title: "The later part of the 20th century" vs. "the latter part of the 20th century"

text: For the sentence fragment: > "...during the later part of the 20th century" using "latter" sounds better to me: > "...during the latter part of the 20th century" But most websites I find have _later_ as the option that deals with time, e.g. http://grammar.about.com/od/words/a/latergloss.htm Which word is more appropriate in this case?


title: Word identification - unfriendly smile while talking

text: How is it called when someone is talking and cracking a smile at the same time, but in a way that only one side of the mouth is moved upward, like those villians in japanese mangas.


title: Using 'Gravity' As A Verb

text: Does anybody else use 'gravity' as a verb besides people in mining and engineering? Example: We have to move the tank up the hill so water can gravity to the flotation cells rather than needing to be pumped.


title: Streamer/Ribbon Difference Question

text: Just a different question but it's bugging me, I need an answer. I used to come from France to the USA when i was a boy to visit my family, and to my great annoyance (they thought it would suit my blond hair) and embarrassment my two American female cousins managed to put me in a dress and attach something to my hair. I can't figure out the name of what they attached to my hair back then but I think it's called either a ribbon or a streamer and it was in American flags. Is there a difference between the two?


title: Usage of whenever is so

text: Can I write it like this : > The output is black whenever the input is so. Or is it enough to say > The output is black whenever the input is.


title: There are two phases in sequence - correct?

text: I know that "in sequence" means "one by one" or "one after another". I want to express that there are two phases (A and B) and that they are exactly in this order and do not overlap. Would this be correct? > In this game, there are two phases in sequence: A and B. Is that correct?


title: Relative clause

text: She has hair the colour of pale honey. Is the above sentence correct, in strict grammatical sense? The clause 'the colour of pale honey' doesn't seem like a relative clause.


title: “Silence” and “silently”: What is the name of the relation between these words?

text: Consider:   * _Silence_ is a noun.   * _Silent_ is an adjective.   * _Silently_ is an adverb.   * _Silence!_ is an interjection. Not sure how these words actually evolved, but they were likely all derived from the noun _silence_. What is the name of this noun-derived relationship?


title: When did 'permission' become popular as a therapy term

text: Permission has several uses, but somewhere around the 1990s it became common to hear it in the context of therapy sessions as in "you need to give yourself permission to..." do this or that. When did this happen?


title: Is "I believe x does not equal y" the same as "I don't believe x equals y"

text: Given x and y could be any phrase, do these phrases always mean the same thing? If not, what's the difference?   * I believe x does not equal y   * I don't believe x equals y


title: A word that comes close to "something that needs to improve/would benefit the end result if you'd do it differently/more efficiently"

text: Is there a better word to describe what the supervisor says in this examle? Someone has just finished a, by materials built, project and is presenting it to his supervisor. This person is very proud of his end result which he believes to be faultless and can't wait for the supervisor to give him the highest grade for it (however, his project is actually not so great.) The guy who has built the project goes: "Here it is, this is the "name of project"." The supervisor goes: "I can see that (as in "yeah...but it's not as great as you try to present it"), but still, it needs to improve/would benefit the end result if you'd do it differently/more efficiently." (I.e. there is something about this project which wasn't done cleverly, hence it would have been better if a different/more efficient approach was used in building it.) Is there a word that comes close to or describes what the supervisor has said, something which "needs to improve/would benefit the end result if you'd do it differently/more efficiently"?


title: Term for written paralanguage?

text: Is there a term for words filling in for body language (*sigh*) and/or for typography being used to express tone or intonation (THIS IS SHOUTING)?


title: Is there a better way to refer to "Real Life" when chatting online?

text: When having a conversation through an online service, you may encounter a scenario like this: (Messenger chat)   * Me: Hello Stranger!   * Stranger: Hello!   * Me: What do you think of Barack Obama?   * Stranger: He's a good friend! We play tennis together!   * Me: Oh? You meet him in real life? Whenever I say "real life" or "in reality" during this kind of online conversations, I hesitate and have this horrible itch where I tell myself "gosh, this doesn't make sense at all, how is this NOT **_real life_**?" Is there a better term to use in this kind of situation? I don't want to say "in reality" because, well, even an online chat _is_ reality...well, even if you disagree with that, is there an alternative anyway?


title: "on par with" vs "on a par with"

text: Which of "on par with" and "on a par with" is the more correct way of saying that two things are of equal value, and why? Examples from a couple of google searches:   * "His verbal intelligence was not _on a par_ with his maths"   * "Arctic sea ice melting _on par with_ 2007 record"


title: much and more comparative superlative

text: I know that _much_ is used with uncountable nouns and _more_ with countable nouns. There is no connection between _much_ and _more_ with the comparative and superlative, right? For example, if we take the word _better_ , what would be its corresponding comparative and superlative forms? Comparative would be _much better_ , but what is the superlative? Is it _most better_? Also, is it same with _more_ when talking about its own respective comparative and superlative forms?


title: What is the word for when members of the same group attack each other?

text: I've noticed this in a few South Park episodes, so that's what I'd like to give an example from. I'm sure other artists have depicted something similar. Note that I'm not necessarily agreeing with the opinions depicted in the following, I am merely using it as an example of what I mean. In an episode called Go God Go they have depicted a future with no religion. In this future, there were only atheists and they were fighting each other over how they should be called. The rest is irrelevant. In another episode, It's Christmas in Canada, in one scene, they depicted French Canada folks singing something along the lines, "there's no Canada like French Canada, the other Canada is hardly Canada". Again, an example of one nation fighting "itself." Is there any word, phrase or term for this?


title: Is there a context where 'to neglect' and 'neglecting' are not compatible?

text: I believe that to infinitive as a subject can be replaced by a gerund form, which is why > To get up early is good. always has the same meaning as > Getting up early is good. But a colleague of mine tells me this isn't always the case. I did not have a chance to have him elaborate on that. He cited the following sentence: > Neglecting others means ignoring and only said that because of ' _ignoring_ ', you cannot use ' _to neglect_ ' instead of ' _neglecting_ '. Is he right? If so, why?


title: The difference between these two sentences?

text: 1. Would you mind arranging to travel with us   2. Would you mind to arrange travelling with us


title: What’s the etymology of “beholden”?

text: I know the word _behold_ means to look upon. So why does _beholden_ mean obligated, indebted? Can someone tell me how this phrase came about?


title: "Disappointment is the nurse of wisdom."

text: Is this an English proverb? On quotations websites, it is often attributed to Sir Boyle Roche, but it is not listed on WikiQuote (I added it to the list of unsourced quotes on the discussion page). Another website says its a German proverb, but I couldn't find it (my German is very basic though).


title: "Have you ever been" to France? vs. "Have you ever gone" to France? vs. "Did you ever go" to France?

text: Which of the grammatical constructions above is (or are) more typical of what is commonly said and heard in colloquial AE? If all three options work, is there any difference to them meaningwise? Also -- excluding grammar rules and switching to nonstandard -- what would be the typical response(s) from John & Jane Doe in casual speech to the question: [FYI I'm asking this question in consideration of the following source http://www.antimoon.com/forum/t3137.htm focusing on the various ways to respond to a present tense question starting with "Have you got..." in casual speech, and so I wish you could tell if the same ungrammatical "rule" might also apply with present perfect questions.] > Have you ever been (or gone) to France? > > Would it be: > >   * Yes, I have/No, I haven't. >   * Yes, I do (have been to...)/No, I don't (have been to...). >   * Yes, I did/No, I didn't. > - > How about if I say: Have you been to the dentist? > > Would the usual, most commonly heard response(s) be: > >   * Yes, I have/No, I haven't. >   * Yes, I do (have been to...)/No, I don't (have been to...). >   * Yes, I did/No, I didn't. > If all of these options are possible, is there any difference to them?


