did not know much about trigonometry. So far, I was only using algebra. > _When I was young._


title: Should I use "arrived" or "reached"

text: Sometimes when I come back from my brother's house he asks me to let him know when I am at home. Now, in that situation which one of the following is correct :               I've reached home now.      OR               I've arrived home now.


title: Is there a plural for logic?

text: If I had to phrase "Load logic", where "loading" has to happen for multiple instances of "logic", how would I do it? For context, I am a programmer, and writing a method called "loadLogic". That method loads multiple units of logical statements and takes an action on them.


title: Regarding the tense of that clause after "make sure"

text: As for the tense of that clause after "make sure", what is the difference between present tense or future tense. Thank you so much!


title: Pre-design, design and post-design

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  If ‘pre’ is previous, ‘post’ is after, what is current? Pre-design, **design** and post-design. What is the right word that describes _during_ the **design** (design that is already done) as above in bold.


title: Word usage in a statement

text: I am trying to determine if the word _predicated_ is the correct word for the following statement. > A senior management leader in a Fortune 500 organization whose successful > career was predicated on interpersonal skills and collaboration. I would like to advise the reader that without _interpersonal skills and collaboration_ , I would not have experienced the successful career that I did. Any thoughts or alternatives?


title: Usage of "I am afraid"

text: What kind of sentence should follow the phrase "I am afraid", assertive or interogative? For example, is the following sentence grammatical? > I am afraid is it appropriate ask me a copy of it.


title: Whats the meaning of the phrase "Whats not to like"?

text: Can you please explain some of the usages as well?


title: Use of "memory"

text: Does the sentence > His **memory** is lost have these two meanings?   1. It could mean that our memory of him is lost.   2. It could mean that he has lost his memory.


title: Why is "look" transitive in "look you in the eye"?

text: Why is _look_ used as a transitive verb in the phrase _look you in the eye_? I checked _look_ in Cambridge Dictionaries and found only an intransitive _look_ , not a transitive one.


title: Is it considered good style to use “relatedly” to start a sentence?

text: I sometimes like to start sentences with “Relatedly,”, as you might start them with “besides”, “however”, “furthermore,” and so on. (“Like” in that I find the word practical and concise. It could be replaced by something like “In a related question,”.) However, it sounds a little strange to my own ears (I am not a native speaker of English). Is this usage considered standard / good style?


title: Difference between "my" an "my own"

text: Is there any difference between saying > Only my condemnation harms me. and > Only my own condemnation harms me. The second sentence feels like is more assertive and enforces the fact that it is my own condemnation that harms me, but is there any other difference in these two ways of expressing the above? I was recently reading the following page on which one can find the following quote > Only my condemnation injures me. Only my own forgiveness sets me free. and was wondering why would the author add my own in the second sentence yet skip it in the first.


What's the best way to say: "Brands who trust our work" or "Brands that trust in our work"?


title: What does it mean when someone says he is from the "Class of 2001"?

text: Does it means he graduated or entered the College in 2001?


title: Is "relatively big compared to" redundant?

text: If I say something like > He is big compared to the other guy. > > He is relatively big compared to the other guy. is the adverb _relatively_ wrong because of redundancy?


title: Since he left, nobody cares/has cared?

text: I would like to say that since one of my colleagues left, nobody cares about our project anymore. Or nobody has cared? EDIT: I want to say that nobody cares now and it started when X left.


title: What is the expression for coughing at the beginning of an utterance officially called?

text: I was wondering what is the name for the introductory "coughing" in English, i.e. when somebody clears their throat to start their utterance. For example: > "Ekhm... Welcome! How can I help you?" Is "ekhm" the right way to spell such onomatopoeia? Are there any other ways to spell it?


title: name references to God

text: What are the most common expressions used by glergymen to refer to God during a service other than "almighty" for eg? Can anybody help me, please?


title: Name of the archaic "F" character used for an "S"

text: Into the 19th century, accepted orthography often used a letter character that resembles an F (but is not in fact identical to an F) when today we would invariably use an S.   * What is this character called?    * What were the orthographic rules of its usage?    * Was it inherited from the German language?


title: What animal is a “weefil”?

text: What animal is depicted in this image labelled “weefil”? ![Old woodcut labeled Weeſil](http://i.stack.imgur.com/5Fn5c.png)


title: Difference between "tournament", "competition" and "match"

text: I was just reading the article about TopCoder. Before this article I thought a tournament and a competition is the same. What is the difference between _tournament_ , _competition_ and _match_?


title: What is the term for repeating something in an A, B, A fashion? (e.g. "Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts.")

text: Is there a term for repeating something in an A, B, A fashion for emphasis or dramatic effect? Examples: > Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts. > > Ain't it the truth, Joe... ain't it the truth. I've looked at epanalepsis, epistrophe, and anaphora, but none of them quite match the above sentence structures.


title: Rule or white list of words that can be prefixed with "up-" or "down-"

text: Some words (verbs and nouns) can get _up-_ or _down-_ attached before them to get new meaning. For example,   1. _Grade_ becomes _upgrade_ or _downgrade_.   2. _Vote_ becomes _upvote_ or _downvote_.   3. _Load_ becomes _upload_ or _download_. Is there any rule or white list of words that can be prefixed with _up-_ or _down-_?


title: "Ate cheeseburger" or "ate a cheeseburger"?

text: Which of the following is correct? >   * Ate **a** cheese burger last night. >   * Ate cheese burger last night. >


title: When can one omit "that" from a sentence?

text: In general, when can I omit _that_ from a sentence? Can I omit _that_ (emphasized) in sentence (2) below? >   1. We say **that** such algorithms handle concept drift and can learn from > time-changing data streams. >   2. When the statistical properties of the target variable change, we say > **that** concept drift has occurred. >   3. She told me **that** some of her classmates failed. > To me, sentences (1) and (3) sound better without _that_. If I omit _that_ from (2), it just doesn't sound right when I read it out loud. (I should point out I'm not a native speaker.) How do **you** decide when to omit it? Is it just a matter of taste? (I know _that_ is sometimes mandatory.) Can you think of sentences that "sound better" with _that_? Can you think of sentences that "sound better" without _that_? Can you think of a few sentences where it is wrong to omit _that_?


title: proverb means Consider me as you want you will find me as you consider

text: alot of companies expect effective performance. Nevertheless, it considers its employees as they are beginners (salary, ....). He want to say: > if you consider me as a Junior , you find me a Junior , That it means : > Don't expect from me to perfect tasks of Senior . > > And, if you consider me as an expert , you will find me an expert : Is there a proverb means that ? **UPDATE:** the employer concentrate on experience .Indeed , he thought that "An expert is one who has worked for many years" . However ,It is not always so . you can find someone who has worked for a few years, but he is gifted . It is not an issue of **Salary** , But It is a **psychological issue** that can negatively affect the performance of this gifted worker . **He expects an appreciation befitting his skills**


title: tailored to someone needs VS tailor-made

text: I wrote a text about our company's services and added that we also can offer products tailored to the needs of our clients. One of my colleagues insisted that the expression was wrong and I should say that we offered tailor-made products. Is there actually a difference between the two expressions generally or in the context I described?


