title: Meaning of "scan" in "that doesn't scan in English"

text: In an answer to another question this sentence was proposed: > Was it specifically mentioned as part of their teaching, or they just > happened not to have killed anyone? In comment, another user wrote: > That doesn’t scan in English. Sorry. **What does _scan_ mean in this context?** I've searched the online dictionaries I normally consult (NOAD, M-W, Dictionary.com, TheFreeDictionary.com, Oxford Dictionaries Online, Cambridge Dictionaries Online), but cannot find a meaning other than "(of verse) conform to metrical principles" (NOAD).


title: What does "Many, many happy returns of the day" mean in context of a birthday?

text: Today I saw a birthday card which says: > Many, many happy returns of the day. Can you help me understand what it means?


title: Is this a sentence fragment...?

text: Ok, so here is an example sentence. "I hoped to lose the race so I wouldn't have to run against him." Here's my dilemma. I was questioning whether a comma was necessary after "race" to separate the two independent clauses connected by "so," the coordinating conjunction, but then it occurred to me: Is "I wouldn't have to run against him" an independent clause, or is it dependent? If it were standing on its own, would it be considered a fragment? Can someone please explain?


title: What's the meaning of "pushing at the boundaries of"?

text: Following is a passage from this article: > Heterosexual men flirted with me, and I never bothered to correct them. In > my mind, it wasn’t a lie unless my words actively misled. I was **pushing at > the boundaries of gender**. Or so I told myself. What does the phrase _pushing at the boundaries_ mean? I have looked it up the phrase, but couldn't find a source that defines it clearly.


title: Difference between IPA ɚ, ɹ, and ɝ

text: Wanting to be more Californian and trying to correct my accent, I'm looking at the sound for mother, in the North America column. What is the difference between IPA symbols for ɚ, ɹ, and ɝ. (ɝ is not on the page but the difference between ɚ and ɝ is what I was looking for in the first place.) I cannot really hear a difference between Standard Canadian and Standard American, for example.


title: "in case of" + "respectively"

text: I would like to write something like: > In cases of the A and B models, the run-time analysis of the algorithm is > shown in Figures X and Y, respectively. I mean:               A model -> Fig X     B model -> Fig Y      Is it correct? I would like to say it in one sentence if possible.


title: What word describes the opposite of 'elevated'?

text: Assume things are graded in some way and some level is assigned the attribute 'normal'. Things which stay (always) above this level are called elevated (relative to the norm). Things which stay (always) below this level are called what? Edit: I have intentionally omitted a closer context because I am interested in the most general applicable word. But: the word should be used in a technical, neutral sense, not in a moral judgment. Edit 2: The answer I choose is in fact a comment by @FrustratedWithFormsDesigner: "There is no canonical generally applicable word."


how to properly express "begin not to do something" for example: > I begin not to be worried about him   >  something like: I begin to stop worrying about him > > I begin not to love her   >  something like: I begin to stop loving her are there any other expressions? thanks


title: "Analogy is the Delaware of Cognition"

text: I come across this expression in this public lecture "Analogy as the Core of Cognition" by Douglas Hofstadter. (http://shc.stanford.edu/events/calendar/2006-2-6-douglas-hofstadter-analogy- as-the-core-of-cognition.html). Roughly 15-20min into the video. When Doug made this humorous remark, laughters erupted in the room. I do not quite get the joke though. Could anyone explain the significance of Delaware here?


title: Difference between "Thanking you" and "Thank you"?

text: I always use in my letter "Thanking you in advance for your time and consideration." But one of my colleagues said _thanking you_ was not correct usage of English, it should be _thank you_. So my question is: can I use _thanking you_ or should I use _thank you_?


title: "present perfect" because "simple past"

text: Is this grammatically correct? > The teacher has sent several students home because they cheated on the quiz. Or does it have to be like this? > The teacher has sent several students home because they have cheated on the > quiz.


title: What is the first part of a joke called?

text: How does one refer to the first part of a joke? The follow up is often referred to as a punchline but I'm unsure how to refer to the first part. Is it a 'joke' or does a 'joke' include the punchline?


title: What's the usage difference between 'quarter' and 'quadrant'?

text: Are these two words interchangeable in most usages? My specific example is: > It smells bad in this [quarter/quadrant] of the building this morning. Could both words be used correctly in this sentence; would they have the same meaning?


title: Having or has? What is the best way to say that sentence

text: I have one question, what is the best way to say that sentence below? Are both grammatically correct? > He has been working on mobile development for 4 years and has published more > than 15 apps. or > He has been working on mobile development for 4 years, having published more > than 15 apps.


title: Pronunciation and meaning: "wind" and "wound"

text: I find it curious that there exist two words spelt _wind_ ("a breeze" vs. "to turn") and two words spelt _wound_ ("an injury" vs. the past participle of _wind_ ), and that the words in each pair are unrelated in etymology and are pronounced differently. Did these different pronunciations come about to differentiate between the meanings? The OED says of _wound_ : > The original ŭ was normally lengthened before nd , but in the standard > pronunciation has been prevented from developing into ou (as in bound , > hound , ground , etc.) by the influence of the w (in contrast to wound , > past tense of wind v.1). The pronunciation /waʊnd/ is however given by some > dictionaries of the 18th century (Kenrick, 1733; Jones, 1798), is widely > current in dialects, is implied in various forms of wounds int. and zounds > int., and was common in the adverb woundy adj.1 How would the _w_ prevent the /u/ from developing into /aʊ/, and why did it only affect one of the two _wound_ s?


title: "In the last month" vs. "last month"

text: >   1. I have seen that movie six times **in** the last month. >   2. I have seen that movie six times last month. > Why?


title: A question about ignorance

text: I'm interested in the more intricate meanings of the term "ignorance". In my experience, it is being used primarily to express someone's _state_ of not knowing. Somebody can be ignorant and innocent of it at the same time. In German, the same word exists ( _"Ignoranz"_ ), but with a different approach: It describes someone's conscious decision to ignore the facts - usually that's a facet of arrogance (or, less often, stupidity). It's more a description of _attitude_ than _state_. Not knowing is only the result of it. In any case, you cannot be innocent of _"Ignoranz"_. Does the same subtext exist in English? If not, what would be a better match for the German word?


title: “Oojakapiv”: what does this word mean?

text: A lot of people in my family use this word, not regularly, but enough for me to ask what it means. I know it’s not a “real word”, but how come people from different sides of my family use it? It must mean something. The way the word is used is for a word that doesn’t mean anything, like _gobbeldygook_.


title: Use of conjuncts in formal communication via email, letters etc

text: How much should we use the conjuncts (words like _besides, however, nevertheless, otherwise, so, therefore, still, yet, though_ ) in formally communicating via email, verbally etc? Any suggestions in what kind of communications we should lessen their use? I just want to know more about them.


title: Translation of foreign company names and abbreviations

text: How do I deal with translation of names of foreign organisations or company names and their abbreviations? I have an example where I want to refer to the Swedish television company SVT, which is an abbreviation for Sveriges Television. I will need to refer to this a lot in the text, so I'm thinking I will define SVT the first time it's used and then just refer to it as SVT later in the text. So my problem is how do I define it the first time it is used. Surely, English readers will need both the Swedish abbreviation "SVT", the Swedish full name "Sveriges Television", and the English translation "Swedish Television". But how do I write all these three together. There are many combinations. For example: > In Sweden, the Swedish Television company (Sveriges Television, SVT) is a > public service broadcaster. or > In Sweden, the Swedish Television company (SVT)[1] is a public service > broadcaster. Where [1] is a footnote where I write "Sveriges Television". or > In Sweden, Sveriges Television (SVT) (Swedish Television) is a public > service broadcaster. There are other combinations too. How would you suggest that I write it? Also, I'm getting a headache over whether to italicize or not.


title: What do you call an old-fashioned poster pole?

text: I am searching for the right name for those old-fashioned, very wide poster/add poles. Here's one, e.g.: ![wide poster pole](http://i.stack.imgur.com/WCNDc.jpg) They are often shown in movie depictions of the Victorian era, with an umbrella-like roof. It seems too wide to be called a pole and it's not a typical billboard or poster wall, because it's circular. I'm guessing there must be some word that was used (or still is) to address this object. I searched Wikipedia entries on advertisement and poster history, thinking it might be mentioned somewhere, but I couldn't find anything.


title: Should "each" be followed by a singular or plural possessive?

text: If a possessive noun, which is plural, is preceded by "each", then should it use the singular or plural possessive form? For example, which of the following is correct?   * spend time in each other's presence   * spend time in each others' presence


title: Is there any expression that is the opposite of "slippery slope"?

text: _Slippery slope_ is a subtle and powerful English expression. Are there any expressions that are opposite or contrasting of that expression? The sense of slippery slope I have in mind is _Small compromise, e.g. moral, leading to debasement of principles_. So an opposite sense might be _fortitude in the face of laxity leads to greatness_.


title: Non-affecting the main the property of interest

text: Suppose that we analyse the speed of a car. Then important (lower level) properties of a car to consider are: an engine, aerodynamics, weight, etc. But there are also other properties of a car that are important for some other use, but do not affect the speed of a car in a direct way, e.g. the availability of airbags concerns the safety (rather than the speed) of a car. Note, here the properties of the speed and safety are at the same level of an abstraction of a car. The properties lower from them, an engine and an availability of an airbag are at the same level of an abstraction of a car too. I would like an English word (a noun or an adjective) for a property that:   1. does not affect the main property P1 of interest,   2. has a clear purpose and affects some other property P2 where the properties P1 and P2 as attributes concern the same level of detail.