title: How can I fix the passive voice error in this sentence?

text: > To combat this, new security measures **have been implemented** such as > identification checks and on-site police officers. The error is in bold. I've been reading online about passive voice but every time I come up with a new sentence, it has another passive voice error somewhere else. Thanks.


title: Ambiguity in Negation: "John did not come because of the rain"

text: > John did not come because of the rain. This sentence seems to allow the following two completely different interpretations.   1. John did not come. And the reason was the rain.   2. John came. But the reason was not the rain.  Questions A. How does this ambiguity arise? Is it because of negation? B. What is the easiest way to avoid this ambiguity?


title: What does "to the prejudice of discipline" mean?

text: I am reading a book and I came across a phrase I don't understand: > A newspaper office seems to attract every conceivable sort of person, **to > the prejudice of discipline**. I don't know what to make of _"to the prejudice of discipline"_. Can someone please explain? Please search the text of the book for the context.


title: Why is it that "I called for confirmation that ..." but "thank you for confirming that ..."?

text: For example, it sounds natural to use the noun form in this sentence: _This morning the hotel called for confirmation that I will stay there._ But in this sentence it sounds better to use the gerund: _Thank you for confirming that you will stay at our hotel._ Thank you for your help.


title: Improper use of "premier"

text: I often see text like "... has been a premier service provider for many years" in advertisements. Sometimes I'll see "Your premier SUCH AND SUCH" These strike me as nonsense phrases unless they were the first, or one of a few early, service providers. Am I correct in my understanding of this phrase?


title: punctuating So and Then at the beginning of a sentence

text: I am confused when to put a comma after "so" and after "then" at the start of a sentence. i.e., And then that's when you went to the store? i.e., Then at McDonald's you were only there for a year, year and a half? i.e., And she has to be able to get everything down. So, if we talk over each other, it won't be clear. i.e., So, the last seven years you worked for Dollar General, correct? Thank you!


title: Term for a word that is unintentionally made up of two or more other words?

text: For example, _therapist_ may be split into _the_ \+ _rapist_ , neither of which (arguably) has anything to do with the original words. Another example would be _conflagration_ : _con_ \+ _flag_ \+ _ration_. Or _weather_ : _we_ \+ _at_ \+ _her_. Note that words like _threesome_ and _purebred_ would not qualify, because the parts are intentional and contribute to the original word's meaning. It seems to me there might be a word for this, which I would describe as "accidental lexical componentry" — but I'm not sure there is one. And if I do think of one I will be sure to add a _supplemental_ ( _supple_ \+ _mental_ ) section ( _sect_ \+ _ion_ ) to this question ( _quest_ \+ _ion_ ).


title: "Our subconscious" or "our subconsciousness"

text: Example: > There are many hidden things in the unreachable depth of our > subconscious/subconsciousness. What's the most common choice? Is the first option ungrammatical?


title: What words mean "not located yet"?

text: I am doing a persuasive essay for English. I want a word that means "not located yet", as in if you know something exists, but have not yet found the boundaries where it exists. As in genetics, where you don't know the chromosome or area that a specific gene is found, therefore you cannot genetic-test for it. The sentence is: > Instead of performing studies on many pairs of twins for the hope that one > pair might have the [word I am looking for] gene, you could clone an > individual already exhibiting the trait.


title: Language Evolution: Use of 'It'

text: If, as it is written in Oxford Dictionaries, 'it' can be used to identify a person, 'it’s me', 'it’s a boy', why are 'she' and 'he' still used and, furthermore, why are people still discussing as to whether they should be replaced with the singular 'they'? If any, let us use 'it' then, no? Under a different point of view, do you, expert minds of EL&U, think that the use of 'she' and 'he', the last barricade of gender in English, is declining and that 'it' is taking their place?


title: What different types of rhymes are used here?

text: In this video with rapper Eminem, he makes the following rhymes: > "I put my orange, four inch, door hinge, in storage, and ate porridge with > george." Following the Types of Rhymes wikipedia article, I can only connect a few types of rhymes used here: imperfect (or near), assonance, and consonance Am I missing other types of rhymes he makes?


title: What do they mean saying "thumping through the brush"?

text: I came across a phrase given by Lennon during his bed-in session. Here is the context > Also, of course, we live with rattlesnakes. You just can’t **go thumping > through the brush** , thinking of what you’re going to do tomorrow. You have > to realize that you’re intruding on their territory. What does go thumping through the brush mean?


title: Idiom for trying and failing, falling short and being disapproved

text: In one of my native tongues, there's an idiomatic expression, the semi-literal translation of which is " _the 'being close' of yours won't shoot the hare_ ". In another, there's something along the lines of " _one can't strike down a bird with an 'almost'_ ". Both expressions are used to comment on someone's failure followed by a presentation of an excuse aiming to explain said failure as being so close to a success that it might as well be regarded as the such. Expressing disapproval by the observers can then be carried out by pointing out that _being close to success_ or _almost succeeding_ isn't actually being successful. I.e. one doesn't get the hare by shooting **close** to it and one doesn't get the bird by **almost** striking it down. The animals will most likely take off and the only thing one sees is their butts decreasing in size. Correspondingly, getting a score of 499, when the number required to pass is 500 or more, can be seen as **being close to a success** but still, strictly regarded, admitting the examinee to the same group as other failures. If such person tries to point out that they were **really, really close** to passing, a disapproving recipient could point out that they'll still have to retake the exam, independently of how close to a success they were (c.f. by how little they have **failed** ). What is the idiomatic way to express that in English, if such exists?


title: Are focusing adverbs exceptions of adverb definitions?

text: > “Adverbs characteristically modify verbs and other categories except nouns, > especially adjectives and adverbs.” (The Cambridge Grammar of the English > Language, p.563) > > “The basic division, then, is between words that modify nouns, and words > that modify other categories (categories of words or of larger > constituents). The noun modifiers are adjectives, and the others are > adverbs.” (A Student’s Introduction to English Grammar by Huddleston & > Pullum, p.123) Even though adverbs are excluded, by said definition, from modifying nouns, the so-called focusing adverbs are found in CGEL and COCA, that modify nouns, proper nouns and pronouns. > You are the **only** boy.   >  **Only** Kim resigned.   >  **Only** he knows.   > Can they be regarded as exceptions of the definition? Or is there a certain reason, for example, the focusing range being movable or sometimes ambiguous we cannot say definitely that the adverbs modify only nouns?


title: Why do English men's names almost always stress the first syllable?

text: While looking at names of American Presidents I noticed that English men’s names almost always stress the first syllable. Barack Obama is unusual in that he’s only the second President (after Ulysses Grant) whose name does not have a stress on the first syllable. I then looked at all the Vice Presidents, and it’s the same – every one of them has a first-syllable stressed name. Looking at first ladies’ names the story is different. Taking the search away from Presidents and just looking at first names in general, what I found was that there’s an overall trend that while women’s names may be stressed on either the first or second syllables with about equal frequency, men’s names are almost universally stressed on the first. This is not the case in every language, or even in just in western languages. Take a name like “Louis”. Pronounced in French, the word is stressed on the second syllable, but the same name in English is stressed on the first, and there are countless examples of this if you compare English names to French, Spanish, Italian, etc. It may be a trend with Germanic languages. German men’s names tend to stress the first syllable as well. My question is – why? Where does this trend come from? Has it always been this way? Is there some reason why only men’s names have this common trend and not women’s?


title: Usage of "w.r.t." in academic papers

text: Is it possible to use the abbreviation "w.r.t." in academic papers?