title: What does "CP" stand for? (job name)

text: I saw a person had described his position as "CP at example.com" on Linkedin. Not someone who I know personally, but I had been in contact when he asked me to publish my Android application on this website (a kind of apps market in China). Just curious, what does CP means? I search on Wikipedia and abbreviations website to no avail.


title: "At any moment" vs. "in any moment"

text: I am not sure what the differences between these two phrases are. Can you explain when I should use one or the other? English is not my native language so maybe it is a silly question.


title: Meaning of "Matting" (in art)

text: Some artist on DeviantArt seriously recommended a Matting calculator which supposedly greatly aids in the process of _matting_. Unfortunately both the artist and the site for the calculator already assume the reader knows what _matting_ is. At first I thought they mean making images look older by removing sheen / adding matt, but apparently this isn't it - it has something to do with borders. I checked three dictionaries (Webster, Free, Dictionary.com) and not a single definition relates to matting in relation to artwork (other than mat making) or any activity that might require a calculator.


title: explanation for: to "playback" media content

text: How come in English one talks about being able to "playback" media content, like music or movies, instead of just "play"? Why is -back added to the word? What is the origin of the expression?


title: Does "approbate one's flaws" make sense?

text: I'm going for a little stronger word than _accept_ and I like the word _approbate_. > To approbate my flaws. Does it work?


title: Is “An other-other woman (person / thing)” a popular English phrase?

text: The following paragraph of Maureen Dowd’s article on former CIA chief, David Petraeus’ scandal titled “Reputation, Reputation, Reputation” appearing in November 13 New York Times seems to require sufficient knowledge about the background of American pop culture and politics. Though it may look a bit lengthy, I’d like to show you “a mind-boggling mélange” of symbolic names and titles for your interest. > “His fall started as Sophocles and turned sophomoric, a mind-boggling > mélange of “From Here to Eternity,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “The Real Housewives > of Centcom,” and “Keeping up with the Kardashians.” It features toned arms, > slinky outfits, a cat fight, titillating e-mails, a military more consumed > with sex than violence, a plot with more inconceivable twists than > “Homeland,” an “embedded” mistress named Broadwell, a biography called “All > In,” **_an other-other woman_** of Middle East ancestry who was a “social > liaison” to the military, a pair of generals helping the socialite’s twin > sister with a custody case, and lawyers and crisis-management experts linked > to Monica Lewinsky, John Edwards and the ABC show “Scandal.”” Now I was interested in the word, “an other-other woman.” I don’t think I’ve ever met this word. I can’t find “other-other” in dictionaries at hand. My PC spell-checker keeps demanding correction of “an other-other” as an error. Google Ngram viewer doesn’t register either “an other-other” or “other-other”. Is “an other-other somebody / something” a popular expression, or Dowd’s custom coinage? Why can’t she say simply “another”? How different is it from “another,” “the other,” “a separate /different person / thing”?


title: Can adjectives be placed without a noun after them?

text: Adjectives are placed before nouns. But sometimes I've seen (though I'm not sure if they are correct), things like: > The item placed there I know that it may be a short way of saying "The item which is placed there".   1. Is the past participle "placed" considered as an adjective in that sentence?   2. Can any past participle used in this way by ommiting the relative pronoun+subject of the relative clause?   3. Is there any exception for the rule that adjectives must be placed before noun?


title: Large company: Made up of organizations or departments?

text: Say you have a large 20,000+ company with many different sections, or areas. Say for example Apple would have a section for iOS development, one for Mac, one for HR, one for support, etc. What is the better word to call these different sections: organizations or departments? I'm thinking "Organization" should only refer to the topmost level, the entire company.


title: Could I always use "have" (and never use "have got")?

text: English is not my native language. I have constantly been trying to add as more words as possible to my active vocabulary. But there are words which I understand but don't try to use myself. One of them is **"have got"** instead of just plain **"have"**. I always use **"have"**. Is it a good way of learning and using English. Or am I missing something?


title: "Forecasted" or "forecast"

text: With authors writing in English as a second language increasingly predominating, especially in technical fields, irregular verbs get regularized. As an editor, should I give up the Canute-like** struggle against the oncoming tide of _forecasted_ and the like? ** Yes, I know ... !


title: Is the word order acceptable here?

text: I come from a family of completely Italian lineage called the Carusos. Since "the Carusos" is the antecedent of "family" is it that bad to have it come after lineage? Would it be better to say: I come from a family called the Carusos, which is of completely Italian lineage. I just like the first one better, but if it's technically wrong...


title: What does "leave like" mean?

text: > The news left me like a fool. What does it mean? Is the grammar ok here? [Originally asked by birdman1234]


title: How to call the wall behind him?

text: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/yEf3g.jpg) It's the wall when the suspect is taken a shot. I don't know how to call it so It's hard for me to find picture about the wall itself.


title: Should there be a comma after "he added" if I'm not quoting?

text: At my job we usually write something like this: > Mr. Smith stated the defendant is welcome to stay at his residence and may > receive mail at that address, if necessary. He added he is willing to > provide him with transportation to future court proceedings, if needed. There is only one editor that adds a comma after the word "added" and I believe it is unnecessary.


title: What does "fortuitous with respect to viruses" mean?

text: Page 154 of Secrets and Lies has this snippet: > In some ways we've been fortuitous with respect to computer viruses; all the > ones we've seen are targeted against large computers, not peripherals or > embedded systems. What does "we've been fortuitous with respect to computer viruses" mean? Substituting "fortuitous" with it's literal meaning "accidental" does not make much sense; i.e. _We've been accidental with respect to computer viruses._


title: How to correctly refer to animal parts as food?

text: I have found little consistent in how animal parts used as food are named. How can I correctly refer to the tongue of ducks, the necks of ducks, or the ears of pigs? > Do you like duck's neck? > > Do you like duck necks? > > Do you like ducks' necks? Is there a way which is most "correct" or formal?


title: How do I hyphenate an open-form compound word with another that should be hyphenated?

text: I'm confused about how to combine an open-form compound word with a word that would normally be hyphenated. There's excellent guidance for making the open vs. closed vs. hyphenated decision, but I don't see how to apply this when hyphenating the open-form word looks wrong. For example, make a compound word out of North, America, and based. North America is open formed and _something_ -based is hyphenated. Is Coca-Cola a... > **North America-based company** : this seems very wrong as it de-emphasizes > North America as a proper-noun place and makes it sound like the company is > based in the North part of America (which is neither accurate nor the intent > of the phrase). > > **North America based company** : feels jolting to read and omits what seems > like a necessary hyphen before "based" > > **North-America-based company** : looks best(?), but has hyphenated the > open-formed compound "North America", which unlike "well-thought-out plan" > still seems wrong, despite the guidance at the linked answer above regarding > phrasal adjectives*. * the aforelinked answer says every word is hyphenated in phrasal adjectives , but for some open-form words this looks wrong Note: I think my question could be improved with an example that looks even more egregious, but I can't think of one.