Speaking of the alleged inventor of the hamburger, someone asked me > Can you guess what one of his tasty ingredients were? It is understandable, particularly in context, but it still feels wrong. Shouldn't the final word be "was" since the sentence is about one ingredient out of many? Or is this acceptable due to the plural ingredients we are choosing from? Is there anything else wrong with this sentence?


title: The first step "on becoming" or "to becoming" an employee

text: Do you say: > The first step on becoming a permanent employee ... or > The first step to becoming a permanent employee ...


title: Poison coursing through one's veins

text: I have seen this phrase many times, yet when I tried searching for _coursing_ , the phrase was nowhere to be found. Example from The Free Dictionary: > **Coursing** is the pursuit of game or other animals by dogs—chiefly > greyhounds and other sighthounds—catching their prey by speed, running by > sight and not by scent. Coursing was a common hunting technique, practised > by the nobility, the landed and wealthy, and commoners with sighthounds and > lurchers. In its oldest recorded form in the Western world, as described by > Arrian, the sport was practised by all levels of society, as remained the > case until Carolingian hunting law (Forest Law) appropriated hunting > grounds, or commons, for the king, the nobility, and other land owners. I can imagine this meaning fit into the phrase, but that still doesn't explain the utter lack of any information on it, at least on the web.


title: On the use of "both"

text: I keep running into this debate with my thesis advisor. Are both of these forms correct? > It can be seen that _both the_ users are able to... or > It can be seen that _the both_ users are able to...


title: Is there a phonetic difference between the final vowel sounds of "butter" and "action" in Australian English?

text: The Macquarie Dictionary lists the following pronunciations: butter /ˈbʌt **ə** /, apart / **ə** ˈpaːt/ & action /ˈækʃ **ə** n/. Wiktionary lists them as butter /ˈbʌ.t **ə** / (RP), apart / **ə** ˈpɑː(ɹ)t/ (RP) & action /ˈæk.ʃ **ə** n/. However, to me they sound like butter /ˈbʌt **ʌ** /, apart / **ʌ** ˈpaːt/ or / **ə** ˈpaːt/ & action /ˈækʃ **ə** n/. If I try to pronounce "butter" as /ˈbʌt **ə** / it sounds weird to me although "action" sounds fine either way. To me the /ə/ sound in "action" is the true schwa sound but "butter" has the same vowel sound twice. Also, the difference between the two vowels in "apart" just sound like a difference in length to me: / **ʌ** ˈp **ʌː** t/. (I just noticed that http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet_chart_for_English_dialects lists [äː] for "palm" and "father" and [ä] for "strut", "run", "won" and "flood" for AuE, so using that my "apart" would become either / **ä** ˈp **äː** t/ or / **ə** ˈp **äː** t/.) Are there any studies showing a split in what is normally considered a single phoneme, or am I just weird :-) ?


title: "Hooker", "whore", "prostitute", when to use which?

text: "Hooker", "whore", and "prostitute" all mean _whore_ ; what are the differences between them?


title: Is the term "very average" correct?

text: In general does the phrase "[adverb] correct" follow the rules of proper English? For example I asked of the water level of a forest and someone replied "very average for this time of year".


title: What is the role of phrase "as many as" in "... as many as five commands ..."?

text: I have a sentence as follows: > You may need as many as five commands to draw a simple triangle when using > the basic layer. My question is: Is the phrase "as many as" crucial ? Will the meaning change if I remove it from the sentence? Does the phrase mean "at most"?


title: What does "vanilla" mean in the context of gaming?

text: Consider this comment: > I've been playing WoW(an online multiplayer game) since vanilla. I'm an > older white male, my first toon was female, created with my wife coaching > me. We did it just for fun. What does _vanilla_ mean here?


title: How does "to subsist in" come to mean "to be attributed to"?

text: What's the logical derivation behind this definition of _subsist_ [Definition 2.1] > Be attributable to: _the effect of genetic maldevelopment may subsist in > chromosomal mutation_ In that link, the etymology is listed as: > mid 16th century (in the sense 'continue to exist'): from Latin subsistere > 'stand firm',   >  from sub- 'from below' + sistere 'set, stand'. How does this etymology lead to the meaning "to be attributed to" ?


title: Should this sentence have a singular or plural object?

text: Is the correct version this: > But in general such verses have rarely been accepted as a genuine part of > the book. OR this: > But in general such verses have rarely been accepted as genuine parts of the > book.


title: What does "broken lives" mean?

text: The following is a comment made by a poster in response to this article: > Absolutely correct. Intentionally obscuring who you are and what your > desires are may lead to heartache and in rare occurrences **broken lives**. > I personally, unlike this articles author never ever want to come close to > breaking another individuals life. What does it mean when your life is broken, or to break someone's life?


title: Word for: 'Because of war'

text: I'm looking for, as I feel there probably is, an adjective that means something along the lines of 'as a consequence of war'. e.g., "The women were bored by the X lack of men." Where X implies that the lack of men is due to some war.


title: What's the second part of the word "colophon"?

text: According to Wiktionary and Etymonline, I only find the ultimate Greek word " **κολοφών** ", leading to my question. The **first part** of "colophon" is "colo-", which derives from PIE ***kolən-, *koləm-**. I want to find out the Greek or PIE root of "-phon", the **second part** of "colophon". **_colophon_** ( _Wiktionary_ ) > from Ancient Greek **κολοφών** (kolophon, “peak or finishing touch”) **_colophon_** ( _Etymonline_ ) > 1774, "publisher's inscription at the end of a book," from L. colophon, from > Gk. kolophon "summit, final touch" (see **hill** ). **_hill_** > From Middle English, from Old English hyll (“hill”), from Proto-Germanic > *hulliz (“stone, rock”), from Proto-Indo-European ***kolən-, *koləm-** > (“top, hill, rock”). Cognate with Middle Dutch hille, hulle (“hill”), Low > German hull (“hill”), Icelandic hóll (“hill”), Latin collis (“hill”), Old > English holm (“rising land, island”). More at holm.


title: Word for person who can't remember paths?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Term for person who forgets directions or routes   >  Is there a specific word for describing a person who gets lost easily? What to call a person who can't remember paths and roads?


title: Is there a specific word for describing a person who gets lost easily?

text: When we travel around, some people get lost much more easily than others, since they cannot remember directions correctly. Is there any specific word for these kind of people?


title: What is the origin of "wake up and smell the roses"

text: Where did this saying come from, and what is its true meaning?


title: meaning of two , four and eight in this conversation

text: I was watching _How I Met Your Mother_ when I heard a conversation between some actors and it just bounced over me. But from the background I could hear people laughing and I was sitting static without getting a single point: It started like this: > Robin: Look at that guy, I had a crush on him long back > > Ted: [sarcastically] That guy is like a four. > > Robin: Oh , if he is like a four then what are you. > > Ted: Then I am eight and... a half. Later that guy [sarcastically] talking to someone on phone about Ted. He is "a two." Can anyone please explain what does this conversation imply?


What does 'lump' mean in the phrase 'You can like it or lump it'? As in the example: 'I am going on holiday and if you don't agree you can like it or lump it.'


title: "Muppet" in American English

text: I see an event is being organised in Washington, DC, called the Million Muppet March. In British English (at least) a muppet has no very positive a connotation:- > muppet (ˈmʌpɪt) — n slang a stupid person Is that also the case in American slang?


title: Which event does the sentence refer to about the love-letters?

text: Quotation from _My Life Autobiography_ of Havelock Ellis: > The love-letters of the Brownings have been used to exploit the indignation > of the superior people who make this protest. I have looked into those > letters; they were all written before marriage by two people who had never > had any opportunity of being intimate; **they might all** , as my wife once > exclaimed in a different connection of a letter she had herself written, > **have been stuck upon the stable door**. Which event does "the stable door" refer to in _The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett_? (vol 1 \ vol 2)


title: Where can the Longman communication 3000 (most common spoken and written words) just starting on 2000?

text: I want to review my vocabulary by checking the longman list of most spoken and written words from 2000 to 3000 (from 1 to 2000 I assume I know). Here I found the complete list: http://www.lextutor.ca/freq/lists_download/longman_3000_list.pdf I wanted the 2000 to 3000 separated from the other ones.


title: Ambiguity in use of relative pronouns

text: > The animal ate the father of Jay, who was an engineer. So who is the engineer here? Father or Jay? How can I use _which, that, who_ to refer to the whole object or only to parts of the object?


title: "Not quite yet" vs "not yet"

text: Does the phrase 'not quite yet' mean that something will be done shortly? Does this imply less time than just 'not yet'?


title: Do 'inq' and 'ink' sound similar?

text: Do 'inq' and 'ink' sound similar? I want to register a domain name which is related to data (writing stuff). Is it okay to use 'inq' rather than 'ink'?


title: Usage of the abbreviation of a specific-type short phrase

text: Could you tell me how to abbreviate few-word phrases as in the use of "mobile" for "the mobile business" in the sentence > "Company A's lagging position in mobile is the most pressing challenge?" When I come across such an abbreviation, I wonder why it should be "mobile," but not "mobiles" nor "the mobile" (shorthand for the mobile _business_ ). I would like to know the rationale behind this particular type of abbreviation.


title: Can a personal pronoun refer to a subject that is never explicitly mentioned?

text: I'm having trouble accepting as legitimate this sentence: "In her new book, Jane Doe's sister Sally struggles with poverty." (This was offered as correct in a tutoring guide to SAT Writing Section.) Isn't the subject Sally, and therefore "In her new book..." is a modifier not correctly applicable?


title: What is the opposite of “Overridden“

text: I am looking for short word that I can use instead of “not overridden”. For example: “ _All promotions that are not overridden at the store level are included in the forecast._ ”


title: Loudly is Complement or adverb/adjunct in the sentence The cat / scratched / loudly

text: Loudly is mentioned as Complement when it is actually an adverb or adjunct in the site, http://changingminds.org/techniques/language/syntax/clause_arrangement.htm . Is it right or wrong? I have given the below based on my understanding. Is it correct? The cat / scratched – S / V   The cat / scratched / the door – S / V / O   The cat / scratched / loudly – S / V / A   The cat / scratched / at six o'clock – S / V / A   The cat / gave / the door / a scratch – S / V / IO / DO   The cat / scratched / the door / loudly – S / V / O / A   The cat / scratched / the door / at six o'clock – S / V / O / A   The cat / scratched / the door / soft. – S / V / O / C   The cat / can scratch / in straight lines. – S / V / C


title: Inverse/Reciprocal word for "affiliate"?

text: e.g. If I am an Amazon affiliate, what is the term for Amazon's relationship to me?