title: If "hexa-" is a prefix representing six

text: Why does the word "hexadecimal" have the prefix "hexa-" if it has a base of 16, not 6?


title: Single word for one who imagines positive things which fail to materialize?

text: How do we call someone who imagines positive things ahead which never come to pass?


title: The difference between per person and each person

text: What's the difference between the two? > 'It costs $50 per person' > > 'It costs $50 each person'


title: The plural of One

text: I have a statement: > 'The writer says we must all feel excitement and strangeness at the idea of > going to sea.' Now I have to remove "we" here and replace it with "one" or any other third person. What can I do? I am thinking of replacing 'we' with 'one' but is that good?


title: Can I use one word to mean "what is even worse"?

text: I'm describing the harm that a thing causes. > First, it creates more losses. What is even worse is that it creates > instability issues. Is there one word that I can use to represent "what is even worse"?


title: he/she or what else could fit in a sentence referring to a transgender

text: The **transgender** , who secured 75 per cent in B.A. through distance education programme, said **she** had applied for the examination soon after the publication of the notification. On reading the above line in a newspaper, I had a doubt about the usage of "she" for a "transgender" here. Is this usage correct or is there a better way ?


title: What's a good word for a lack of concentration?

text: I'm looking for an adjective that describes not concentrated.   Something like "flying around", "not really here".      _In hebrew it would've been מעופף._


title: Why is there such confusion over a and an?

text: Recently while reading technical blog posts on the net I have started to see more frequently the incorrect use of 'an'. My understanding from learning English as a child and English grammar in school is   * 'an' should be used before a word begining with a vowel sound. This is most words that begin with a vowel and some that don't such as 'hour'.   * 'a' should be used in all other instances. More and more I am seeing 'an JSON file' , 'an Yearling' and various other examples I haven't recorded. Is there a reason for this trend (a change in education, a misunderstanding) or is it simply 2nd Language usage getting mixed up?


title: meaning of "haul up"

text: I read this sentence from the book "REVOLUTION 2020" > I remained under a banyan tree, exhausted by my daily ritual of **hauling > up** the men every two hours". I got the meaning for haul up as "to come to a halt" . but i dont thhik this will be fit for this sentence. can anyone explain this.


title: Correct verb tense to use when referring to a law effective in the past

text: What is the correct tense to use when I'm referring to something which was in effect in the past, like a law or an act, but which now is not. Which of the following is better?   1. The Statute of Anne used to grant ...   2. The Statute of Anne granted ...


title: "Release", "free", or "delete allocated memory"?

text: >   1. release the allocated memory. >   2. free the allocated memory. >   3. delete the allocated memory. > What are the differences between them?


title: "Tease" or "tease with"

text: Does this headline from Toms Hardware use a correct sense of the verb "tease" (the main sense of which in this area being _to tantalize especially by arousing desire or curiosity often without intending to satisfy it_ ): > Gigabyte Teases LED-Lit X99-UD4 Motherboard I thought it should have been "teases with", because in this form it is not clear whether the brand teased the product, or teased people with the product. Thoughts?


title: Confusion from “men” , “the men”, and “the woman” in a same sentence

text: I was confused when I came across a sentence in “The Body Politic” in _New York Times_ (June 28). The emphasized one. > The legal dos and don’ts suggest that the law of the father has been partly > overthrown, even if the naughtiness remains hidden, away from the glare of > the outside world. The club is something of a playground, a place where > women and men teasingly, raucously switch traditional roles. _Yet there’s a > serious undertow to their interactions because the women pay men for a > sexual pantomime that the men live off of._ (The plot also involves Dallas’s > plans to open a bigger club in which he’s promised Mike equity, a pledge > that keeps Mike dancing and distracted from his own dreams.) From the way > that Mr. Soderbergh shoots the opener, the lights shining into the camera > and your eyes (you may flash on “All That Jazz”), it’s clear everyone is > playing a role, including you. In this sentence, “the men” are strippers who live off of sexual pantomime. And “the women” are clients who pay for their sexual pantomime, right? Why not say “the women pay _the_ men for a sexual pantomime that the men live off of”? Actually, I don't know why this can be an undertow to their interactions. Since they have already switched traditional roles in that club, it is only natural to see female clients pay male strippers for sexual pantomime. Can that be an undertow?


title: Meaning of "holidays of hay"

text: What does this phrase, from Pynchon's novel _Gravity's Rainbow_ , mean? > Schnorp, his hair blown like holidays of hay… There are no references to "holidays" or "hay" in the preceding several pages.


title: What do "a sort of moral attention" and "riotous excursions" mean in this quote from the Great Gatsby?

text: > “When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world > to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more > riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart” Does "at a sort of moral attention" mean the same moral level or something else? What's the meaning of "riotous excursions"? I cannot find this phrase in a dictionary.


title: Is "wanna" more common with non-native speakers?

text: Is the word "wanna" (as opposed to "want to") more common in the writing of non-native speakers than in the writing of native speakers of English? Is this effect more pronounced when you exclude casual conversation, and also exclude quotation of speech?


title: that feeling where you feel like you need to do something but can't remember what it is

text: You know when you feel like you need to do something but you can't remember what it is? You almost feel a little anxious because you can't remember what you were going to do / what you need to do. Is there a name for this feeling?


title: What is the exact meaning of "compensation" with respect to monetary expenses?

text: For example, in this sentence: > pursuing goals that reflect genuine human needs, like wanting to feel > connected to others, turns out to be more psychologically beneficial than > spending one’s life trying to impress others or to accumulate trendy > clothes, fancy gizmos, and the money to keep buying them. **The latter quest > may amount to using compensation to try to compensate for something more > meaningful.** Actually, I can’t understand what this sentence means. Can someone explain that?


title: Correct usage of "to" + verb

text: I have an interface which limits users' access. I want to write a phrase that expresses it differently. Here is what I come up with > The interface offers the option to pick which ones* to authorize client > access. ones refers to clients. I feel that the sentence is not right, as I'm not sure if the usage of "to authorize" is correct. Looking for feedback on this; different formulation are certainly welcome!


title: Why isn't there a verb following can?

text: I have read a sentence in America Scientist (May 2014, p45): > No longer can skeptical clinicians dismiss the approach as likely to be > viable for only a few specific kinds of tumors... Why isn't there a verb following can?


title: What is a sub-base?

text: I found the term _sub-base_ in _To Have And Have Not_ by Ernest Hemingway (1937): > "We'll have to steal the boat. You know they ain't got her fixed so I can't > start her."   >  "How you going to get her out of the **sub-base**?"   >  "I'll get her out." I can't find this word in any dictionaries, either online or offline. I guess this is a kind of basin for boats or yachts. Is it a building for holding boats?


title: What does ‘Konrad Lorentz’s observation was “one sentence”’ mean?

text: New York Times (May 20) introduces a study of Dr. Johanna H. Meijer at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands that proves mice are really enjoying wheel-running in the article titled, “Mice run for fun, not Just work, research shows.” I was drawn to the phrase, “the Lorenz observation ‘was one sentence’” in the following sentence: > As a “brain electrophysiologist” studying biological rhythms in mice, she > relished the chance to get out of the laboratory and study wild animals, and > in a way that no one else had. > > She said Konrad Lorenz, the great-grandfather of animal behavior studies, > once mentioned in a letter that some of his caged rats had escaped and then > returned to his garden to use running wheels placed there. But, Dr. Meijer > said, the Lorenz observation “ **was one sentence**.” > http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/science/study-shows-that-mice-run-for-fun- > not-just-for-lab-work.html?hpw&rref=science I surmise 'Lorenz observation “was one sentence”' means his observation scratches only an aspect of whole, imcomplete, or just superficial, but I’m not sure. What does observation (view, remark, conclusion) is “one sentence” mean? Is the phrase, “one sentence” used very often in this way? For instance, can I say “It’s one sentence of the politician, we cannot conclude he is nationalist.”