title: “On the lake” vs. “in the lake”

text: Which of the following sentences makes sense? >   1. We took the new kayak out **on** the lake as it was a nice day. >   2. We took the new kayak out **in** the lake as it was a nice day. >


title: "The data misses a desired object" vs. "a desired object is being missed in the data"

text: Do the following two sentences have the same meaning? >   * If the _data misses_ a desired object, then information relevant to that > object do not exist in the database. >   * If a desired object _is being missed in the data_ , then information > relevant to that object do not exist in the database. >


title: What is the adjective for "sent down" or "descend"?

text: The only word I found is _descendant_ but this is often used for people, and I want to use the word for objects. Is there an adjective or alternative I can use if I want to say _sent down_ , _brought down_ as an adjective? It seems the word _descended_ does not exist.


title: Parenthetical statements in direct speech

text: In some novels, I have often seen parenthetical statements used within direct- speech. e.g. from War and Peace Page 1 > _Non_ , I warn you, if you don't say this means war — if you still defend > all these vile acts, all these atrocities by an Antichrist **(for I really > do believe he is the Antichrist)** , then I no longer know you. While reading such sentences, how should I interpret such parenthetical statements? To be more specific, should I imagine the speaker _actually_ saying that statement, or should I take it as as explanatory note on what the speaker really intends to say? Can the parentheses be replaced by commas? I.e. _"... by an Antichrist, for I really do believe he is the Antichrist, then I no longer..."_? Since English punctuation often governs the tone of the sentence, this would be interesting to know.


title: "Among themselves" or "among them"?

text: Which sentence is correct? >   1. ...where successful people are giving lectures and people could > exchange knowledge among themselves. >   2. ...where successful people are giving lectures and people could > exchange knowledge among them. >


title: Is Eckersley's *Essential English* still in use?

text: When I taught myself English a long time ago I used (alongside Assimil's _L'anglais sans peine_ and the BBC's _Calling all beginners_ ) a series of four books, _Essential English_ authored by C.E. Eckersley and published by Longmans.   It was an impressively good set of boooks, with plenty of grammatical and cultural explanations, presented in a very British witty and amusing style and accompanied by funny but quite relevant cartoons and schematic drawings. My question is whether English is still taught from these textbooks.   I confess that I was emboldened to ask this question by the mischievous thought that for once you native English speakers would be at a disadvantage to answer it (unless you teach English) as compared to us foreigners ...


title: Are "Czech Republic" and "Chechnya" cognates?

text: Let me preface this question by saying that the Czech Republic and Chechnya are two different countries. Are the two countries' names etymologically related, like Austria and Australia are? Wiktionary doesn't have the etymology for Chechnya, nor does the Online Etymology Dictionary.


title: Is there a rule for which suffix to use when creating adjectives from nouns?

text: There are many suffixes that are used to create adjectives from nouns ( _-al_ , _-ic_ , _-ive_ , _-y_ ).   Are there any rules used to create adjectives from nouns? In example, why is the adjective _excessive_ , and not ( **?** ) _excessal_ , or ( **?** ) _excessic_?


title: Provide to somebody to do/doing or Provide for somebody to do/doing?

text: I'm writing a letter to my teacher to thank her for letting me put on a party, but I'm confused by these: > I would like to thank _somebody_ for your support, guidance and > encouragement, and for the opportunities provided to _me_ to organize this > event. > > I would like to thank _somebody_ for your support, guidance and > encouragement, and for the opportunities provided to _me_ to organizing this > event. > > I would like to thank _somebody_ for your support, guidance and > encouragement, and for the opportunities provided for _me_ to organize this > event. > > I would like to thank _somebody_ for your support, guidance and > encouragement, and for the opportunities provided for _me_ to organizing > this event. Which one should I use?


title: What's the most accurate term for phrases such as "storm in a teacup" and "making mountains out of molehills"?

text: Are phrases such as "storm in a teacup" and "making mountains out of molehills" best described by one of these terms:   * anecdote   * proverb   * saying   * expression   * metaphor If not, which term is the right term? If more than one term applies (I know expression and saying are pretty general), which is the narrowest term that covers them?


title: "Listen to them not"

text: One of my favorite movies is _Hocus Pocus_ with Bette Midler. One of the lines in the movie is "Listen to them not!" Said by one of the townsfolk in the beginning when they were being hanged. Is this an example of an anastrophe? The terms aren't inverted from "Do not listen to them" in fact, 'do' is omitted completely. Is there another term that would suit what is happening in this sentence? Or similar sentences?


title: “Nobody likes” or “nobody like”?

text: What is the right way to say “Nobody like (likes) _doing something_ ”? What word I should use: like or likes?


title: Word to describe gay people who are in a relationship with each other

text: Can I use these words? > **A gay couple** (not sure if _couple_ can be used only for married people) > > **A gay lovers** (not sure if I should put _s_ here or if _lovers_ can be > used to describe two people who love each other)


title: Where does "life of Riley" come from?

text: I heard the saying, "life of Riley" when someone was talking about my cat, and I wondered what the origin of the expression is. The only thing I can think of is that it comes from the name of someone who was pampered and lazy, a king for example.


title: What does the phrase "Follow that!" mean?

text: I've heard that nice phrase and assume it is kind of an idiom. The possible usage I can recall: > Follow that! I just did [insert something here]. Is that true and if so what does it mean?


title: Is 'major' in a musical context a noun or an adjective?

text: In the question _What are the notes in the D **major** scale?_, I'm trying to work out what type of word _major_ is. A scale just means a sequence of notes with defined intervals between them, and these intervals are not identifiable until the scale is qualified with a name.. major, blues etc. Is it an adjective because it describes/qualifies what 'kind' of scale, or is it a proper noun because it is an 'instance/subclass' of 'scale'? I'm trying to think of a metaphor.. the common noun 'tree'.. brown is the adjective that describes it, and 'Cedar' is the proper noun, correct? So for my phrase, 'major' seems to do both jobs. I'm confused...


title: "Be to sleep" - What does that mean?

text: Normally, I find English people say something like: He is sleeping. He goes to sleep early. But occasionally, I found something like: "I have been to sleep 3 times during the lesson." (Michael Swan and Catherine Walter, The Good Grammar Book). What does "be to sleep" mean in this case?


title: Why and when did "crack" come to mean "tell"?

text: _Cracking jokes_ is to me the most familiar contextual usage of this term. Why would anyone say they were _cracking_ jokes, not just _telling_ jokes?