title: Is it still an indirect object if you're taking something away?

text: So Jim is the indirect object in the sentence "Sally gave Jim a sandwich." But is Jim still the indirect object if the sentence is "Sally took the sandwich from Jim"? And if the sentence were to become "Sally took the sandwich from Jim for herself" would Sally now be both the subject and the indirect object? Thanks. Additional (silly) question: did I format the quotations correctly in my second and third sentences or should I have not omitted the periods at the end of the quotations?


title: Word or phrase for "seeing meaning where none exists"

text: Is there a word or a phrase to describe an instance where meaning is ascribed to something where there is no such meaning or where the interpretation is particularly fanciful? For example, when reading Shakespeare in English class or when viewing modern visual art in Art Appreciation class, someone mentions the 'phallic imagery or symbolism' of anything cylindrical in what is being read or viewed.


title: 'which is' or 'one is'

text: I have sentence. > Algorithm is classified as a probabilistic algorithms, which is used for > solving [name of problem] problems. Can I say: " _Algorithm is classified as a probabilistic algorithms. One is used for solving [name of problem] problem_ " ?


title: What's the meaning of rub it in your face?

text: p1 posted his bank account info and was excited to announce that he has paid off his mortgage. He is asking others to post their bank accounts as well. p2 "I have more than that but I have enough tact not to rub it in your face."


title: Word for the driver of a horse drawn carriage

text: I am writing a story where the main character travels by a 'horse drawn carriage'. He has a short conversation with the 'driver' of the carriage. My questions:   1. Is 'driver' the formal term to describe the person who is 'driving' the carriage? (to illustrate the seriousness of the word choice, I can think of pilots - not drivers - who fly planes!)   2. Is it called a horse carriage or a horse driven carriage?


title: Does adverb placement affect meaning?

text: >   1. He swam slowly to the island. > >   2. He slowly swam to the island. > > Some experts say that there is a “slight difference” in meaning. Would you please tell me that difference?


title: What is the difference between 'dictionary' and 'thesaurus'?

text: Do 'dictionary' and 'thesaurus' exactly have the same meaning or is there some difference between them ?


title: What is the accepted definition of the following words in this sentence?

text: Quoting DailyWTF: > The Matrix! No, not the the uburbulous deprodication errebelously conceived > by “The Architect”. What is the accepted definition of the following words in the above quote?   1. _uburbulous_   2. _deprodication_   3. _errebelously_


title: Answering questions with a negation at the end

text: How are you supposed to answer a question like this (assuming you're from Minnesota)? > You are a Minnesotan, no? Are you supposed to give the same answer as your answer to this question or give the opposite answer? > You are a Minnesotan, yes?


title: Opposite of caregiver

text: I want to write a book about the unfair expectations of a caregiver. A caregiver refers to somebody to looks after somebody else. What is the term for that 'somebody else'. 'Patient' doesn't seem all encompassing.


title: How to say: "I will try to move it to an earlier time" or what is the opposite of "delay"

text: I have a meeting that I think should be moved to an earlier time. What is the best way to say it? E.g. if I wanted to move it to a later time, I can use the word "delay": > "I would like to delay the meeting" How do I say the oposite? > "I would like to ___ _ the meeting" (to advance? to precede? none of them > sound right)


title: Using two "it"s in a sentence

text: So I am pretty bad at English which I put down to apathy/Dyslexia when I was younger as you are about to find out. I was writing a sentence on Skype just now to my friend and it did not seem right, it went as follows. "Yeah the more I see of it it seams over hyped" Now having 2 "it"s in a sentence can not be right, where have I gone wrong and what would be the correct way to write it?


title: Can "the chickens have come home to roost" have positive as well as negative connotations?

text: In answering a recent EL&U question (Idiom for the phrase "someone who gets what he deserved"), I cited the phrase "The chickens have come home to roost," and said that it "applies whether the person deserved good results and got them or deserved bad results and got them." But an astute commenter observed "I don't think I've ever heard that idiom used in a good context," which led me to wonder whether I was wrong in claiming that the saying focused strictly on the justice of the chickens' homecoming and not on whether their presence was injurious or beneficial to the person (or thing) so visited. I subsequently found that the phrase is indeed strongly tilted toward the suggestion that that the metaphorical chickens are undesirable results of past conduct or action. Specifically, the phrase seems to have originated with a proverb equating curses to chickens returning home to roost. But is the connection of the phrase to curses being lost in modern, informal usage? Can the phrase reasonably be used today to express a notion of either positive or negative consequences flowing from correspondingly positive or negative actions? And finally, what is the origin of the proverb about curses resembling chickens that come home to roost?


title: Should "A-Player" Be Hyphenated?

text: Stupid term, but still: Is it hyphenated or not? > Bob was really happy to have hired Alice; she was an 'A-Player' from the > world of private equity and would add a lot to the firm.


title: What does "it tastes like horspy" mean?

text: I heard an expression today but I did not know how it is written or what it is. And I could not find it with Google. It's something like: > it tastes like horspy Any pointers?


title: Origin of "waited on hand and foot"

text: I've just used the expression "expects to be waited on hand and foot", meaning someone who "expects others to do all the work of looking after his personal needs". A typical example (not necessarily true) being the suggestion that Prince Charles has a servant to put toothpaste on his toothbrush. I'm struck by the rather odd juxtaposition of hands and feet. Does it derive from the personal attendants once known as _handmaidens_ and _footmen_? When was it first used, and has it always had pejorative implications?


title: Why "he knows it" and not "he know it"

text: Why is it _I **know** it_ and _They **know** it_ but _He **knows** it_? But then _I **knew** it_, _They **knew** it_ and _He **knew** it_?


title: What is the meaning of "run someone out of town"?

text: I know it's hard to understand a sentence without context, but what situation comes naturally to your mind when you hear the following sentence? > She ran the mayor out of town.


title: When did the U.S. President become "Mr. X" instead of "President X"?

text: When I was much younger, I remember the press always referred to the U.S. president using the title of the office: "President Nixon" was followed by "President Ford" then "President Carter". Now that seems to have fallen out of favor and the common reference is: "Mr. Obama". My question is: when and why did that change happen? Was it associated with a particular president?


title: What does it mean by "It's been good because it's been bad"?

text: Once I asked my friend 'how's the summer treating you?', he replied 'It's been good because it's been bad.' What does it mean? Good or bad?


title: Is 'why wait?' a correct usage?

text: I need to write a short tag line for an ad. 'Why do you have to wait?' is too long. instead can we use 'why wait?'


title: Single word for logical but obstructive responses

text: Consider the following situation. A prosecutor in court is asking questions of an expert witness. The responses are all negative with the expert always adding another explanation to the prosecutor's conclusions/diagnoses. The expert witness's attitude could be interpreted as obstructive but logical. The questioning continues and the responses are appropriate for the question but continue being negative. > The prosecutor feels that the witness is being [adjective I'm looking for] > in their responses. I know the word exists, but I've forgotten it.


title: What does "any or any" mean in a legal text?

text: I have been going through several legal documents lately and have realised that a lot of them use the fragment "any or any" within some sentences. > Failing to place a guard or fence or warning signs so as to give any or any > adequate warning it was in a dangerous condition and a trap to persons > lawfully using the same Any ideas what purpose "any or any" serves here? I mean, when one uses the word "any" that doesn't need to subsequently be qualified as it is all- encompassing; well, at least that's what I thought.


title: Is this usage of 'nor' correct?

text: Without the accompanying **neither** , it can be difficult to know whether or not to use **nor**. Is this correct, or should **or** be used here instead? > We do not have the equipment needed to measure buoyancy **nor** air volume.


title: Is it okay to start a sentence with a Greek letter (variable)?

text: Is it okay to start a sentence with a variable? Do I need to rewrite a sentence just because the subject is typeset as a Greek letter? For example: > Φ is treated in a special way. vs. > The variable Φ is treated in a special way.


title: Looking for a formal equivalent phrase for the adverb "personally"

text: Which one is correct: "personal basis" or "individual basis"? I want to use it in a formal letter. I want to say: "I don't know Mr. X on a personal basis (or individual basis) and I have not had an opportunity to work with him". I want to avoid saying "I don't know Mr. X on personally". In fact, I am looking for an equivalent phrase for the adverb "personally". Could someone help me?


title: Canadian spelling: why?

text: As a Canadian, I feel that our spelling tendencies—sometimes British, sometimes American—fit quite well with our geographic, historic and cultural placement between these two bigger countries. I have enjoyed this question about differences between Canadian English and American and British English, especially the quite extensive answer given by user @ghoppe. But @ghoppe's answer got me wondering _why_ there are some quite consistent tendencies to American or to British spelling in Canadian English. For example, why do we tend to standardize on -ize endings rather than -ise? Why do we tend to favour -our endings rather than -or endings? I took to the internet to find if there are historic reasons. On this blog post I found the following comment by a reader: > the fact is, Canadian English was rapidly becoming American in the early > 19th century, thanks to massive immigration into Canada from the States […]. > Prominent Canadian cultural authorities intentionally re-established some > British norms as standard, most notably -our and -re words, partly for > patriotic reasons […]. That's a start, although it is not referenced. Wikipedia's page on Canadian English has another tantalizing little detail: > Canadian spelling conventions can be partly explained by Canada's trade > history. For instance, the British spelling of the word cheque probably > relates to Canada's once-important ties to British financial > institutions.[citation needed] Canada's automobile industry, on the other > hand, has been dominated by American firms from its inception, explaining > why Canadians use the American spelling of tire (hence, "Canadian Tire") and > American terminology for the parts of automobiles (for example, truck > instead of lorry, gasoline instead of petrol, trunk instead of boot). As you can see, Wikipedia has determined a citation is needed on the first part (the second part comes from the Canadian Oxford Dictionary). I'd love to know more than just these little details. Is there an article or book out there that lays out more comprehensively the _whys_ of Canadian spelling?


title: Possessive use of company name with product name

text: The name of the company is SOE. The name of the product is Clarity eBallot Delivery. Would you say: SOE Clarity eBallot electronic ballot systems makes it easy to.... or: SOE's Clarity eBallot electronic ballot system makes it easy to....