title: "along" in "the wolf passed something along to me"

text: Here is a quote by _Jack Nicolson_ from the movie "Wolf": > Since it happened I feel as though the wolf passed something **along** to > me. I wonder why is _along_ needed in that sentence? What difference does it make? How would the whole sentence sound without it?


title: To make a lengthy process instantaneous

text: What is a word that describes the process of speeding up a lengthy process, so that it can be described as instantaneous? In a sense of _to remove any delay_. _Instantiate_ comes to mind, but it is also a programming term, which may sound confusing. Is it the correct word, though? If not, what is? Example: "The reaction takes 4 seconds to complete, but I bet we can _make it instant_ ". What verb can be used to turn " _make it instant_ " into " _(verb) it_ "?


title: How do I properly use [sic] for a phrase? Or do I use it at all?

text: The actual sentence I am quoting is: > Company A will provide regular communications to Company B on the status of > level of effort in comparison the projected monthly amounts contained in our > contract. Obviously there is a word missing. This is how I think that sentence should be quoted: > Company A will provide regular communications to Company B on the status of > level of effort in comparison (to) [sic] the projected monthly amounts > contained in our contract. Is this even close? I am just not sure.


title: Seasonal parsing: "enjoying Re-run's of Christmas' past" — fragment, pluralization and ownership

text: > enjoying Re-run's of Christmas' past I just saw this posted as a Facebook status update, and it has boggled me as to how it should be considered or how it should be rewritten. If re-runs belong to Christmases of the past, and if the past owns Christmases then there is ownership present. What about Christmases' ? I'm not focused on the fact it's a fragment of speech. Maybe that imbues some ambiguity upon it in my mind's eye and prevents me immediate resolution. What's the most accurate, or else, your best interpretation of this fragment?


title: "All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life" is it correct

text: "All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life." Is this a grammatically correct sentence?


title: Use of "may need to" when you actually need to

text: In software documentation, I recently read: > If you move a job to a different folder, you may also need to update > configuration that was referring to that job. But _if_ you have a "configuration that was referring to that job" you _need to_ update it (or really _should_ ). Not doing that will result in broken configuration and ultimately, broken behavior. Is this use of "may need to" really correct? Is there a valid reason the documentation is phrased like this, instead of "…, you also need to update"? Doesn't the current documentation through the use of "may" imply that there are situations where you're not required to update configuration because it handles the job move correctly?


title: Is there a comma before the word until in the sentence below?

text: In this sentence: > They are not taking their team photograph until Friday at 7:30. On my son’s punctuation test, he did **not** use a comma after _photograph_ , and his teacher marked this “missing” comma as an error, claiming there needed to be there. Is there some rule that would explain the teacher’s position, or was it incorrectly marked incorrect?


title: Meaning of the valediction "Yours, &c."

text: When the valediction "Yours, &c" is used at the end of a letter (for example in Jane Austen's novel _Pride and Prejudice_ ), what is the "&c" standing in for? I realize that "&c" is shorthand for _etc._ or _et cetera_ , but that is not the purpose of this inquiry. When "Yours, &c" is used in a valediction by a writer (letter or novel), it is not unreasonable to expect that he or she assumes the reader will understand exactly what has been abridged. Which may have been the case for 19th century readers, but it is not the case for at least this humble reader today. Is there a standard, long-winded expansion of this valediction? Or are there many possible expansions? Wikipedia's entry regarding this topic is a bit terse and unsatisfactory.


title: There are seven days in a/the week

text: What is correct and why? Both, or only one of the following sentences? > 1 - There are seven days in **a** week. -> _One single_ week consists of seven days. 1 week = a week = 7 days. > 2 - There are seven days in **the** week. -> "The week" as a _general notion_. The only `Week` class for for all the single instances. Having 7 days is a class property, not an instance property. Similarly: **A** cat has four legs _or_ **The** cat has four legs? **A** star consists of hot gases _or_ **The** star consists of hot gases? In the last two examples I can imagine also a plural, so **Cats** have four legs _or_ **The cats** have four legs? As for the week, the sentence " **Weeks** have seven days" sounds strange. Why?


title: Is there a word to describe someone who apologizes for or feels bad about success or good fortune?

text: For example, an American who apologizes for the wealth and power of the United States?


title: Academic way of saying "On the other hand"

text: I have two paragraphs in my paper, the previous paragraph ends with > This shows that TF-IDF is still an important feature for text analysis task and my next paragraph starts with > **On the other hand** , various studies suggested that LDA may not work on > short documents due to insufficient context Is there another way of begin my next paragraph instead of saying _On the other hand_ but keep the meaning of contrasting?


title: Why is 'allopathy' not an accepted synonym for 'mainstream medicine'?

text: According to Wikipedia, > Allopathic medicine and _allopathy_ (from the Greek prefix ἄλλος, állos, > "other", "different" + the suffix πάϑος, páthos, "suffering") are terms > coined in the early 19th century by Samuel Hahnemann,the founder of > homeopathy, as a synonym for mainstream medicine. > > Never accepted as a mainstream scientific term, it was adopted by > alternative medicine advocates to refer pejoratively to mainstream medicine. One will, however, come across the terms, _allopathy_ or _allopathic_ quite often in India – where _homeopathy_ and _ayurveda_ therapies have gained big popularity recently, so much that a majority of language purists regard _allopathy_ as mainly an Indian English term (– I read that in a magazine recently). That may be subject to argument, but _'allopathy'_ does seem to be a term that many across the world refuse use in referring to _mainstream medicine_. What I would like to know is: Why is _allopathy_ not acceptable as a term in that sense? And personally, do you use it to refer to _mainstream medicine_ or is there a different term you prefer?


title: Using "our" in this situation

text: I asked my gf if her family was okay due to a natural disaster in her hometown. She replied to me, "our family are okay." To me, I can't help smiling. I feel like she counts me in. In fact, I know that she doesn't mean that way. Both of us are not native speakers. So, is this reply grammatically correct? Is it okay to use that way? I am not sure native speakers will think the way I am thinking.


title: Omission of a verb?

text: This is from George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London: > "Thereupon a whole variegated chorus of yells, as windows were flung open on > every side and half the street joined in the quarrel." (pg.1, Penguin > edition). It is the first part - "Thereupon a variegated chorus of yells" - which I am interested in. I am under the impression that "chorus" is used here as a noun; therefore, there is no verb in the phrase at the beginning of the sentence, yet it gives the impression of a clause. If the sentence were as follows, "Thereupon a variegated chorus of yells.", it would still make sense to me despite the absence of any verb. Is a verb implied?: "Thereupon a variegated chorus of yells (erupted)", for example. If so, is there a name for this? I am sure I have seen it before.


title: Is "farth" a word in any language?

text: Due to a misreading, a group including myself have searched for the definition of the word "farth" and come up with nothing. We now know that the original text did not actually use this word, but the word still strikes us as feeling eerily familiar and somehow fitting of the context in which is was found - a geographic feature found in uncivilized wilderness. The original quote (we thought we read) was: > North past forest, farth, and furrow > > You must go to reach the feathered mound We later found out that the word that was meant to be there was **farm**. Nonetheless, we have found a fascination with this potentially made-up word. Is "farth" actually a word in any version of English, Latin, or other Roman- character-using languages?