title: Is the infinitive form of the verb appropriate in this sentence?

text: I came across the following and would like to find out whether the bolded part is properly formed: > To be honest it sounds like she’s got the perfect relationship, in her eyes, > going right now. So I don’t think you should **be swayed when she desires > keep having it.** Should it be "keep" or "to keep"?


title: What is a word for annoying behavior which decreases enjoyment for the other players in a game?

text: I'm looking for a word which describes an annoying behavior that decreases the overall quality of a game or match, specifically in online gaming (Halo, Call of Duty, etc.) The behavior, while not expressly prohibited by the rules and thus not technically cheating, is generally agreed to be undesirable or even _unfair_ by the other players and puts the offending player at a distinct advantage. The following words come to mind, but do not precisely fit: _annoying_ (too broad), _trolling_ (mismatched intent; the player is still trying to win the game, not merely annoy others), _ungentlemanly_ (I'd prefer an genderless term.) I believe _unsportsmanlike_ could be a good fit; I'm looking for either a better fitting word, or a sound justification that one of these words is correct. **edit:** To be clear, I am looking for an adjective to levy at someone as an insult for behaving in this way. Also, the interest of the offending player is to win the game at the expense of others. The example _camping_ in the comments is precisely the kind behavior I'm talking about. I'd like to complete this sentence: > Don't _camp_ ; that's **______**.


title: In the order of (what most people have recommended)

text: I asked three people to list the items that they think are most important for something.               PERSON A             PERSON B             PERSON C     Item "aaa111"        Item "bbb222"        Item "bbb222"     Item "bbb222"        Item "eee555"        Item "ccc333"     Item "ccc333"        Item "fff666"        Item "ggg777"     Item "ddd444"      Since some items appear on more than one person's list, those items are obviously the most important ones, so I have compiled this list, which puts the item most frequently named on top, the next-most-frequently named second, and so forth:               Item "bbb222"     Item "ccc333"     Item "aaa111"     Item "ddd444"     Item "eee555"     Item "fff666"     Item "ggg777"      I want to head this list with a caption of the form **Combined list in the order of ___ _**. My question: Is there a single word I can use in that blank to name my ordering principle?


title: You heard me! (expression)

text: What's some alternatives of saying "You heard me" while snapping back at someone (in informal and formal situations both) ? Can I say "You heard it"? Also in a formal setting when dealing with jerks how to say it properly so the expression has some meaning and weight.


title: Being as instead of "beensya"

text: I often hear people using the term "beensya". I am assuming they mean "being as". How is the term "being as" correctly used in English.


title: Why isn’t “hermeticity” easily found in the dictionaries?

text: The word _hermeticity_ as (for the lack of better definition, hence the question) “the quality of being hermetic” (not to be confused with mathematical _hermiticity_, which is also absent from the general dictionaries) seems to be widely used in technical literature. Yet, I am having hard time finding a _bona fide_ definition in any decent dictionary or encyclopædia available on-line. Britannica acknowledges its existence, and via OneLook I only got one reference to the translation from German _Hermetizität_. OED, Cambridge and M-W turn up nothing. It could be the case that the use of the suffix _-ity_ to form “nouns denoting quality or condition” is sufficient, but why, for instance, have _plasticity_ if I can get the definition “the quality of being easily shaped or moulded” from the definition of _plastic_ : “(of substances or materials) easily shaped or moulded” (all quotes from OED)? Why not the same treatment of _hermeticity_? It can be presumed that such word might appear in unabridged dictionary, but then again, why this term (in all forms, such as _hermetic_ ) is not more widely used? From my experience people prefer using the terms _water-_ or _air-tight_ , but _hermetic_ works better both as a general term, and in situations when saying “air-tight liquid hydrogen container” is as semantically wrong as it is technically non-descriptive (it may be _air_ \- or _water_ -tight, but not _liquid hydrogen_ -tight). I think, the usage frequency angle is important in this question. It seems strange to me that this term (again, in all forms) is not widely understood (or used) amongst English-speakers (again, from my limited experience), while, for example, any graduate of a Russian public grade school who took a science class ( _i.e._ any) would understand this borrowed word, even though there are native equivalents for _air_ \- and _water-tight_.


title: What's the 'alternative forms of sexuality'?

text: > The Beat Generation is a group of American post-WWII writers who came to > prominence in the 1950s, as well as the cultural phenomena that they both > documented and inspired. Central elements of "Beat" culture included > experimentation with drugs and **alternative forms of sexuality**. BTW, does the Beat Generation only refer to writers?


title: Is it a standard usage of ‘blue’ to be used as a verb to mean ‘being deflated / become pessimistic’?

text: I was interested in the usage of ‘ **blue** ’ as a verb in the headline of New Yorker’s article, “Bibi Netanyahu’s election blues,” followed by the following lead copy: > “The center-left, which had seemed so deflated in spirit and imperiled in > the polls, benefitted from the biggest voter turnout in Israel in more than > a decade.” I’m not familiar with the casual usage of “blue” as a verb, but by combining the definitions of ‘blue’ in OALED as the verb, (1) make or become blue and the adjective, (2)informal (of a person or mood) melancholy, sad, or depressed, I can surmise that ‘blues’ in the quoted headline means the prospect of Netanyahu’s winning the Election is being deflated or becoming uncertain. Is ‘blue’ normally used as an intransitive verb in such a way ? Can I say “the chance of me being promoted as CEO blues” / “The prospect of Japan and China agreeing on the territory issues blues” ?


title: Why do people support/oppose the death penalty (with article), but oppose/support abortion (no article)

text: Why is the article **the** used when talking about the death penalty, but isn't used when discussing abortion?


title: What's the opposite of "server"/"server operating system"?

text: I'm looking for a word to describe a computer that's not a server. I know that in some contexts the opposite may be "client", but that implies the ability to form a network connection to a server, which is not necessary in my context. It can just be a standalone computer or any computer which does not run a server operating system. I'm also looking for the opposite to "server operating system", for example, a word to describe all Windows operating systems that do not have "Server" in their name (Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7, but not Windows Server 2000, 2003, 2008) – not necessarily restricted to Windows, though.


title: Difference between 'decline' and 'decrease'

text: I have an advanced English student who is stuck on the word 'decline'. I told him 'decline' and 'decrease' are very similar, but are not always interchangeable. It is a business English course and we were talking about what Customer Focus means. I wanted him to say "A company needs to _decrease_ its customer base in order to increase Customer Focus". And instead he used " _decline_ its customer base", which is not correct (right?!). He then used the example of "stocks declining in the last quarter" to prove that you could use 'decline' to mean 'decrease'. Does anyone have a good rule or way of explaining when to use 'decline' vs. 'decrease'?


title: Why have the subjunctive and indicative converged in Modern English?