title: "Neither of the box of chocolates is suitable as a gift"

text: Is the use of _box_ in this sentence correct? > Neither of the **box** of chocolates is suitable as a gift.


title: What is a toit?

text: From the compound word hoity-toity meaning ' _thoughtless giddy behaviour_ ', where hoity is the word hoit, meaning ' _to behave thoughtlessly and frivolously_ '. However, I can't seem to find the meaning of **toit** in any English dictionary. I'm able to find meanings in French, Finnish, Estonian, and, Gaelic. This leads to a lot of confusion, and I'd like to know how this term came about, and especially the meaning of a toit in this context.


title: Meaning of the word 'orthodox' in sentence?

text: > "If I can not succeed in an orthodox way, at least I can succeed in a > criminal world." What does the word `orthodox` mean in this case ?


title: When to use split and split up

text: What should be used in below sentence: “split” or “split up”, and why? > We need to **split up** the background image of the website into two parts.


title: What's a word for lack of confidence?

text: I'm trying to find a word that describes a lack of confidence. Something that gives a sense of worthlessness maybe. I've dried looking up in Thesarus.com for similarities to lack of confidence and antonyms to self-worth, but with no luck. Anyone have some ideas?


title: What word am I looking for (similar to "subset")

text: If...   * (A) is a subset of (A)    * (A,B) is a subset of (A,B,C)    * (B,A) is not a subset of (A,B,C) because order matters.    * (B,C) is not a subset of (A,B,C) because I only want to compare the front of each set. Now _subset_ is the second cousin of the word I'm actually looking for. **_Which word would best fit here?_** Maybe:   * _is a prefix of_   * _begins_ ... but they seem awkward. Bonus points if there's a common term with an accepted Mathematical meaning (I'm not sure if some term exists).


title: Yet, I or Yet I,?

text: Which is grammatically correct? > Yet I, and my peers, have lots things... or > Yet, I, and my peers, have lots of things...


title: How many tenses are there in English?

text: Do we have 16 tenses in English? With   1. future   2. present   3. past   4. future in the past in these forms   1. simple   2. continuous   3. perfect   4. perfect continuous Can we manipulate these together to create English tenses? For example, " **present perfect** " or " **future perfect continuous** "?


title: How many tenses are there in English and what are they?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  How many tenses are there in English? The number of grammatical tenses in English makes it confusing as to what they are exactly and what types of tenses there are. This seems to be complicated by Aspects and Conditionals. If we were to put them into a mix, how many total possibilities would there be, and what would they be?


Who knows which tenses of English are not used or used merely? I wonder which ones you do not use often. As far as I know these are the tenses that you often do not use. am I right? Will have been verb+ing Would have been verb+ing Many thanks


title: Can we split English Tenses into 2 * 2 * 2 matrix?

text: I seem to remember Simple vs continuous Past vs present (no future tense, that's present) Perfect vs "normal" Okay, if we multiply that, we got 2*2*2=8 tenses in English. Am I correct? For example, say I want to express I kick a cat in 8 tenses I will got: **Simple past imperfect tense** I kicked a cat. **Simple past perfect tense** I had kicked a cat **Simple present tense** I kick a cat **Simple present perfect tense** I have kicked a cat **Continuous past imperfect tense** I was kicking a cat **Continuous past perfect tense** I had been kicking a cat **Continuous present tense** I am kicking a cat **Continuous present perfect tense** I have been kicking a cat Am I correct here? Only 8 tenses right?


title: The double 'i' is cool, but what's the rule?

text: At least to a self professed geek its cool to write words like _fungii_ and _radii_ , so naturally in some informal communications I take every opportunity to apply the suffix where it's probably not supposed to be used. Thus I ask, what is (are) the rule(s) for the double 'i'?


title: "As of this morning" vs. "as at this morning"

text: >   * As of this morning, he was not in support of the motion. >   * As at this morning, he was not in support of the motion. > Which is correct?


title: "Vagrancy" as a substitute for "vagary" in the phrase "the vagaries of (fashion, market, etc.)"

text: As far as your English variety goes, is it OK to substitute _vagrancy_ for _vagary_ in such a phrase as _the vagaries of (fashion, mind, etc.)_? E.g. > Its popularity waxed and waned with the _vagaries of fashion_... > > She had no time -- or money -- to follow the silly _vagrancies of > fashion_... > > ...in the Earth's magnetic fields or the _vagrancies of the weather_... > > ...but it was the _vagrancies of the market_... > > Kenya is highly vulnerable to the _vagrancies of unreliable rainfall_... > > ...they could reduce the _vagrancies of English orthography_...


title: What do references like "Docc Rom." and similar mean?

text: In the book _Giordano Bruno: His Life and Thought_ , by Dorothea Waley Singer, references often have a form of > 18 Doc. Ven. XV. or > 49 Docc. Rom. XX, XXI. How to decipher them?


title: "I was wondering what time it is" or "I was wondering what the time has been"

text: Can you tell me which option is more natural in this English sentence? > I'm sorry to trouble you but I was wondering what > > (A) time it is   >  (B) the time has been * * * The whole story is that this multiple-choice question comes from a placement test for a coursebook. The complete question is as follows > I’m sorry to trouble you but I was wondering what > > (A) time it is   >  (B) the time has been   >  (C) is the time?   >  (D) was the time? I excluded (C) and (D) as ungrammatical and chose (A) as the most natural- sounding to me, but the answer key says that the correct answer is (B), which doesn't sound right to me. Now I'm a little bit confused. This coursebook is for the Polish market and I am Polish.


title: What's the word for taking an article from somewhere and published on my own site?

text: Sometimes when I see a good article on the internet, I want to keep a copy of it on my own blog. I need one word to tell visitors that this article was taken/copied from somewhere else. It is usually used in the meta data: Posted by: Author   Posted on: Sep 2, 2012   Tags: music, rock n' roll    **xxxxxxx** from: Billboard           **^**   this word And if without the word `from`, is `source` a good choice for this? `Source: Billboard` Thanks!


title: Where did the phrase "Holy Toledo" come from?

text: I was reading online and noticed this phrase in the comments. What is the origin of this phrase?


title: How would you use "can" in a future sentence?

text: > If you purchase this then you will be able to do that. How can I write the above statement using "can"?


title: Can we use "saccade" as a verb to describe eye movements

text: _Saccade_ is the term to describe rapid eye movements. I just want to be sure that _saccading_ could be used as a verb, or if not, which term would you recommend using?


title: The [insert superlative]

text: I am working on diagramming sentences and I notice many have "the" plus a superlative; as, "He is the funniest," or "Which trots the fastest?" Why is "the" attached to these superlatives? What exactly is it modifying? I imagine in the first sentence it is something like, "He is the funniest [person]," but what about the second sentence?


title: What does "putting your head into my mouth" mean?

text: The following passage is from the novel Ivanhoe by Walter Scott. > "By St Dunstan," answered Gurth, "thou speakest but sad truths; little is > left to us but the air we breathe, and that appears to have been reserved > with much hesitation, solely for the purpose of enabling us to endure the > tasks they lay upon our shoulders. The finest and the fattest is for their > board; the loveliest is for their couch; the best and bravest supply their > foreign masters with soldiers, and whiten distant lands with their bones, > leaving few here who have either will or the power to protect the > unfortunate Saxon. God's blessing on our master Cedric, he hath done the > work of a man in standing in the gap; but Reginald Front-de-Boeuf is coming > down to this country in person, and we shall soon see how little Cedric's > trouble will avail him.--Here, here," he exclaimed again, raising his voice, > "So ho! so ho! well done, Fangs! thou hast them all before thee now, and > bring'st them on bravely, lad." "Gurth," said the Jester, "I know thou > thinkest me a fool, or thou wouldst not be so rash in putting thy head into > my mouth. One word to Reginald Front-de-Boeuf, or Philip de Malvoisin, that > thou hast spoken treason against the Norman,--and thou art but a cast-away > swineherd,--thou wouldst waver on one of these trees as a terror to all evil > speakers against dignities." I wonder what exactly the Jester meant when he said "thou wouldst not be so rash in putting thy head into my mouth."


title: Proper format for listing criteria for a project

text: My team are going back and forth between the proper usage of a specific sentence in our project proposal. This project proposal is being presented to a school, so we want to make sure we are correct in our usage. Currently, it's set to > The stories are evaluated on topic, content, compliance, artistic, and > educational values. Attaching the word 'values' to each of the criteria doesn't sound correct for 'topic, content, compliance'. I think it should be in one of the following two formats: > The stories are evaluated on topic, content, compliance, and artistic and > educational values. Or > The stories are evaluated on topic, content, compliance, artistic value, and > educational value. Are either of those feasible for the proper format of the sentence, or is there another way that it should be written? EDIT: or even replacing 'artistic' with a noun, making it 'artwork' instead. > The stories are evaluated on topic, content, compliance, artwork, and > educational value. Does this separate 'educational value' into its own idea as opposed to 'value' being attached to each listed criteria?


title: Is "funnest" a word?

text: We seem to be stuck at an impasse on this issue. Is _funnest_ a word or not? If so, does it mean "most fun"?


title: We recommend that he provide/provides?

text: To my ear "We recommend that he provide an appropriate response" sounds better than "provides" what is this tense/construct called and which is right ?


title: What's the best way to get rid of international accents?

text: I have lived in the United States for more than five years now, and I am over 20 years old. Although I do not have that many problems with my verbal or written skills, it is not hard for people to notice my accents when I speak. I think I have failed to get rid of my accents because I have not completely surrounded myself with American people yet. I want to sound as much "native" as possible. Besides trying to spend time with native people as much as possible, are there other things I can try to speak more naturally?


title: Is the usage of “at play” limited to children’s action?