title: First use of "bunk"

text: My question is simple: Which came first, bunk as in "bunk beds" or "to bunk" as in to find a place to sleep? Almost suredly, the definition of one created the definition of the other by association, however I was wondering if anyone knew which came first. Thanks.


title: Formatting for having one noun used twice in a sentence-- once, implied

text: I was writing some definitions for a summer project, and I came up with this sentence: > In The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, the protagonist is Gregor Samsa, with > events being centered around- , and the story actually being told by him. I'm not sure how to format the break between `around` and `, and the...`. In Psuedocode, here is what I want to know how to format-- Specifically, the `{implied him}` part. > [PNoun is the Noun, with the Noun being Verb(Past) by {Implied him} and the > Noun being Verb(Past) by him.] ALSO: `I am doing the thing - You know the one - without it.` " - " or "-"?   `I am doing the thing-- without it.` "-- " or "--" or " -- "?


title: Referring to images in blog in layout neutral way?

text: I write blog posts where I need to refer to product images without knowing exactly where they are (layout wise) in relation to the text I write, meaning that the images might be above, below, or to the side of the text. Is there a single word I can use as a label that makes it clear that the text which follows is regarding the image(s) in the post? How about _depicted_ or _products_?


title: "Officious Little Prick"

text: Taken from here > As early as the opening line - **"Jack Torrance thought, officious little > prick."** \- Torrance comes across as adversarial. He is a damaged man whose > deep flaws have damaged others. A recovering alcoholic, Jack is given to > fits of temper and rage; addiction seems to be less a cause than a symptom > of his deeper character issues. Once, when his son Danny spilled a can of > beer over his important papers, Jack yanked him away and accidentally broke > his arm (the imagery of alcohol damaging Jack's work is not accidental). > Later, while sober, Jack beat up a student of his for slashing his tires; > alcohol is not necessarily a trigger for these outbreaks, merely an > accelerant. When Jack agrees to take the position of winter caretaker at the > Overlook, it is quite literally his last chance to change and prove himself > responsible. I have to think it over to get the real meaning of _"Officious little prick"_ in this context. I am thinking of:   * A person who pretends to know a lot, in fact he does not (loudmouth).   * A busybody.  In case those do not imply the knowledge level, what should _"Officious little prick"_ be interpreted as exactly?


title: Should the word "state" be capitalized when it describes a type of tax return.

text: On my resume I have a line that reads: -Prepared Federal and state tax returns for individuals...... Should state be capitalized? I usually capitalize Federal in my job when I write "Federal tax return". Should Federal be capitalized?


title: Is there a polite way of saying "people like you"?

text: It seems that "people like you" is almost always used as an insult (similar to "your kind"). e.g. A shop owner might say to an annoying customer that doesn't buy anything, "Go away, I don't have time to deal with people like you." Can it be used in a polite sentence, or due to the associated negativity with the phrase, would it be better to use an alternate phrase?


title: Intuition - 'eminent' and 'imminent'

text: I'm not asking about their definitions, but rather, how to derive them from the etymology? I researched that from this the root is **minere = to project** and in- = 'upon,towards'. Etymonline avouches **ex- = out** , but isn't the prefix just e- for eminent?


title: Why is "women" pronounced the way it is?

text: As far as I know, it is the only word where _wo_ is pronounced as _wee_. What is the reason for this? Does it have to do with the origin of the word?


title: Word for something that can be jumped off of

text: Is there a word for something that can be jumped off of? For example the ground can jumped off of, but you can not jump off something which is falling through the air. I'm looking for an adjective.


title: A or An in "a (relatively) obscure meaning"?

text: I've just come across this sentence here at "english.stackexchange.com". > "The writer should have taken care not to hide such a (relatively) obscure > meaning underneath an obviously silly one." Could the indefinite article "an" be used here, instead of "a" ?


title: “To go” in the meaning of “to poop”

text: Here is a quote from article: > The largest animals ever to have lived on Earth, blue whales are colossal in > every respect — including, it must be said, the scatological. When a blue > whale goes, it goes big. I’m not native speaker, but it is pretty clear to what does it mean “when it goes, it goes big”. But it is clear for me only because of the context in which I’ve encountered this phrase. My question is: As for native speaker, is this very phrase clear without any context provided?


title: Is this that-clause for set comparison or a relative?

text: > [i] It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because > the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing **that had happened to > him so far**. > > –– Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone > > [ii] a. Ed made the most mistakes of them all. b. It sold for the highest > price ever paid for a Cezanne. > > –– CGEL, p.1101 > > [ii] is called set comparison, for “one member is picked out as being at the > top of the scale. In [ii] the set is identified by the NP them all: the > comparison is between the members of this set with respect to how many > mistakes they each made, with Ed ranked at the top of the scale. It is > possible to omit the PP of them all, in which case the set being compared is > identified contextually. In [iib] the comparison is between the prices paid > for painting by Cezanne, and again one is picked out as being at the top of > the scale - CGEL,1102”. It seems like [i] is a kind of the set comparison, but I’m not sure for [i] has that-clause that could be understood as a relative one. Is the that-clause a set one or a relative?


title: Is there a single word that can describe something that breathes/produces fire?

text: I'm looking for a word that I can use to describe something that "breathes" ( **out** ) fire. If there is no such word, I can create it myself, much like Stephen King created Pyrokinesis. Is there such a word? **To clarify:** I am using the word as an adjective, and as part of a description in a document related to a novel I'm writing (sci-fi). So, for example: ## Blablablabus Blabladens **Size:** 2feet   **Height:** 1foot   **Social Structure:** antisocial   **Notes:** bla, bla bla.   **Diet:** bla.   **Special Features:** bla bla bla bla.   **Pyrogenetic(?) Abilities:** Breathes fire using blablabla organ. See where I use Pyrogenetic? That's where I want to use the word. However, I'm not sure what word would be correct, and I don't want to use "Fire-breathing" if I don't _have_ to. ## After some deliberation and the highest voted answer so far: I decided to create my own word(s): Ignigenesis/(Ignigenetic).


title: How to use "when" vs. "while" on the following occasions?

text: Please have a look at these sentence pairs: >   1.     * When I worked as a teacher, I met a good friend. >     * While I was working as a teacher, I met a good friend. >   2.     * When I had a dream, I thought of the idea. >     * While I was having a dream, I thought of the idea. > Which ones are correct? And why?


title: single word for one who eats the same food all the time

text: Is there a single word for someone who always eats the same food? E.g. Hard boiled egg for breakfast, tuna fish for lunch, chicken breast for dinner. Every day.


title: "Key to" vs. "key for"

text: > Key to exercises. Today I saw the quoted sentence when looking at the keys _to_ exercises, and afterwards that sentence got me thinking why the preposition _to_ is used here instead of _for_. The way I see it is that the key purpose is to match our answer with the correct one; hence, _for_ would fit here nicely. Am I right?


title: British English phrase "dot and carry one"

text: I've been re-reading 'Treasure Island' by Stevenson, and, at one point a character says, "... my pulse went dot and carry one" meaning, I think, that his pulse started racing. Has anyone heard this idiom before? Can anyone tell me specifically to what it refers? The 'carry one' seems mathematical.


title: Omission of "to" with deontic "have to"

text: In the following sentence from The New Yorker (emphasis added) > Sarkozy [...] has spent much of his campaign trying to woo voters away from > Le Pen [...] and he is only going to **have grovel** for them more there seems to be the omission of "to" with deontic "have to," with the intent to avoid the sequence of "to ... to." Is that so or is it just a misprint?