text: It is to me a curious fact that the subjunctive mood of verbs in English has so nearly disappeared in modern times. In fact, even the correct form and usage of the subjunctive in Modern English barely distinguishes itself from the indicative! In many regions and dialects, the subjunctive would appear to be entirely obsolete, replaced by the indicative in all cases. (Educated speakers, certainly in Britain at least, do however still make good use of it.) The present subjunctive form in Modern English is (in almost all cases) virtually identical to the third-person plural present indicative (e.g. 'He were', 'She own'). This is markedly different from Old English, where the subjunctive form a form was much more easily noticeable. Even by the advent of Early Modern English in the 16th century, the subjunctive was already converging with the indicative. Other Modern European languages, not only Romance ones such as French and Spanish, but Germanic languages related to English (e.g. Dutch/German) have a much more pronounced subjunctive form. From what I remember of my Classical Latin, word suffixes for a variety of tenses are hugely obvious in the subjunctive. My question is: why is this convergence of the subjunctive and indicative so strongly the case in Modern English? Is it a general trend in other Germanic/Romance (or more generally Indo-European) languages? Why is its disappearance so much more apparent in English than other related languages?


title: English Subjunctive

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Why have the subjunctive and indicative converged in Modern English? Why is it that in the English language, the past subjunctive is the same as the past indicative for all verbs _except_ to be? In other languages that I have learned there is no relation between these two tenses, even in languages similar to English.


title: "That ... is" or "that ... be"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Why have the subjunctive and indicative converged in Modern English? Simple question, should you say "what matters most is **that** the merger **is** successful" or: "what matters most is **that** the merger **be** successful"?


title: Short and well-known term for "jump from one branch to another"

text: In this sentence: > Bird jumps from one branch to another in a strange wood. I am interested in the part: "jumps from one branch to another". Could you tell me some well-known term of such action? So after replacing I'll get: > Bird <term> in a strange wood.


title: Word for Finally Reaching a Desired State

text: Sometimes, one undergoes a sequence of gruelling trials, struggles, etc., an **ordeal**. But eventually the ordeal is over, and one finally reaches a particular, desired state. What word adequately describes this state? The best I could come up with was _relief_ , _upside_ , _goal_ , or (reaching a) _silver lining_. However, none of these feel appropriate. Here's an example: "After enduring the intolerable advertisements, the **_** was in sight for Timmy: in moments, the movie would begin."


title: How many syllables does "Science" have?

text: The pronunciation of the word science seems to vary based on which part of the world you're in. I have heard it pronounced "sai-ens" and "saains" (think "signs"). I have check the dictionary, but every dictionary is made in a certain country and a really, really big number of those countries happen to be in the western hemisphere where people use the former. Living in Southeast Asia, I can't help but notice that people here prefer the latter pronunciation. The question is, how many syllables does the word _science_ have? I am hoping for an answer that clarifies what the pronunciation has been historically and why this difference exists in the first place.


title: What is the meaning of "on or after the 1st of January in the previous calendar year"?

text: There is one view that, if applied today, the sentence means from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2013. There is another view that, if applied today, the sentence means any time after 1st January 2013 (ie 1st January 2013 until today (12th June 2014)). My question is, is there a definitive meaning of the phrase?


title: Etymology of the idiom "by and large"

text: The idiomatic phrase _by and large_ means > largely; generally; mostly The two earliest usages listed in Google's ngram, from 1812 and 1837, appear to use it in its current form and meaning. What is the origin of this phrase?


title: Usage of Status Quo

text: My friend want to know the current state of her hotel reservation. She wrote > Can I know the status quo Is it a correct usage ?


title: Proper way to pronounce and form the word for "The followers of Augusto Pinochet"

text: An article in this month's Monocle, discussing elections in Chile, referred to anti-Pinochetistas: > The vote was attended by a throng of cheering anti-Pinochetistas. I am wondering how the word should be pronounced and formed:   1. **Pinochetista** with a silent T, as one would pronounce Pinochet? (Pee-no-shay- _ee_ -stah)   2. **Pinochetista** with an articulated T, avoiding an awkward diphthong? (Pee-no-shay- _tee_ -stah)   3. **Pinochista** , formed like "Francista", the followers of Francisco Franco, by removing the last syllable "-et" and appending the suffix "ista": Pee-no-chee-stah


title: The mysterious, unenunciated "w" in the "-wich" of English place names

text: Doing some reading lately, I've been pondering the strange pronunciations of English place names -- namely, that of the 'w' in the "-wich" suffix, which, as I understand it, is not enunciated. For example, listening and watching many British programmes has taught me that _Norwich_ is pronounced **NORR- ich** , _Warwick_ is pronounced **WORR-ick** , and many of us know that _Greenwich_ is pronounced **GREN-ich**. My question is pretty simple, I think: Are these pronunciations the historical pronunciations, and for etymological reasons (or some other reason perhaps) a superfluous 'w' was added? That seems especially likely with ancient place names; many English cities can boast of rich histories stretching back to pre- Roman times. Or, on the other hand, is this just a common corruption, promulgated by "Standard English" to elide this "-w" -- perhaps there is some dialect in England that would properly pronounce it when speaking?


title: Do I use the article "the" before the name of a specific database in a sentence?

text: When you name a **specific** database, do you use the before it? I'm helping a friend translate from Japanese into English, and she's referring to a database such as Earthquakes database, the actual name of the database. Should a sentence say: Refer to Earthquakes database or should it say refer to the Earthquakes database? It will be read by those familiar with the particular database.


title: Do astute and acute have identical meaning and usage?

text: Do **_astute_** and **_acute_** have identical meaning ( - _quick_ or _shrewd_ ) and usage? Thanks. EDIT: From the comments below there appears to be significant disagreement about usage and a discussion seems worthwhile.


title: What does "I'll kill that cat" in the play Dinner for One mean?

text: In the play Dinner for One, James the butler says, "I'll kill that cat," at time 14:05. What does this mean? Is he referring to the tiger rug which keeps tripping him, or is it a saying or colloqualism?


title: Why Yell "Geronimo" When Jumping From A Plane?

text: Can anyone explain the origin of the practice of yelling "Geronimo" when parachuting from a plane?


title: Can I say "out of accidence"?

text: > I am a white only out of accidence. (self-made) Since we use “out of necessity” to mean something necessarily happens, by the same token, can we equate “out of accidence” with “accidentally”? It seems we use “by accident” in place of “out of accidence”?


title: Is this sentence "Sign up for class" correct?

text: Someone told me that the verb `sign up` isn't used to mean class registration. Instead, I should use `to enroll`.


title: Is it appropriate to say directly "x belongs to y (a category)"?

text: You belong to the cleverest human being. (self-made) Is this clear enough, or should I say: You belong to the category of the cleverest human being.


title: Do Australians say "down north"?

text: I noticed some maps from the southern hemisphere are "reversed" with the south pole on top. Which makes me wonder, are there places in the southern hemisphere where the concept of "down" is presumed to mean north instead of south? For example, would someone say: "Yea I went down north for a bit to Ireland" Just curious.