text: Time magazine picked up the topic, “Chick-fil-A meets a first amendment buzzsaw” in its 10 most popular stories of this week, which was followed by the following lead copy: “The issues _at play_ are the personal view of the owner of the restaurant chain and the philanthropic efforts of the private company.” I understand “ _the issues at play_ ” here means something like “hot issues” or “issues in motion, or in the process,” but I don’t find the pertinent definitions of “something at play” in dictionaries at hand. Oxford Online Dictionary defines ‘play’ as a mass noun meaning (1) activity engaged in for enjoyment and recreation, _especially by children_ by showing the example of usage: _A child at play_ may use a stick as an aeroplane. (2) behaviour or speech that is not intended seriously: I flinched, but only _in play_. None of Cambridge, Merriam-Webster, and OALD carries “at play” as an idiom. Ngrams for _at play,in play_ shows high usage of both since before 1840, with the latter significantly surpassing the currency of the former since 1910 until recently. I assume “at play” is definitely a generic reference not limited to children as Oxford Dictionary defines. Do you know why this apparently well-used phrase is not included in popular dictionaries other than Oxford Online Dictionary, which shows limited usage?


title: What is the rule for adjective order?

text: I remember being taught that the correct order of adjectives in English was something along the lines of "Opinion-Size-Age-Color-Material-Purpose." However, it's been a long time and I'm pretty sure I've forgotten a few categories (I think there were eight or nine). Can anyone fill them in?


title: Why ‘a great green dragon’ but not ‘a green great dragon’?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the rule for adjective order? In Letter #163 to W.H. Auden from page 214 of _The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien_ , Tolkien mentions his mother noting but not explaining that one had to say _‘a **great green** dragon’_ instead of the other way around: > My mother said nothing about the dragon, but pointed out that one could not > say ‘a green great dragon’, but had to say ‘a great green dragon’. I > wondered why, and still do. Apart from the obvious aesthetics, why is this? Possibly related is something my French teacher once said, that adjectives related to size should be placed before the noun, and other adjectives should be placed after the noun — thus ‘un grand chat noir.’ Is it quite simply the same rule in English (with the noun moved after all adjectives), or is there something else at work?


title: A "black, full beard" or a "full, black" one?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the rule for adjective order? This is from the  Hound of the Baskervilles , where in Chapter 5, one of the characters is referred to as having "a black, full beard" and "a full, black beard" by two different people. Which usage is right? My confusion is whether the first description is good English in the first place. Or is it just Arthur Conan Doyle's literary licence? Further, most characters, including those using the descriptions above, speak good, Queen's English in the novel. This just makes me wonder all the more.


title: The time before place mantra

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the rule for adjective order? As a Dutch schoolboy, during English grammar lessons (long ago...) I got one rule hammered into my head like a mantra: time before place: > In the 1930s, in England, nobody prepared for war. But as I gradually got more fluent in English I started to wonder whether this "rule" really made sense. Let me change the sentence a bit: > In the 1930s, in England, nobody prepared for war, whereas in the 17th and > 18th centuries everybody did. Correct grammar, right? (Let history.stackexchange challenge the historical truth). But I think it makes sense to say > In England, in the 1930s nobody prepared for war, whereas in the 17th and > 18th centuries everybody did. because it emphasizes the contrast between the time periods better than in the former sentence. And when I just say > In England, in the 1930s, nobody prepared for war. does that sound warped to a native speaker? **So: how valid (or natural) is this rule?** (By the way, later I learned that the full rule is _manner before time before place_ , but let's not go into that — yet).


title: Is the phrase "fresh six muffins" grammatically correct?

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the rule for adjective order? A non-native speaker that I know always puts the count before another adjective, as in "fresh six muffins". "Six fresh muffins" seems to be more grammatically correct. This sounds so funny. It seems that there is a rule that the number must come before any other adjectives. Is there a hierarchy of adjectives and rules that determine which ones come first? Is there any logic to these rules?


title: Ordering of multiple, consecutive adjectives

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Adjective order One a comedy show, one of the comedians was a female who was black and from the UK. The host introduced her as a the first _black, female, British comedian_ he has had on the show. On a package of salmon, the label read _Smoked Norwegian Steelhead Salmon_. (There were no commas because it was a package—commas are necessary in prose though right?) When using multiple, consecutive adjectives for a noun, is there a rule of thumb (or even hard and fast rule) for ordering of the adjectives? A reasonable theory is that it should go from least to most specific, but since English tends to do things in reverse, it would go the other way around. That fits for the salmon, but not the comedienne’s list, yet both feel natural.


title: Adjective order convention

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What is the rule for adjective order? As a native speaker, I would always say "big red ball," but never "red big ball." Further, I would say "Big red furry ball," and not ever another order of adjectives. Is there a _correct_ , or _accepted_ order/precedence of adjectives?


title: Is there a word that describes someone who will go along with how you feel, or will go along with whatever you do

text: I'm writing a story and I can't think of a word that describes someone. The quote is, "Who do I want right now? Sympathy or" So I'm looking for a word that describes this character. If you're mad, she'll get mad with you. If you want to cry, she'll bring the tissues and be right beside you making her own river. In the moment, she will be angry with the main character, I don't know if that will help but that's the situation.


title: "An awful lot": Any negative connotation?

text: Today was my first time I saw people use "an awful lot of" instead of "a lot of". It reminded me of "terribly good", which obviously has little negative connotation. But how about "an awful lot"? Does the person saying it imply that he hates the state of there being too many of something?


title: Where can I find a list of capitalisation rules for pure British writing?

text: Is there any quality English orthography book that contains rules for capitalising in pure British English? I’ve noticed that an American newspaper capitalises every word in the title of an article (except special words like “to”), but a British newspaper does not. I’m pretty confused. I’ve managed to find just an orthography book which apparently describes American rules. Where can I find a British version?


title: A better word for justice / morality

text: I'm looking for a good word to express the concept of "the right thing being done" but avoiding the connotations of the two most obvious words:   * _Justice_ \- has too much of a connotation of being legalistic or enforced by the police.   * _Morality_ \- has too much of a connotation of "traditional values" and puritanism. Is there a better word?


title: A single word antonym of "absorb"

text: In textbooks, they say "absorb" heat and "give off" heat. Is there a single word which can perfectly take the place of "give off"?


title: Why did ‘off-the-shelf' come to mean ‘in stock, ready-made, and easily available’?

text: I came across the word “off-the-shelf” in the following sentence of Time magazine’s article “The 50 Best Inventions of the Years (Nov.11 issue). He (inventor of the first synthetic cell) started with ‘off-the-shelf chemical’, and managed to reconstruct the genome of bacterium that successfully ‘booted up.’ I checked out the word “off-the-shelf” with a dictionary at hand, which defines it as “in stock, ready-made, easily available.” Although this may be a naive question to most of native English speakers, it casted me a question, why does “off-the-shelf” which sounds to me “off the store-shelves” akin to “out-of-stock” on its face come to mean ready made and easily available? Can somebody explain it to me?


title: "Notion" and "conception"

text: What is the difference between _notion_ and _conception_?


title: Meaning of 'terms' in 'in rational terms'

text: What does "terms" mean in the following sentence? > But I believe the theory of a creator of the universe can be explained in > rational **terms**


title: Pertaining to "Analog(ue)"

text: As _digitally_ is to **digital** , is _analogously_ or _analogically_ to **analog(ue)**?


title: What's this tense called: "I been done ate"?

text: Growing up in a Black family in the US, I frequently heard people have conversations like this: Mom: Have you eaten yet?   Kid: Yeah, Mom, I _been_ done ate. Wife: Have you fixed the sink yet?   Husband: Woman, I _been_ done fixed it. (Emphasis is on the word "been") The meaning has always been the same: not only have I done it, I did it some time ago. This led me to believe that it might be an actual tense in use in more than one language, and in more than one dialect of English. Am I right about that? What is the tense called? Are there other such tenses in use in parts of the English-speaking world that I might not have heard of? * * * I forgot to add that I found an article online, called "Notes on African American English". I disagree with parts of it, but section 5.2.2 seems about right: > 5.2.2 Also found in AAE (and some other varieties of English) is an > uninflected done for a resultant state: I done ate (I've already eaten), I > had done ate (I'd already eaten). For some speakers, this can be combined > with the uninflected be and been: I been done ate (I finished eating some > time ago), I be done ate (I've usually already eaten).


title: "with whom" or "whom with"

text: I've been looking, but I have not come across this 'whom' related question anywhere. Specifically in this circumstance, I feel 'with whom' flows more naturally but I remember someone suggested that 'whom with' is actually the proper order since it is referencing 'the people' > I am looking to find a friendly environment where I can enjoy my work and > the people whom with I work. Or > I am looking to find a friendly environment where I can enjoy my work and > the people with whom I work.


title: What the hell is this construction?

text: It is not given to all to do this job with celerity. What is this "it is not given to do" construction? Where is it in the dictionary?


title: 7 years old and later

text: I am pretty confused with this statement "documents which are 7 years old and later should only be migrated" does it means "2007 to 2014" ,or "2007 to old"


title: Audio resource on Native American English accent?

text: I love the accent of English speakers of Native American ancestry. An example would be the actor Graham Greene. Are there any audio resources for this type of accent?


title: Term for misused diacritics

text: Is there a word which describes intentionally misusing or abusing diacritics, in contexts where they are neither needed nor appropriate, for purely stylistic reasons. For example: > I submittéd my résumé to thé récruitér Or perhaps the best example, the metal umlaut: > `Spın̈al Tap` Or in the most extreme case: > `za͎͌l̰͝g̻̕o̬̅ ͎̂ẗ̥́ex̲̚t͓̃`


title: What's the term for an antonym of a continuum?

text: Today I was trying to figure out an orthogonal word for "aesthetics", and was having a bit of trouble searching for it as "aesthetics orthogonal" and "aesthetics antonym" gave nothing useful--the latter just yielded synonyms to "ugly". (Didactic was the word I eventually settled on after coming up with it and double-checking the definition, but that's another issue) "Orthogonal" would seem to be what I want, and as a scientist makes sense to me, but another question makes me think twice about using it in a broader context. In short, what is the term for a word that would run along a different continuum that is perhaps related but distinct, for example:   * beauty vs. intelligence   * agility vs. power   * height vs. width


title: Too serious to take seriously

text: This is a concept I often find myself trying to articulate in political discussions. You have a situation that everyone openly acknowledges, but it is so entrenched that people may paradoxically behave as though it were completely unimportant. As a contrived example, for centuries the people of Helmetvania have all worn 6-foot-wide spherical helmets. There are lots of car accidents, neck problems are endemic, and people often complain about how silly it is to wear helmets. The hot topic in this year's election is whether non-helmet-wearing should be addressed by longer sentences, or better education on the importance of helmets. It's somewhat related to the frog in slowly boiling water, or to not seeing the wood for the trees, but what I'm talking about is not a failure of perception; rather, it's a failure to take one's own perceptions seriously when they seem to be at odds with the world. Are there good words, phrases or even extended references for this idea?