title: Simple English for "filling hunger"

text: I'm looking for a (preferably) one-word term to describe a meal that's filling.   1. I'd like to avoid ambiguity with the substance put inside cakes, also called _filling_.   2. _Satiating_ appears to be too difficult a word, while also having sexual connotations.   3. I was thinking about _filler_ or _big-dish_ , but they sound awkward.


title: Can we say "in common sense way"?

text: "To understand this principle in common-sense way...." I heard a German teacher using "common-sense" this way, I think it is a little bit odd. Suppose I want to retain his idea, and modify the sentence, how should I say. "To understand XX from the perspective of common-sense"; "To understand XX from the point of view of common-sense"? I think "from the perspective of an Asian/.." is good, as long as it is of people, "from the perspective of.." will be fine. Also, suppose man have normally different ways of viewing things, they might feel, argue, contemplate. These can be perspectives. So we can also say "from perspective of reason, psychology, motivation..." Psychology, motivation.. are immanate attibute of men. So, either from the perspective of people, or from the perspective of their common ways to know things. Therefore I think "To understand XX from the perspective of common-sense" is odd as well. Maybe we should say "to understand it by common-sense, with common-sense"?


title: Thursday vs on Thursday

text: Which of these is incorrect? Or, if both are fine, which is preferred? > She resigned Thursday. > > She resigned on Thursday.


title: Is it "<verb> on Mondays to Fridays" or "<verb> from Mondays to Fridays"?

text: I want to state that I cook on Mondays, Tue, Wed, Thur, and Fri, in my house every week. Should I say "I cook on Mondays to Fridays" or "I cook from Mondays to Fridays", or something else?


title: What does adding quotes to an expression do to its meaning?

text: I always thought it meant sarcasm when someone wrapped quotation marks around a word. > "Thank you" for coming over... That _thank you_ now was said sarcastically and was a passive-aggressive way of saying that the writer wasn't truly thankful. This morning I got a email sent to the entire office from my boss as such: > "Thank You" for your commitment, dedication and the support Does it mean sarcasm or emphasis?


title: Is "subject to a theft" a thing?

text: Is it acceptable to say something has been "subject to a theft"? The only use case I can find is in this policy document from Lloyds Bank. Has it been adopted elsewhere?


title: "in the summer" or "in summer"

text: Both are correct forms when we talk about seasons of the year from what I learnt. But is there any difference between "in summer" and "in the summer"?


title: What are the most common symbols or words used to refer a reader to a glossary?

text: What are the most common symbols or words used after difficult words in a text to refer a reader to a glossary for a definition?


title: What does "in before" mean?

text: Can anyone please provide a simple explanation of the phrase "in before" with some common-usage examples. Is it appropriate to use this phrase in a context such as "This happened and then this happened **in before** I realised that I have to do this."?


title: "Absolute" or "absolutely"?

text: This question is related to programming, but this seemed a better place to post it than Stack Overflow. To style HTML pages, we frequently deal with positioning, and two common values for the CSS `position` property are `relative` and `absolute`. When answering questions on Stack Overflow, sometimes I wonder how should I refer to those values as adverbs. For example, take this sentence from a question I just answered: > Unless you'll be **absolutely** positioning something inside the div later Is this correct English? It sounds strange to me, but "absolute positioning` would also sound strange.


title: Very unusual meaning of "abortion"

text: The following use of the word "abortion" got my attention. It is from Graham Greene's _The End of the Affair_ , published in 1951. Here is the context: > "...Listen. I met a man on the Common today with three legs." > > "How terrible," Henry said seriously. "An abortion?" Most definitions of "abortion" I've checked focus mostly or exclusively on the termination of pregnancy which, at least in North America, is the most common meaning. There are a few definitions given which appear to correspond to Henry's use: Merriam-Webster: MONSTROSITY (http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/abortion) Oxford Dictionaries: "2 an object or undertaking that is unpleasant or badly made or carried out." And way down on this page on Dictionary.com: "6. a person or thing that is deformed" But otherwise, as far as I can tell from the etymologies on the above links, and from this question, it looks as though the the word _abortion_ has always referred to the early end to a pregnancy. My question is, was Greene's usage ever common? I can't very well search Google Ngrams since it would be impossible to differentiate the intended meanings. Would a British reader in 1951 have made any association at all with an early termination to a pregnancy, when reading the exchange above?


title: what is the origin of the phrase "a penny for your thoughts"?

text: Googling for the origin of " _A penny for your thoughts,_ " I have only found the origin of a likely-related phrase " _my two cents_ " and simple dictionary entries for " _a penny for your thoughts._ " What is the exact origin and meaning of this phrase?


title: What does 'had been took with fits and held down in 'em' mean?

text: The following appears in _The Haunted House_ by Charles Dickens. What is the meaning of the bolded phrase? > This very concise summary of the facts was all I could learn, except that a > young man, as hearty and likely a young man as ever I see, **had been took > with fits and held down in ’em** , after seeing the hooded woman.


title: What does this text from The haunted house by Charles Dickens mean?

text: > "Who is--or who was--the hooded woman with the owl? Do you know?" > > "Well!" said Ikey, holding up his cap with one hand while he scratched his > head with the other, "they say, in general, that she was murdered, and the > howl he 'ooted the while." > > This very concise summary of the facts was all I could learn, except that a > young man, as hearty and likely a young man as ever I see, had been took > with fits and held down in 'em, after seeing the hooded woman. **_Also, that > a personage, dimly described as "a hold chap, a sort of one-eyed tramp, > answering to the name of Joby, unless you challenged him as Greenwood, and > then he said, 'Why not? and even if so, mind your own business,'" had > encountered the hooded woman, a matter of five or six times._** But, I was > not materially assisted by these witnesses: inasmuch as the first was in > California, and the last was, as Ikey said (and he was confirmed by the > landlord), Anywheres. > > The haunted house, Charles Dickens


title: Ourselves vs us?

text: >   1. I am simply haunted by the fear of my family not having enough money to > support _ourselves_. >   2. I am simply haunted by the fear of my family not having enough money to > support _us_. > The _ourselves_ and _us_ refer to my family. Which one is correct?


title: "a truce to sport.." from a poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar

text: From "A Lazy Day" by Paul Laurence Dunbar: > No ripple stirs the placid pool, > > When my adventurous line is cast, > > **A truce to sport** , while clear and cool, > > The mirrored clouds slide softly past. What is the meaning of "a truce to sport"? What part of the sentence does it refer to?


title: Is "legit" a legitimate word?

text: Is _legit_ an actual word, or is it a slang word that has been shortened from _legitimate_?


title: Why are the people of the United States called "Americans" when the whole continent is "America"

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Why are the United States often referred to as America? Is it because there wasn't a proper adjective like _"United Staterns"_ or something? Why Canadians are not called Americans (or the rest of the inhabitants in the continent for that matter) Isn't it like calling France "Europa" and French people "Europeans" and implying that British people, Spaniards or Germans are not Europeans although they _do_ live in "Europa" ? I have always had this question.


title: What does "America" mean?

text: Citizens of the USA naturally refer to themselves as Americans and refer to the country as America. When speaking to a person from Canada, he argued that it was incorrect to call the country America. Instead, I should be saying the United States (of America). Is it incorrect to refer to the country as America? And even if it is, won't people from around the world understand that the USA = America?


title: Can I use "US-American" to disambiguate "American"? If not, what can I use?