title: "Had a seafood dinner" or "had seafood dinner"?

text: Which sentence is correct? >   * I had a seafood dinner last night. >   * I had seafood dinner last night. >


title: Another phrase for "wear and tear inspection" of tools and equipment report

text: I am looking for a word that could substitute "wear and tear" in a resumé. The original was: > "Wear and tear inspection reports for the preliminary maintenance of tools > and equipment." I had found: > depletion, depreciation, erosion, ablation, attrition, consumption, > decrement, dissipation, hard wear, overuse, ravages of time, wearing away, > and weathering. (None of them quite fit since I was talking about offshore drilling tools and equipment. In this case "upkeep" deals with the concept in a better way.)


title: "Cheese and rice"?

text: A new girl started at the office, and she's quite a peculiar character. She moved here from Alabama and is definitely the excitable type. Every office has one I guess. One thing she says every now and then is **cheese and rice**. Like, I'll ask her a question about something, and she'll reply, "Oh, cheese and rice, I don't know!" A quick Google search turned up nothing but casserole recipes. Does "cheese and rice" mean anything? Is this something I just attribute to her strange perkiness, or is this just a Southern thing?


title: Usage of the gerund preceded by the possessive pronoun

text: I read this thread on the usage of the gerund preceded by the possessive pronoun with much interest. I have another question about the usage of the gerund preceded by the possessive pronoun. In a test from a textbook I am using, one must choose the correct form of the bracketed word in the following sentence (I have simplified it somewhat): > Company X experimented with its (expand) ___ _ into a new business area. The given answer is "expansion." To me, this intuitively feels more comfortable than the gerund "expanding." My question, however, is the following: Is the gerund also grammatically correct in this sentence? In the example sentences throughout this thread so far, there are no cases in which the subject of the sentence and the subject of the gerund clause are the same, not to mention cases in which the verb of the gerund clause is intransitive and followed by a preposition. For example: > The monkey seemed to be preoccupied with its prying off the lid of the jar. Again, this sounds very awkward to me, but I'm not sure if it's incorrect. I also wondered if there might not be a rule that if a verb has a standard nominalized form (expand -> expansion), it needs to take precedence over the gerund when it is preceded by the genitive case. Are such matters entirely irrelevant to my question?


title: What is the difference between "particularly" and "in particular"?

text: Is there any difference between _particularly_ and _in particular_? When should I use each one of them?


title: What is an appropriate response to "what's up" greeting?

text: Sorry if it's a trivial question, but when someone uses _what's up_ as a greeting I have no idea what they want to hear. What are the possible answers and what does this question mean exactly?


title: What should a reply to "What's up?" be?

text: How should you reply to "what's up?"


title: How to reply to the question, "What's up?"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is an appropriate response to "what's up" greeting? If someone asks me "What's up, man?," how should I reply? What does it mean?


title: Response to "What's up?" in various conversations

text: > **Exact Duplicate:**   >  What is an appropriate response to "what's up" greeting? What should be the response to "what's up"? I don't get satisfied and often confused with my answer saying "fine/working/chatting". There are various situations and time of conversations such as   * chat with a friend   * chat with a business partner   * chat with your boss   * etc. So, what should be the response that would satisfy the questioner?


title: "Ignored for deletion"

text: Is the phrase "item is ignored for deletion" grammatical and idiomatic? The context is a software program. I have a list of items to be deleted from a database, and if an item from the list is not in the database, I want to display a message saying that the item is ignored. Since this message can appear among other unrelated messages, I want it to be as informative as possible but laconic.


title: usage of "lead to"

text: If I want to use _lead to_ , does it always need to use _being_ as shown below. > less number of points _lead to_ missing edges _being_ occurred, are > recognized using proximity analysis.


title: Does apologizing entail recognizing being at fault?

text: Consider this example: > I'm sorry if you got the impression that I meant to insult you. That was not > my intention. Would it be correct to say that the above person apologized? All the dictionaries I have checked defined "to apologize" as admitting one's fault. However, in the above example, the person is not conceding he is making a mistake; he is merely clarifying his intent and, well, _apologizing_ if he hurt the other person's feelings. Yet, based on my understanding of the verb, it would be adequate to say that the person apologized. So, does apologizing really require being at fault?


title: very specific tense aspect configuration

text: I recently tried to translate a German sentence to English and I failed. I won't give you the German version but rather the background configuration of it. Two people talk about an event that has happened in the past. They do not know how exactly it happened though, let's say there are 2 options how it could have gone down. They have no information but they do know that under a certain condition one outcome was almost certain. Here is an example that I think does work in English (if not then please correct me): > If you haven't seen the movie, then you have definitely missed out on > something. Another example without a negative: > If Marie studied then she passed the exam. Now here comes the version that didn't work. > If Thomas knew, that Marie needed the book he would have brought it with him > to class. or another try: > In case that Thomas was aware that Marie needed the book, then he has > probably brought it with him to class. I don't know if that is correct or not. Anyway... I was wondering why the same configuration can be expressed in the movie example quite easily while I have to find all kinds of workaround for the book-example. My idea was, that the verb to know (with a few exceptions) does not make sense in perfect aspect and that using the simple past doesn't work because the **if** makes it look conditional. Is that possible? And also, what is the grammatical name for that configuration? How can I express the idea for the book-example in proper English?


title: Comma placement in "developing cutting edge websites and previously video games"

text: This is the opening line of my CV so I would like it to be correct. Would this be the correct place to put the comma? I've always been taught not to put a comma before _and_. > I’m a talented and versatile programming and UI professional with 5 years of > commercial experience in developing cutting-edge websites, and previously > video games.


title: What does "she was as generous in sharing her death as she was in sharing her life" mean?

text: I just started reading this book called "A Dirty Job" by Christopher Moore. The author has dedicated his work to Patricia Moss by this sentence: > This book is dedicated to Patricia Moss, who was as generous in sharing her > death as she was in sharing her life". I don't exactly get the meaning of it. Is there any kind of irony in this sentence? Does the writer want to say "She not only shared her life with others when she was alive, but also, when she died, she was still generous and shared her death with others and killed them"? or the writer only wants to praise Patricia Moss?


title: Way to differentiate between at this precise moment, and at the time being?

text: I came across this problem last Sunday when talking to my brother and mother. We were in the car, my brother in the back seat, and me and Mother in the front... > Bro. : "So, Mom, what are you reading at the moment?"   >  Me : Um... She's driving?   >  Mom(didn't hear me) : "I'm reading Agatha Christie. The Murder of Roger > Ackroyd." In this conversation, my Mom understood my brother to mean the book she is reading, but hasn't finished, while I understood it as "right now." Is there another way of phrasing it concisely without having to resort to something like: > "So, Mom, what are you reading at present, not at this exact moment, but the > book that you haven't finish yet?" Ideas please?