title: "Rogative" root (as in prerogative, derogative, interrogative)

text: _Prerogative_ , _derogative_ , and _interrogative_ all seem to have the root "rogative" (or perhaps it's not a root at all) and I'm wondering what it means. I was having trouble seeing a connection between the three words. For assistance, here are their dictionary definitions: _Prerogative_ : A right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class. _Derogative_ : Intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value. _Interrogative:_ Having or conveying the force of a question. The Latin root _rog_ means "ask" (as in the Latin _rogare_ ), but that seems to explain only _interrogative_ and not the other two. Is there a connection between all three them involving "rogative," or is it just a coincidence that they have the same pattern?


when is the phrase 'according to you' used correctly and what are its different contexts ? Can it replace ' in your opinion'?


title: Should laconism be favored over clarity?

text: One might argue that to be as understandable as possible, one should use common words and phrases. On the other hand, unnecessary verbosity is often frowned upon. > Stop acting so childish and sulky! > > Stop acting so petulant! Should a common and verbose phrase be favored over an uncommon single word in writing? What about speech?


title: "Be accepted to" vs. "be accepted onto"

text: Do these variations mean anything different, or is one more correct? > I have been accepted **onto** a course at the University of Stack Exchange > > I have been accepted **to** the Masters programme Are there any other variations?


title: Topography of phrasal verbs

text: Is there an exhaustive list of the prepositions/adverbs/particles that can contribute to a phrasal verb? And is there any 'verb-part' that can be used with the entire list?


title: 'Plus, ...' or 'Plus ...'

text: I've a sentence structured as below for a leaflet: > Fill in the survey and you can win x!   >  Plus, a chance to be entered into a draw to win y! I typed this sentence and I just naturally added a comma after 'Plus' Should I?


title: what is the best source to find tenses of verbs

text: If I don't know/remember the past tense of a verb, I google for it. Often the returned searches are not indicative. I just looked for the past tense of _seek_ , and it took me 2 minutes to figure out that it was _sought_. What online sources do you use to find tenses of verbs?


title: The word 'not' often doesn't mean total negation in mathematical sense?

text: Consider the following conversations: > X1: I paid $10 for that hamburger.   >  Y1: That's not cheap! > > X2: I pay $1 for broadband Internet access.   >  Y2: That's cheap! > > X3: I paid $1 for a hot dog.   >  Y3: Seems like a reasonable price. In conversation 1, "not cheap" means expensive or overpriced. In conversation 2, "cheap" means lower than the expected or average price. In conversation 3, the hot dog is neither overpriced not lower than the expected price. Therefore, the hot dog is neither "cheap", nor is it "not cheap". Is this a special case, or does 'not' in the English language often not translate to mathematical negation? This post inspired by a MENSA book stating the 2 sentences below are contrapositives (and thus have the same meaning), even though most people interpret them very differently: > Good food is not cheap.   >  Cheap food is not good.


title: "At the end" or "in the end"

text: Which is correct? > I am planning to buy some property **at the end** of 2011. > > I am planning to buy some property **in the end** of 2011.


title: "More perfect" versus "less imperfect"

text: "More perfect" is presumably bad English (Preamble to the US Constitution notwithstanding), since something is either perfect (and thus can't be improved) or not. "Less imperfect", however, seems to make sense. It means "having fewer flaws" or "closer to perfection". The paradox: "more perfect" and "less imperfect" should mean the same thing, no? The real question: is "perfect" binary or continuous? Or is this a weird case where "perfect" is binary, but "imperfect" is continuous, meaning these words aren't true opposites? [I tried to work in a joke about English being imperfect, but couldn't find the perfect joke]


title: Usage of "the" for possible future objects

text: I am writing a software user manual so the topic is about possible situations which its users may come across. Here is an example sentence below: > Enter **the** window ID which contains an image.


title: Is it correct that imply:infer::sender:receiver?

text: Both the words _imply_ and _infer_ suggest that a communication took place, but that there was additional meaning beyond what was directly spoken, written, or gestured. What is the difference? I beleive that the answer is the sender of the communication (i.e. speaker, author) _implies_ this meaning, while the recipient (i.e. listener, reader) _infers_ it. Is this correct? i.e.: While my question seems to _imply_ only the need for a yes or no answer, you are free to _infer_ that additional background is welcome. EDIT: While this question has been asked, answered, accepted, and closed for some amount of time, it continues to receive down votes. It was my first question here at English SE, and I admit I made a rookie mistake; but if you look at my contributions since, they are much improved. So, in an effort to protect my meager reputation here, allow me to try to further illuminate what I was looking for here. I already knew the standard dictionary definitions of imply and infer. As was mentioned in the comments, I was asking more about the subtleties and shades of meaning. Consider this example: Alice: Roger makes a lot of mistakes. Bob: Are you trying to infer that Roger is stupid? Alice: No, did you imply that I do think so? Most of us understand what happened in this conversation. Yet it seems that Alice and Bob have used the two words incorrectly, and it seems a little awkward to read this. Why is this so?


title: Derivative/relative of "introspection" but for external phenomena

text: Is there a derivative of the word _introspection_ that does not relate to "spect"-ing oneself but external phenomena yet still contains the _spection_ part? Like for example _extraspection_ (which, I guess, is not a word). For example: > It took a lot of _extraspection_ to arrive to the scientific findings.


title: Individually meaningful building block of a complex word

text: If there is a complex word that consists of two simpler words, what would you call each component, or individually meaningful building block, that the big word consists of, relative to the big word? E.g., the word **_makeshift_** consists of the words _make_ and _shift_. What would you call each of those two words relative to _makeshift_?


title: Understand Rudyard Kipling's poem If

text: I came across Rudyard Kipling's poem **If** , quoted below: > If you can keep your head when all about you   >  Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   >  If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,   >  But make allowance for their doubting too;   >  If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,   >  Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,   >  Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,   >  And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise: > > If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   >  If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   >  If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster   >  And treat those two impostors just the same;   >  If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken   >  Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,   >  Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,   >  And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools: > > If you can make one heap of all your winnings   >  And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,   >  And lose, and start again at your beginnings   >  And never breathe a word about your loss;   >  If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew   >  To serve your turn long after they are gone,   >  And so hold on when there is nothing in you   >  Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!” > > If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   >  Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,   >  If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,   >  If all men count with you, but none too much;   >  If you can fill the unforgiving minute   >  With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   >  Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   >  And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son! I pretty much like it and I am trying to translate it. But I found some of the sentences difficult to understand. Maybe because English is not my native language or because I am not used to poetry. Anyway, here are my questions:   1. How to understand "losing theirs and blaming it on you" in the first stanza? In particular, what do the pronouns " _theirs_ " and " _it_ " respectively stand for?   2. Why do the first and the second stanzas end with colons?   3. How to understand "Yours is the Earth" in the last stanza? What does "yours" stands for?   4. In the third stanza, what does "To serve your turn long after they are gone" mean? Particularly what do "turn" and "they" respectively refer to? The "turn" in "pitch-and-toss" and "winnings"? Any help will be appreciated. _EDIT:_   * Added Question 4


title: Referencing text on a button element?

text: If a button on a website has text on it, how do you reference that text? For example, if a button had the text "click here" on it would you say "the button that says 'click here'" or "the button that reads 'click here'"? Is there a better way of referencing the text on that button besides saying "the button with the text 'click here'"?


title: Use of "last year" and "last one year"?

text: The term **last year** defines last year according to calender.So if I say last year in 2014, it means I refer to 2013. On the other hand, the term **last one year** refers to last 12 months.So if I use this term in mar 2014, it refers to period between mar2013-feb2014. Am I right on this? Can you explain what the following two sentences mean? > I am actively participating since last year. > > I am actively participating for last one year.


title: Does the word "egrarious" exist?

text: For some reason I thought "egrarious" was a word, but I cannot find any authoritative reference to the word. I thought it meant "ostentatiously bad". I am aware there is a word "egregious".


title: What is the etymology of butyraceous?

text: I recently learned the word _butyraceous_ and immediately fell in love with it, likely because of my love affair with butter. A quick Google search did not give me anything for its etymology, though. I guess that it is similar to the etymology for the word _butter_ , but the " _-yracious_ " suffix (if that is what it is) confuses me. So what is the etymology of the word _butyraceous_? Where does it come from and what is the history of its use?


title: What does the word "omnipreneur" mean?

text: I came across the term "Culinary Omnipreneur" in this week's Times Magazine. I couldn't find the meaning of the word _omnipreneur_ on WordWeb or by googling.


title: Is the word "connector" in meaningful for a software product

text: We have a product that synchronizes data between an online-shop and a popular erp (enterprise resource planning) system. Now the question is, if the product name "System1Name System2Name Connector" actually makes sense in english? I was wondering if there was another word that is probably a better fit for these kind of applications? Maybe "gateway" or "exchanger"?


title: Grammar, concerning any exceptions of "wish" sentences

text: Which is correct "Do you ever wish (that) you had gone to..?" or "Do you ever wish (that) you went to..?"


title: "Lives" vs. "life" in "the life of those living on the farm"

text: James is giving a tour of his farm to some of his friends. Which sentence is correct: > James introduces some of the animals on the farm: "This is Elmer, the pig... > That's Mini, the mouse, and that duck is called Daffy... " > > James tells his friends about the life of those living on the farm. His > friends follow each word. or > James introduces some of the animals on the farm: "This is Elmer, the pig... > That's Mini, the mouse, and that duck is called Daffy... " > > James tells his friends about the lives of those living on the farm. His > friends follow each word. I understand that the singular of _life_ is more appropriate when discussing a shared life, but this distinction is less clear in my example sentence. We're assuming there are many different animals living on the farm.