text: Based on this question, I wonder: as an alternative to _USAian_ (which is very nonstandard) is it OK to use _US-American_ to more clearly indicate "inhabitant of the USA"? According to Google Ngram, this phrase has grown in usage since the 1960's. The problem I'm trying to solve is that _American_ can relate to either an inhabitant of the American continent(s), or an inhabitant of the United States of America. (In fact, the one Brazilian person I know does refer to himself as American, or at least would like to be able to do so.) I'm looking for a word that specifically means "inhabitant of the United States of America". I can see that in German, 'US-Amerikaner' is certainly not uncommon (see e.g. Wikipedia). Also, see also the Wikipedia article Names for United States citizens. Alternatively, if it turns out that "American" _always_ means an inhabitant of the USA, what word can be used for inhabitants of the continent?


title: Is the phrase Comfort Room to mean rest room acceptable in English?

text: In the Philippines, people label the "rest rooms" with the letters CR which stands for "Comfort Room". Is this acceptable?


title: "Get everything together"

text: Right now my life is kind of in a mess I'm unemployed and barely have a place to live. If I want to tell my friends that I will meet and hang out with them once I sort myself out. Does "get everything together" have a similar meaning? Like "I will shoot you a message once I get everything together".


title: I want to use a definition from dictionary.com but I can't find it anywhere else.

text: My essay is about the Greek Tragedy "Oedipus the king". I want to use the term cosmic irony in a paraphrase but I am unsure whether or not it would weaken my argument. Since I can not find support for this idea in another credible website. > "Main Entry: cosmic irony Part of Speech: n Definition: **the idea that > fate, destiny, or a god controls and toys with human hopes and > expectations** ; also, the belief that the universe is so large and man is > so small that the universe is indifferent to the plight of man; also called > irony of fate Example: Crane uses the theme of cosmic irony." My sentence would be: "Consequently, this demonstrates how fate victimizes Oedipus and hints the idea of cosmic irony" then followed by a quote/paraphrase of the definition. Should I use this term or not? Would there be a better way to phrase my argument?


title: Is "Upload from XML" valid in English?

text: Imagine an example.xml file that contains some data. Then there's a website where you can type or upload this data, so there are a few links such as "Manual Input" or "Upload from XML". Which one of these options is the best, do they all seem valid to you?   * "Upload from XML"   * "Upload from list of values"   * "Upload from CSV"   * "Upload from comma-separated values" (aren't they both horribly wrong?) And this looks valid to me:   * "Upload XML"   * "Uload list of values" Unfortunately lots of pages uses "Upload from XML/CSV" so I'm a bit confused. It's basically "Upload from Extensible Markup Language", I might be wrong but it just feels awful.


title: Better word for the "source" of a remix?

text: For "remix" in the general sense, e.g. "everything is a remix". Is there a better word than "source" for describing the thing that got remixed? ("Source" is just ambiguous in many contexts.) Thanks! Edit: "original" also has the connotation of the most upstream. If C is a remix of B, which was a remix of A, what would you call B w.r.t. C?


title: Meaning and origin of "rally peters out"

text: Positive reactions from stock markets can be described as the markets "rallying peters out". See this guardian article for an example of this usage. I don't quite understand this proverb. Where does it come from and how to interpret it? Is it linked to St. Peter for instance? _EDIT: I edited the tags, as this is not about a proverb_


title: Take this question with a grain of salt

text: Where did this ubiquitous phrase come from? Usually it is used in conjunction with either disputable of downright dubious information but I can't think of how _salt_ helps the situation. The only thing I can think of is that since salt had a higher value in ancient times, that maybe the speaker is trying to almost bribe the recipient ("here is some info and here's some salt for your trouble") but I am just theorizing, take it with a grain of salt.


title: Can "I are" be shortened to "I're"?

text: I just received a message containing "I're": > Glad April and I're so different. I've never seen this used before (I suppose as it's so unnecessary, saving just one character when writing) yet I can't find anything which claims that this _isn't_ correct English. Can "I are" be validly shortened to "I're"?


title: the meaning of on its own terms

text: What does "On its own terms" mean in this context? > Paulson isn’t that kind of wordsmith. In his interview with Ross Sorkin, he > patted himself on the back for having acted quickly in the fall of 2008. > That’s fair enough. The bailout worked well **on its own terms** , and the > banks quickly repaid the government for the capital it invested in them.


title: How to specify from "this" college in "this" university?

text: I am confused how to write "B.E. with 80% from this college at this university" in formal language


title: Is there a term for when a politician sends an anonymous idea to see whether the public is receptive?

text: In any democratic country, I guess, sometimes politicians want to see whether an idea is acceptable in the prevailing public opinion, but at the same time they don't want to reveal their position on an issue until they are sure of the outcome. Something like this happens in case of controversial issues where politicians want their action placed in a positive perspective and where to express an unpopular idea may be problematic. So, my question is, is there a term for when a politician sends an anonymous idea to see whether the public is receptive?


title: Punctuation with block-quotes

text: How do I properly place a comma after a big block-quote? Let's say I have a sentence like this: > The author states: < a big quote goes here. >, therefore... Since my sentence continues after the quote, it is sometimes necessary to put a comma or some other punctuation mark after the quote. However, sometimes the quote is inserted as a big block of text that is formatted in a special way (like on this site). How do I do it in this case? The following doesn't really seem right to me:   * The author states: > Some big quote > > goes here. , therefore...


title: Confused by the past tense and the present tense

text: Suppose I'm talking about some design scheme. I say something like "foo was once designed and implemented in a way called bar that ...". Then I want to introduce the original scheme "bar", for example, "in the bar method, foo ...". To describe the behaviors of "foo" in the old design scheme, what tense should I use here? And are there any general rules about these cases?


title: Please explain constructions in the following paragraph

text: I took the following sentences from the book, "Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century" I bolded particularly confusing parts and would appreciate some explanation. > Europe is still in the process of reorganizing itself after the loss of its > empire and two devastating world wars, and it remains to be seen whether > that reorganization will be peaceful. **Europe is not going to regain its > empire, but the complacent certainty that intra-European wars have ended > needs to be examined.** What does _war have ended needs to be examined_ mean? Unclear.


title: Singular or plural verb after collective noun initialism

text: Are companies/groups of people considered plural? What about their initialisms? I'm unsure if I should use `have` (plural verb) or `has` (singular) in the following situations: > The Federal Bureau of Investigation have developed a prototype ... or > The Federal Bureau of Investigation has developed a prototype ... and when using just the initialism: > The FBI have ... or > The FBI has ... If I'm referring to the FBI as a group of people, then I'd obviously go with `have`, whereas if it's an entity on it's own, then it'd be `has`. Is there a preferred/recommended use in this case?


title: What is the significance of the “ô” character in “rôle” in this work?

text: In this document from 1916, on the last line of the first page is the word _rôle_. If context matters, the entire sentence is: > As might readily be supposed, the control of the lactic acid fermentation > plays a very important rôle in the manufacturing processes of all types of > cheese. This appears to be the only occurrence of this word or character in this document. What is the meaning of the _^_ mark? Is this an old writing convention that has been lost? If so, when was it used?


title: What does "Feather your nest" mean?

text: What does the expression/idiom "feather your nest" mean? I see a lot of references to it but I can't seem to figure out its meaning.


title: Conditionals in the future

text: My colleague and I have a hot discussion about which is correct. My version is: > If you don't fix the bug I will send you a patch. and his one is: > I would send you a patch if you don't fix the problem. Discussion context is: there is a bug in a project. I will send a patch in case that it will not be fixed this evening. I've written mine following academic definitions of "future conditionals" and my colleague's version looks unnatural for me. So who is right? If neither - what would be a correct sentence?


title: Why is "dog" in "underdog"?

text: _Dog_ seems a strange word to choose for this concept. Does anyone know anything more than Dictionary.com can tell me? > _**Origin:_** 1875–80, _Americanism_ ; under- + dog Etymonline has a similar take, but it also makes reference to _top dog_ , another incomprehensibly endowed noun with an even less gratifying origin entry: > _**Origin:_** 1885–1900 Where can I find the etymology of these words?