title: Do adverbs only describe verbs?

text: > Egypt and Tunisia have both taken steps to form a new government after the > overthrow of Mubarak and Ben Ali respectively. In this context, does _respectively_ describe the steps that have been taken, or the overthrow of Mubarak and Ben Ali?


title: Meaning of "down on me" in the Janis Joplin song

text: What does ' _Down on Me_ ' mean in this Janis Joplin song? > **Down on Me**   >  Well, down on me, Lord, down on me.   >  I said it looks like everybody in this whole round world,   >  Yeah hey yeah all right, is down on me yeah.   >  Yeah yeah yeah yeah.   >  [...] I'm sceptical about the 'oral sex' meaning here.


title: Is there a term to describe the tendency to do what's minimum?

text: I will try my best to describe. Some times, I have found that people tend to do the minimum procedures to finish what they do, and find improving unnecessary. I understand different people have different definition of what's perfect, and have justification for not making it better. Maybe it is due to rules in where they live, or policies in where they work, or just because we are not paid enough to polish the result. Is there a word or phrase to describe this phenomenon? Thanks in advance.


title: "On the equivalence of A and B" or "between A and B"

text: I am writing an academic paper with a choice of titles: >   1. On the equivalence of A and B > >   2. On the equivalence between A and B > > or >   1. On the equivalence of A, B and C > >   2. On the equivalence between A, B and C > >   3. On the equivalence among A, B and C > > where A,B,C are some scientific or math notions. Should I use **of** or **between** or **among**? Which case is more correct or suitable?


title: What are entries of the same year called

text: I want to know a word for a group of students who enroll in a university at the same department at the same time. I tried looking it up in google but didn't get any real results.


title: Who is watching the watchdog?

text: I am looking for an expression that conveys the meaning _Who is watching the watchdog_?


title: "Would have not" vs. "would not have"

text: >   * That would not have happened if John had completed his work. > >   * That would have not happened if John had completed his work. > > The former seems correct. The latter doesn't seem incorrect. Are there any cases where one ought to use the latter instead of the former?


title: The air bracing, leaves just starting to turn

text: I found this sentence - > It was autumn in New England, the air bracing, leaves just starting to turn. What does "leaves started to turn" mean? Does it mean that "the leaves started to bend due to dryness"?


title: Wish someone 'good luck' for an operation

text: What is a good way of wishing someone 'good luck' for an operation? The words 'good luck' don't sound right, especially because it is a very difficult operation with lots of severe risks.


title: A poetic word or expression for networking/lobbying/making professional connections

text: I’m looking for a poetic word or expression that means making professional connections, lobbying, networking, socializing professionally. _League, circuit, club, society_ , and so on and so forth.


title: What's wrong with this sentence: "Who am I doing this task with?"?

text: Imagine that you are in a class full of students and the teacher is forming couples to perform some task. Let's say, for some reason, you didn't hear the name of the person you are going to do the task with. I would ask the teacher "Who am I doing this task with?" but Google shows me that there is no such a sentence out there. How would you express yourself in this situation? Thanks a lot!


title: contrite, detritus, diatribe

text: The words _contrite, detritus, diatribe_ share the same root "trit" which means rub. Why does contrite mean remorse, detritus mean debris, and diatribe mean criticism? From etymonline, I found that con means "together", de means "away", and dia means "away".


title: Do desultory, result, consult share the same root?

text: In _desultory, result, consult_ , do _sult_ all mean jump and leap? I searched etymonline, which gives different interpretation, especially in consult, sult seems to mean gather together. But I hope the three words have the same root with the same meaning.


title: A term for this type of language

text: For example, you're in a room with three people. You're talking to one person and the other is getting kind of stupid or is doing something that you find dumb. To insult them without them catching on to what you actually mean, you come up with a statement that you say to the person that you're talking to, and it sounds like you're talking about something else, like your dog, but you're really insulting the person.


title: How did "strike" get its baseball meaning?

text: **Strike** as an English word (meaning to hit) is certainly older than **strike** as a baseball term (meaning **not** to hit), so what puzzles me is that the word adopted for the action is the exact opposite of the action. Etymonline indicates that the first use is in the mid-19th century, but gives no indication of how it came to be used. Can anyone shed any light on why such an ill-suited word was chosen for the action of not striking the ball? If it is is actually an appropriate word for this, why is it? (Additionally, to be _stricken_ by something, usually an illness I believe, means to be afflicted by it, and seems to be a metaphor for being hit by an disease.) **Edit** : Interesting things to consider   In the context of the American court systemref (and probably elsewhere), strike is used to mean "remove". Similarly, ~~this is strike text~~.


title: What are the differences between, and the connotations of, "flag", "banner", and "standard"?

text: See also: Difference between "banner" and "flag". I would like to know about _standard_ , too. What would you say are the differences between the three words?


title: Use of "I for one"

text: When we say “for one” in a sentence, what does it mean? I heard a sentence in a TV program where Robin Hood said: > Who will bear this injustice? I, for one, will not. As I understand it, “I for one” means for a single person. Does “for one” have the same figurative meaning in all the sentences in which it is used?


title: Is it ever correct to use “end” after the name of a month?

text: I’ve heard some people say things like _September end_ or _June end_ when I’m used to hearing the _end of September_ or the _end of June_. Is the former usage (meaning, the “something end” collocation) correct or standard somewhere?


title: What do you think of the tenses here?

text: “If I had to explain to a foreigner why Yamamoto’s action was a problem,” Miyadai said, “I don’t think I could do it.”Source the "was" of "why Yamatomo's action was a problem." Is it fair to say that this has two possible interpretations, that is, it is purely past and that it is because of the sequence of tenses due to the hypothetical mood of the clause?


title: What term refers to "one's personal definition of what is polite or rude"?

text: People tend to have their own feelings about what behavior or conversation subjects are polite or rude. Is there a specific term to refer to a person's personal definitions of this? The terms "ethics", "morals", and "virtues" don't seem specific enough in dealing just with this sense.


title: "Prospects of" or "Prospects for" a new project?

text: The title more or less says it all. In particular, I'm considering the title of a presentation or short article. I'll say that it's a discussion of new discoveries that might come from pursuing a "Project X". The title is currently (not by my doing) "Prospects of Project X", but my gut feeling is that it should rather be "Prospects for Project X". Glancing at a few examples it looks like there isn't a clear distinction, although a Google Fight gave "Prospects for" as the winner. So, which should it be? "Prospects of Project X" or "Prospects for Project X"?


title: Whence “emphasis mine”?