title: 'on' vs. 'in': 'Keep the discussion on the [IRC] channel'

text: From shlomifish.org: > Note that one common mistake that newcomers to IRC do is to private-message > a user that helps them (using the /msg command) instead of keeping the > discussion **on** the [IRC] channel. (Emphasis added.) Should it be “on the channel” or “in the channel”? In case you are not familiar with IRC (Internet Relay Chat), then the longer story is that the chat rooms on the various IRC networks are called “channels” in the IRC parlance, and one can speak on (in?) them. Thing is "keep the discussion on the chat-room" sounds weird to me, and "keep the discussion in the chat room" sounds better. I've usually always said "on the channel" when chatting on IRC and so far no one complained, but a commentator on the text in question said he thought it should be "in the channel". I'm not a native speaker of English, so insights would be welcome.


title: Telling the time "3:15" in American English

text: Which of the followings is the most common way to say _3:15_ in American English? >   1. A quarter past three >   2. A quarter after three >   3. Three fifteen > Also, in the last example "three fifteen", where do you put the stress (fif- TEEN or FIF-teen)?


title: Word for man with one testicle

text: I heard _half-sack_ in a TV series before to describe a man with one testicle. Is there any single word to describe that?


title: Can someone explain the meaning of this sentence and what "but for " implies?

text: I would not have worked in London in the summer **but for** being on holiday.


title: Carnival Man. What is meant?

text: I (think I) heard someone to be called a "carnival man", what do they mean ? Is that an insult ? Edit. As to the object of the question, I wished just to understand the meaning of the expression (I am not a native speaker). Mynamite has provided a first helpful answer.


title: Meaning of "to get stuffed"

text: What does the phrase _to get stuffed_ mean in the following passage taken from my IELTS reading exercise? > One of London Zoo’s recent advertisements caused me some irritation, so > patently did it distort reality. Headlined “Without zoos you might as well > tell these animals **to get stuffed** ”, it was bordered with illustrations > of several endangered species and went on to extol the myth that without > zoos like London Zoo these animals “will almost certainly disappear > forever”. With the zoo world’s rather mediocre record on conservation, one > might be forgiven for being slightly sceptical about such an advertisement.


title: Criteria used to determine if a "Chinese inch" is an "inch"?

text: This is a follow-on question to "Term for construct in which adjective completely changes the meaning of its following noun?" Is a "Chinese inch" an "inch" or something entirely different in which the only correct term is the compound "Chinese inch"? The English language word "inch" has been intended to indicate a specific length with a significant degree of rigor, even though both the definition and determination of precision has been refined over time. "Chinese inch" is a term for a unit that is similar in magnitude but is significantly different from an "inch" in actual length (apparently, 1 inch = 0.762 Chinese inches; authority of definition not determined; appears to have multiple, inconsistent definitions.) So, is a "Chinese inch" a type of "inch"? It has a degree of transparency: both are units of length of similar magnitude. It could also be considered completely opaque: use of "inch" instead of "Chinese inch" could result in the embarrassing fit of clothing, the disastrous misdirection of a Mars-bound spacecraft, or tragic surgical results. I can't determine if the compound "Chinese inch" is endocentric in that the sense of "unit of length" is preserved, or if it is exocentric since the length is indeed appreciably different in the same manner that a "kilometer" differs from a "mile." Has there been a semantic change, so that "inch" is now a class of length units instead of a specific unit of length? To be specific, must one now use "English inch" or "American inch"? Is it correct to advertise a tape measure using the "inch scale" if the scale is really in "Chinese inches"?


title: What does "yield to" mean in the following sentence?

text: > The cpu_relax() call can lower CPU power consumption or **yield to** a > hyperthreaded twin processor.


title: How to say "I'm sorry for such a bother"

text: I am in the middle of constructing my email to my colleague and I am out of words on how to say "I'm sorry for such a bother". Is there any other way of saying it politely?


title: Can't you sleep also?

text: > Can't you sleep also? Is it well said? I want to ask if you can't sleep, like me.


title: "Electronic" vs. "electric"

text: Most people would refer to computers as being electronic, whereas a flashlight would be described as electric. I know the general difference (electronic devices use transistors?), but what is it exactly, and how did the second term even come into existence? Why not just use electric for both?


title: Is it ok to use 'before' at the end of a sentence?

text: I once had been told by my English teacher that `before` must be used with a special time or event, like: `Say goodbye before you go.` What about: > I've seen that film before. Is this correct and appropriate? Or is there a better expression?


title: Is there any difference between "stoop down" and "stoop"?

text: According to Longman, they are the same, but I wonder if this is correct or if so, which one is more common. For example: >   * Dave **stooped down** to tie his shoes. >   * Dave **stooped** to tie his shoes. >


title: How can I use a different sentence structure every so often

text: Instead of saying "you told me to call him when you are back" (note that here both 'you' is the same person ) can I say "you said that call him when I am back". In both can you also tell me that using "you are/were back" and "when I am/was back" okay? And here "Last time I called here at the HR department someone said that I would be notified of any developments on my CV" is it necessary to say "someone said that **you** would be notified..." Thanks for giving it a thought.


title: "22 Acacia Avenue" British idiom

text: What is the meaning of this British idiom? I was watching BBC's Top Gear and the presenters were cracking jokes about people who live in the 22 of the avenues. And that the people who live there like to give nicknames to their home and have specific decoration, stating that they lived in the 22 of the "Acacia Avenue". As it is also an Iron Maiden song, and since the band is also British, what is up with this expression? I can't recall in what Top Gear's episode that phrase popped up, but I'm sure it was around the 2008 season. I found this wiki entry too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_Avenue, Which is midly informative. I see that is something linked to the middle class, but I want to know more about the nuances.


title: A word for "living contemporary"

text: My teacher always says that I cannot use the word _contemporary_ when talking about living people. According to him you could say for instance: _He was a contemporary of Shakespeare,_ but you couldn't say _Merkel is a contemporary of Obama._ The only synonym for _contempoary_ that I've found was **coeval**. Does that word refer to living or dead contemporaries? In addition, is the word coeval commonly used/formal/informal? I have never heard of it before.


title: How does punctuation affect this clause in a sentence?

text: In this sentence: > Parents and children, under the age of 18, that live in the same residence When punctuated this way, does the age restriction apply to both parents and children? I mean, obviously it doesn't in reality. I'm just wondering how to properly punctuate the sentence to reflect the actual policy.


title: "I would like to ask you that have you"

text: Someone sent me something and then checked back with me writing: > I would like to ask you that have you received my gift? I myself thought this sentence was really uncommon (I have not heard it before). I discussed it with my friend and suggested that the correct way should be > I would like to ask if/whether you have received my gift. He said both should be okay. Google gives more than 27 000 000 results for "I would like to ask you that have you" (maybe many people are incorrect?). Since I am not a native speaker, I cannot prove that it is wrong.


title: May the words "Creation" and "Creativity" be used in the same way?

text: Consider a soccer player in the penalty box area of the pitch. He is extraordinarily creative in his skills in this area. It may be said that his "Creativity" is second to none, but may the word "Creation" be used instead? To wit: the striker Colyn Matthews' "Creation" in the penalty area is second to none. There is a current football commentator in England named Ian Joy and "Creation" is his favorite descriptor when a player shows imagination when scoring a goal. I believe that he is erring in his usage of "Creation". Any thoughtful opinions would be welcome. Thanks, Willard Goode, FL, USA.


title: "Take their origins from" vs. "have their origins in"

text: Which one is correct: >   1. Coffee plants take their origins from Brazil > >   2. Coffee plants have their origins in Brazil > >


title: Difference in meaning of "congratulation" and "congratulations"

text: What is the difference between _congratulation_ and _congratulations_?


title: If you didn't buy it online then you bought it...?

text: When you buy something over the Internet, you say you bought it _online_. And these days a lot of things can be bought online. So, when one of my friends saw my new wrist watch the other day, he asked, "Did you buy it online?" I hadn't bought it over the Internet, so I replied, "No, I didn't buy it online". But now when I think about it, I wonder if there is an alternative to saying 'not online', probably a phrase or term that means 'not over the Internet but at a local shop'. Of course, I am aware that _'offline'_ cannot be used in that context since it has a different connotation. So is there anything else to consider? I found another post discussing the term _'online'_ but it doesn't answer my question.


title: What is the difference between "English" and "British"?

text: As an American, **I naively think of British and English as exact synonyms**. I know I'm wrong, but I just don't know in what way. I am vaguely aware that people in the UK hold strong opinions about one or the other term and how it is applied, and using one instead of the other has dire social implications. So there is geography (Britain vs. England), but more importantly the adjectives British and English, and those adjectives each one by themselves, may mean different things in different contexts, and depending on the speaker and the listener. Can anyone explain the nuances of the differences as used by those who might consider themselves English (or British, if that's an acceptable usage)? How about by the non-English/non-British (again if it's appropriate to use such terms). (What I am not asking: I had to hold back from asking exactly what the distinctions among UK, British Isles, Great Britain, etc are as well as things like are people from Northern Ireland considered Irish (or do you call them Irish).)


title: Are "was/were able to" and "could" interchangeable?

text: In a grammar book, the claim was made that in the following sentences one cannot substitute "was/were able to" with "could." >   * The fire spread through the building very quickly, but everyone _was > able to_ escape. > >   * They didn't want to come with us at first, but finally we _were able to_ > persuade them > > However, when I searched for the term "finally could" in the _Corpus of Contemporary American English_ , I found some counter-examples. Here are two examples from COCA: >   * I told her to get in line. Did it make you feel better? It did. I > _finally could_ say something. > >   * Then, when it ended and I _finally could_ get my family back, it came at > a price, like suddenly being blind. > > Are these examples grammatically incorrect? **Remark:** I asked the same question here. It got a few answers, but unfortunately I don't find them very persuasive (my apology for those who kindly answered).