text: Writers often highlight part of a quotation to emphasize the point they're making. They use a variety of phrases to indicate that the emphasis did not appear in the original text. In order of current usage:   * emphasis added   * italics added   * emphasis mine   * italics mine It appears that “italics mine” is the earliest phrasing and the most common for at least 60 years, after which it was matched by “italics added” (c.1960) and then overwhelmingly surpassed by “emphasis added” (c.1970). It strikes me that “italics mine” and its later kin, “emphasis mine,” is an odd and archaic-looking construction, especially considering that it didn't become common until the early 20th Century. Can anyone shed light on its origin? Was there a particular reason why “emphasis added” so strongly overtook it in the 1960s?


title: Both or only the first, but never just the second

text: OK, so the title sounds more like a cryptic crossword clue rather than something that explains my question, so please feel free to make it into something more sensible if you can (and remove this sentence)... Let's say we have two items, the items do not matter but for this example let's say the first is "fish" and the second is "chips". If I were serving these items I might ask one of the following questions: > "Would you like fish **or** chips?" - implying that they could only choose > one or the other. > > "Would you like fish **and** chips?" - implying that they could only have > both items together. **Now the question** : Is there a word (or two) that could replace and/or in the above sentences that would imply that they can choose to have fish only, both fish and chips, or neither of them, but **not** chips only? * * * To try and clarify my requirements, here is the original example that inspired me to seek out an answer... Originally I read the following sentence on StackOverflow (a different SE site for those that don't know): > You should probably use javascript or jQuery to accomplish this The problem I find with this sentence is that "jQuery" is a javascript library and cannot exist without "javascript", therefore the "or" is technically inaccurate. However, to replace the "or" with "and" would also be inaccurate because you could choose only "javascript" as "jQuery" is optional (it would just make it easier). And, of course, neither can be chosen.


title: “Has reported” as present perfect vs. “has” as present + “reported” as a noun

text: In the following sentence below, I **want** to use the word _reported_ as a noun, but it looks like I’m using the present perfect form _has reported_. How can one be clear when constructions like this arise? > That both covers the whole 3-week period and has reported duty-cycles under > it. (Note: That sentence was written in the context of technical writing, so don't pay too much attention to its actual meaning.)


title: Is "sectio caesare" an appropriate English alternative to "caesarian section"?

text: On Parenting.se we recently received this question, which refers to sectio caesare birth. I was not familiar with the term, but found that wikipedia redirects the term to the caesarian section page. After some discussion, it was suggested that this might be a common European variant for the procedure. However, it is not clear to me if this is the term from non-English European languages, or if it was used commonly by European English-speakers. Are both versions valid in English? Is one more common than the other (I don't want to fall into the American bias here)?


title: Should I use period pronunciation when reading poetry aloud?

text: I find that when I read older poetry, the rhyme scheme is sometimes broken and I assume that the problem comes from changes in pronunciation over time. For example, Poe keeps up a pretty impressive rhyme scheme throughout the Raven but it breaks on the lines: > "Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! > > prophet still, if bird or devil! unless "evil" and "devil" rhyme. When reading that line aloud, should I try to adjust the pronunciation so that they rhyme? Or is it more important to pronounce words in a way that modern listeners will readily understand?


title: Word for: "dislike of people that has same gender as speaker"

text: Is there a word for "disliking people of same gender"? I.e. man that dislikes men in general (but not women), or woman that dislikes women in general (but not men)? There's "misanthropy", but it means "dislike of humans in general", and "misogyny"/"misandry" do not satisfy "same gender" requirement. Is there a specific word for that?


title: Why do some people prefix people's names with "the"?

text: Lately I've been seeing a trend that I find disturbing for some reason, mostly in Indian publications but also in some American ones - prefixing people's names with "the". For example: _The_ Mr. Gandhi said that taking _the_ Narendra Modi's name was tantamount to committing a crime in the party. Is this proper usage? It surely doesn't sound right.


title: Origin of New Jersey idiom "down the shore"

text: As a native Midwesterner, I was very puzzled to hear my wife (who is from northern New Jersey) use that idiom. I understand what it means, and as far as I can remember I understood what it meant from the beginning; but I thought that my wife's rapid speech was eliding the "to". My usual sources for etymology (Merriam-Webster.com and Etymonline.com) are designed for word etymology, not phrase etymology, and I don't see (after some search) a question here, so I'll now put the question: _What is the origin and history of the New Jersey idiom "down the shore", used to mean "in the area along the southeastern coast of New Jersey?"_ **Note** The related question, here, correctly identifies the expression as being a local idiom, but doesn't address the question of where the expression came from (For example, was there a local dialect which used "down the" to mean "in the direction of"? If so, by whom was it spoken? Where? Does it survive in any other expressions? Is it at all related to the northern New Jersey accent?) I'm specifically looking for _historical_ origins, which are not addressed in the previous question.


title: Description that sets the scene in a play

text: In plays, there is often a description at the beginning of the scene that sets the scene before the characters start speaking. e.g., see the paragraph in italics here. What is the formal term for it?


title: Already vs. before in the present perfect

text: What's the difference?   Example: > I've already seen Terminator. vs. > I've seen Terminator before.


title: Is there any countable noun which is a synonym of 'rating'?

text: What noun can be used to describe how many times something has been rated? For voting, you can say "one vote" or "two votes". For liking (Facebook), you can say "one like" or "two likes". For rating, I don't think someone would say "one rate" or "two rates". What's the right word in this case?


title: Which is correct: "it's not a big deal to me" or "it's not a big deal for me"?

text: What is the correct way to say it? >   * It's not a big deal to me. >   * It's not a big deal for me. > Also, should I use "it's _not_ " or "it's _no_ "?


title: Using "a" vs "an" with 'very'

text: I've just read from a comment somewhere that 'a very emotional' is grammatically wrong, and it should be 'an very emotional'. Why is 'very' ignored in this case? If it should be ignored, are there any other words that should also be ignored?


title: Is "bad loser" a valid expression?

text: Is the expression "(someone is a) **bad loser** " valid?   If it is valid, is it equal to " **sore loser** ", or does it have a different meaning and/or use?


In my mother tongue, we have an expression that I have translated to > I read the dictionary as if it were a novel. I think the meaning is easy to grasp by I wonder if there a more suitable translation. Thank you.


title: Is it possible to form adjective "morally" by deriving it from the noun "moral" (as in "of the story")?

text: Recently I used the word _morally_ as an adjective formed from the noun moral. The concept I wanted to describe was that some statement is _morally_ correct if you are able to agree with it intuitively but you don't necessarily have evidence or proof for it. So the statement would be a _moral_ of some precise story (meaning evidence or proof). Then it was pointed out to me that this might not be correct because _morally_ is usually understood as referring to _morality_. So I looked it up in the dictionary and, indeed, I weren't able to find the meaning I wanted. So my questions are: >   1. Is it correct to use word _morally_ in the meaning I referred to above? >   2. More generally, how do I know that words I form (e.g. by deriving > adjectives from nouns) are correct? Is it enough to look in the dictionary > and by not finding the word there, could I conclude that the word (or some > special meaning of the word) indeed does not exist? >