title: "Wanting something to happen"

text: **EDITED TO ADD PRECEDING SENTENCE** > At some point, we all ponder the workings of consciousness; but I pinpoint > two catalysts which propelled such musings to a pursuit of brain > understanding. The first is the acceptance, perhaps **wishfully** , that > understanding the brain is achievable within my lifetime. I want to replace **wishfully** with something that more reflects the feeling of wanting something to be true to the extent that you believe it to be true. Also if anyone could comment on the comma use in this statement then that would be great.


title: How to express "good teaching skills"

text: How can I express that an explanation is clear, considering the intrinsic difficulty of the topic? I mean that the explanation might not be easy to understand, if the subject matter is intrinsically hard, but a superlatively _adjectivy_ explanation is one that is as clear as it can get. Someone who frequently produces such explanations could be said to have good teaching skills. What's a good word to substitute for _adjectivy_? _The word that comes to my mind is the French word “pédagogique”, which a dictionary describes as meaning roughly “as coming from a good teacher”. Unfortunately the corresponding English word has negative connotations instead._


title: Describe the detailed phonetic environment for the appearance/presence of /ɜ:/.

text: One recent vowel phoneme in English is /ɜ:/. It would seem that this sound only developed in a certain phonetic environment, or to phrase it differently: it only appeared under certain conditions.


title: Meaning of "I'm so excited I could crush a grape"

text: I read this on a sports website, where a fan is welcoming a new signing in their team. I assume this means one is really excited, but what is the meaning of " _crush a grape_ " - does it imply opening a bottle of champagne? or some test of physical strength?


title: Why do we use the object instead of the subject pronoun in constructions like "stupid me"?

text: I'm trying to find out how come we say _lucky me_ and _stupid us_ rather than _lucky I_ and _stupid we_. My understanding is that this is not a recent invention, but a relic from the distant past where it was a dative construction. However, I don't see the _reason_ for using any case other than the nominative in this construction to begin with. >   * He went surfing. → Lucky him went surfing. >   * I got pulled over. → Stupid me got pulled over. >   * They bought a house. → Thoughtless them bought a house. > This is rather intriguing. After thinking about it for a while, I couldn't come up with any other language, Germanic or otherwise, where simply introducing an adjective would dictate a change of grammatical case. This appears to be an English peculiarity. How far can it be traced back? Can anyone comment on its background?


title: What should I use: 'composed of' or 'composed from'?

text: What is the correct version: "The system is composed from a lattice and a line" or "The system is composed of a lattice and a line" ? When should I use `composed of` and when should I use `composed from`? Is one of them always correct, or are there rules affecting which one to use?


title: Capitalization of "guest of honor"

text: In the following sentence, should _guest of honour_ be capitalized? > Ms. Joe Doe (DTM), the District Governor of Toastmasters International was > the **Guest of Honour** during the charter party on March 23, 2008. It looks a bit weird to me, and I am trying to find something that will support writing it (or not) this way.


title: Why do we say "by all means" when we mean "by any means"?

text: The common expression _by all means_ seems to advocate the use of all means possible in order to accomplish a certain object, when in fact it expresses the use of any means to do it. I realize that _all_ can mean _any_ when used with a negative phrase, such as _beyond all hope_. Because, of course, if one is beyond _any_ hope, he is also beyond _all_ hope (and vice versa). But in a positive context, such as with _by all means_ , it doesn't necessarily follow that when one uses **any** means to accomplish a task, that he uses **all** possible means. Why is _all_ used to mean _any_ in this expression?


title: Synonym for "It is easy to acknowledge accuracy to be a very important feature"

text: What is an alternative expression for : _"It is easy to acknowledge accuracy to be a very important feature"_. The word **Accuracy** should remain in the sentence. In an academic context.


title: Etymology of "Houston, we have a problem!"

text: Where did the phrase "Houston, we have a problem" come from? I have heard it used a lot in movies. In which situations would it be used correctly?


title: What does "slicker than snot on a doorknob" mean?

text: I have a friend from Mississippi and I've heard him use this expression sometimes: _slicker than snot on a doorknob._ What exactly does it mean? (I guess it's something positive but I'm not too sure myself.)


title: What does “put it in English” mean in broadcasting context?

text: The following sentence is from this past November 7th’s _New York Times_ article titled “Rove’s on-air rebuttal of Fox’s Ohio vote call raises questions about his role”, dealing with Karl Rove’s clear contradiction with Fox News’s call regarding Ohio voting for President Obama: > “So at 11:33 p.m., Megyn Kelly, an anchor known for her no-nonsense style, > began her walk down the hall and did the questioning. The leader of the > decision team, Arnon Mishkin, laid out its case, with some help from a more > polished television presence, Chris Stirewalt. > > “Arnon doesn’t do TV very often, and Megyn can be very pointed,” Mr. > Clemente said. “So I said let’s have Arnon with the facts, and Chris — > because he’s on TV every day — _to put it in English_.” I don’t understand the exact meaning of the ending phrase, “to put it in English”, because all concerned are Americans speaking the English language. Is this a jocular, or does it simply mean “to speak plainly”? I suspect I would offend the native English speaker, if I ask him/her “please put it in English”, as it may sound like he/she speaks circuitously, or badly.


title: Is this use of "having" correct?

text: Please consider this sentence in which I am using _having_ : > Having full driving licence, life insurance, 5 year driving experience and > never have an accident, I am great driver. Is this use of _having_ correct in explaining that I have this, this and this? If not, please show me how to write such a sentence properly.


title: "Sent" vs "sent off" vs "sent out"

text: When do we use one over another? > I **sent** a letter. > > I **sent off** a letter. > > I **sent out** a letter. Here I found a similar topic but I am still confused. > **sent** = sent to one or more people > > **sent out** = sent to multiple people _More people_ and _multiple people_ mean the same to me. So how do we distinguish which one is the right one to use?


title: A word to describe two (far apart) locations

text: I'm looking for a word to describe locations that are far apart. My sentence is: > The manufacturer uses two **___ ____** locations, thus requiring two > inspectors.


title: Is ‘there’ being treated as an object (noun)?

text: The word "there" in this sentence doesn't seem to be necessary. But if it _is_ there, what exactly is it? A noun? An adverb? See _there_ where the willow bends over the brook.


title: Is it wrong to use "genocide" as a verb?

text: Just so you people don't think of me as a monster. I ask this question because recently I was playing NetHack and there is a magic scroll that allows you to genocide a species of monsters (usually evil bad ones that want to hurt you, like a master mind flayer). I was trying to convey this to my friends by saying. I am having a good game so far I genocided over 16 types of monsters. They scoffed at me saying this was incorrect as genocided is not a word. What word should I use then in this case? I've also noticed the game itself uses the word genocided, so I am not sure If they are correct or the game is correct with the usage.


title: "...who didn't have a..." vs "...without a..."

text: I titled a short story _"The Girl without a Soul"_. But recently I've been thinking on naming it _"The Girl who didn't have a Soul."_ Do they mean exactly the same? Which sounds better as a name for a short story?


title: Difference between 2 questions

text: I am filling in this form and on page two there are 2 questions (Q11 and Q12) that seem the same to me but probably are not.   * Q10: Your date of leaving UK    * Q11: Are you resident in the UK for the tax year up until the date at question 10?    * Q12: Were you resident in the UK for the tax year before departure date? What is the difference between questions Q11 and Q12? Aren't they asking same thing: if I was a resident in the UK before leaving it?


title: What's the best way to say "while *working on* Project X"

text: I'm looking for a synonym for "working on" in this sentence. I feel like there has to be a more concise way than to say "Joe has contributed a lot while working on Project X, Y and Z". Joe has worked on many projects and I am trying to highlight a few specific ones he did very well on.


title: How do you punctuate a conditional question or properly restate it?

text: Today someone pointed out that a sentence I had written was incorrect in their eyes. They could not recall any specific rule or reference that explained their point, but it seems interesting enough to ask if anyone here might have a reference or thoughts on the sentence. The sentence in question is, "If the timeline is OK, would you please let me know if I can start on this right away?" I could not come up with an alternative that felt right. What is wrong with the quoted sentence? **EDIT** I have clarified with my colleague and they have explained that the question was more of a statement and did not need a question mark. They said that the sentence should be "If the timeline is acceptable, will you please let me know if we can start on this right away." I believe that either are correct but the former provides an avenue for response and is more friendly while the latter is a command and requires a response.


title: What is an "unsurance"

text: In semi-offical letter from non-native speaker the "medical unsurance" is offered to me. What is an unsurance really? U & I as required in comments: ![ui](http://i.stack.imgur.com/IKMDn.jpg)


title: "As good a car as it gets" — correct?

text: I need to understand if I could say "As good a [noun] as it gets". Would it mean "the best [noun]"? E.g. > You can buy as good a car as it gets in that store.


title: Appropriate word for "interactibility"

text: I am looking for a word for "the ability of being interacted to/with", expressing that something is interactive, its interactive nature/quality. Specifically looking for a noun.


title: Is it redundant to append "bye" to "speak to you later"?

text: Are the closing greetings "see you later", "talk to you later", and the like sufficient to end a conversation (especially a phone conversation) or must they be succeeded by "bye" or another word of definite finality? In other words, is it redundant to append "bye" to "speak to you later" or a similar wish?


title: What does "implications" mean in this context?

text: > They [heralds] presided at the weddings and funerals of armigerous families, > so as to keep straight **_the implications_** of those generational comings > and goings for family pedigrees. (Tittler, Robert., Portraits, Painters, and > Publics in Provincial England (1540-1640), p104) What does "the implications" means in here? Is possible it refers to a genealogical concept? Honestly, I do not understand its semantic relation with whole of the sentence.


title: Should it be.... 'The day you become Mrs' or 'The day you became Mrs'?

text: I am looking to get something engraved and wondered if it should read 'the day you become Mrs' or 'the day you became'. Many thanks for your help in advance!


title: Why we say "save file" and not "keep/preserve file"

text: Why do we say _save the file/image_ instead of _keep/preserve the file/image_? Is it because the original meaning was to save (rescue) the object from being lost?