title: Is there a word for referring to yourself in the third person?

text: Ed would like to know if there is a word to describe someone who refers to themself in the third person.


title: Word for person always after what he does not have and not cherishing what he has

text: > **Possible Duplicate:**   >  Term for "constantly unsatisfied soul" Is there a word for a person who is always after what he does not have and does not cherish what he has? If not, any idiom or phrase?


title: Why does using a word/phrase/acronym exessively cause the syllables to become more relaxed?

text: When working in a professional setting, especially in administration or technical fields, common words/phrases/acronyms get used quite frequently. I've noticed that the more they are used daily, the faster they are physically spoken and the more relaxed the syllables become in the word, often making it sound completely different than when first used/spoken. Is there a term for this phenomena?


title: What is it called when a single word is offset by commas?

text: I'm not sure if I can generalize this type of construct, but is there a grammar term for single words surrounded by commas? Consider the following examples: >   1. Let's assume you are given a length of time, **say** , 10 minutes. >   2. Tristan was, **unsurprisingly** , late to the meeting. >   3. The plain-looking building was, **well** , plain. > Are these known as appositives?


title: "Will have" vs. "Would have"

text: > By the end of the year, I would have attended this school for five years. Of course, the "most" correct way of writing this would be: > By the end of the year, I will have attended this school for five years. ...but I was just wondering.


title: Why does "whence" have "when" in it?

text: No definition or usage of _whence_ relates to time, but to place. One would therefore expect it to be some form of _where_ , not of _when_. What caused _when_ to pertain to time, and _whence_ to pertain to place?


title: Proper definition of validation and verification

text: I'm trying to find a _definite_ , _peer-reviewed_ and generally _accepted_ definition of the words **validation** and **verification** when applied in the context of data acceptance (computer science). In a related question there are many definitions which I would consider correct but non I feel could act as a reference. Therefore could you point me to any sources that would fit this criteria?


title: "Work at home" vs. "work from home"

text: In the context of someone working for an employer but one day doing their office work at home, rather than at the office, which one is the correct usage — "work from home" or "work at home"? For example: > Person 1: Are you working from office tomorrow?   >  Person 2: Work [at/from] home.


title: How would you write informal language like this?

text: "What are you, a saint?" or "What are you? A saint?" Or is there a better way of punctuating this?


title: What's the difference between: people in England, people of England and English people?

text: * People **in** England clean glass with newspaper.   * People **of** England clean glass with newspaper.   * English people clean glass with newspaper. I would like to know which one sounds most natural. I would also like to know the usage of "people of England."


title: “I haven't got” vs. “I don't have”

text: Which is the correct way of saying this in English? >   * I haven't got any money. >   * I don't have any money. > If both are correct, which is the difference between them?


title: Sentence completion question

text: > From the given options, choose the sentence that completes the paragraph in > the most appropriate way. > >> Most people at their first consultation take a furtive look at the surgeon’s hands in the hope of reassurance. Prospective patients look for delicacy, sensitivity, steadiness, perhaps unblemished pallor. On this basis, Hendry Perowne loses a number of cases each year. Generally, he knows it’s about to happen before the patient does: the downward glance repeated, the prepared questions beginning to falter, the overemphatic thanks during the retreat to the door. > >   1. Other people do not communicate due to their poor observation. >   2. Other patients don’t like what they see but are ignorant of their right > to go elsewhere. >   3. But Perowne himself is not concerned. >   4. But others will take their place, he thought. >   5. These hands are steady enough, but they are large. > I feel the answer should be 3 as it is a continuation of the context related to Perowne. But the answer book reasons it out to be 2. Can someone help me understand the issue? The explanation in the answer book is as follows. > The paragraph is about what indications patients look for in a doctor, with > particular reference to his hands. Hence, the last sentence must be about > this. The theme is about what the patients do when they notice a doctor’s > hand. So 1 & 4 are ruled out. What Perowne thinks is sequential, but will > belong early in the next para, not here. Hence, 3 & 4 are eliminated. On > testing through reading, 2 uses the same kind of language as the para, > continues the idea of the previous sentence and is in keeping with the theme > sentence.


title: When is it appropriate to use non-breaking spaces?

text: I started using non-breaking spaces between a number and a unit of measure (10_ft), and within a name (Dr._John_Smith). I like the "look" of using non- breaking spaces to prevent titles from wrapping, but I don't know if it's technically correct or not. Is there a hard rule for this, or it a matter of style? Are their other circumstances when non-breaking spaces are usual? Just in case it's news to anyone: you can enter a non-breaking space with Ctrl-Shift-Space in Word and Outlook, and possibly other applications.


title: Why does “lactic” have an "-ic", while "unique" have an "-ique"?

text: * _Lactic_: > "pertaining to milk," 1790 (in lactic acid; so called because it was > obtained from sour milk), from **Fr. lactique** , from **L. lactis, gen. of > lac** "milk" (see lactation) **\+ Fr. -ique**.   * _Unique_: > c.1600, "single, solitary," from Fr. **unique** , from L. **unicus** > "single, sole," from unus "one" (see one). Meaning "forming the only one of > its kind" is attested from 1610s; erroneous sense of "remarkable, uncommon" > is attested from mid-19c. Obviously, _"-ic"_ is the cognate of F. " _-ique"_ ，I don't know why these two words have been composed by two different suffixes, or is there any difference between these forms?


title: "Make an experience" or "gain an experience"

text: Do you _make an experience_ or _gain an experience_? For example, > I made rewarding volunteering experiences ... > > I gained rewarding volunteering experiences ... Are either acceptable? Is there a finer distinction?


title: Shorter name for “non-blocking with background synchronization?”

text: What would be a short, human name (so that support dude can spell it) for a concept where user action is non-blocking and state is synchronized in the background? In my case I mark some clients as having really crap network and thus force them into such mode of operation. Normal mode of operation is on-line, synchronous, blocking, live, soft real- time and ignores cached data. Modern "offline html5" application do this, AJAX does it, Unix AIO does it, but what is it called? Candidates so far               asynchronous (spelling)     non-blocking     offline (unclear)     batched (incorrect)     network-challenged ()     cached (Tomasz)     delayed     ...     ...     ...      (cross-posted on stackoverflow) (too bad lads decided to close this down, "human word for technical term asynchronous" is a valid question, and will continue to be pertinent until the whole world goes online)


title: Meaning of "seething breeding"?

text: I try to translate this phrase into another language, and I am confused. Is this an idiomatic expression which refers to enthusiasm or abundance? This is the name of a chapter in a book that I am working on: "The seething breeding glioma" I also see these sentences when I google it: > It's a seething breeding ground for art thieves > > Latin American countries as a seething breeding ground of violence have been > widespread


title: Should I use 'other' or 'others' as an option item?

text: I am going to make a list of options. Which the correct form to use as an option: 'other' or 'others'? The option may contain several members.


title: S-V agreement: It is not clear what is/are meant by A and B

text: In the following sentence, the verb “are” strikes me as odd. > In paragraph 6, it is not clear what are meant by “the front unit” and “the > central element”. It seems that “. . . it is not clear what is meant by . . .” would be more natural. However, thinking more about it and flipping the sentence around yields something like: “the front unit” and “the central element” mean what? So, it seems that logically the verb should actually be “are”? What is going on here? Is the plural correct (are)? Or is there actually some other subject in the original sentence, and therefore “is”.


title: "Educative" vs "insightful"

text: Between _insightful_ and _educative_ , which is more appropriate in the following sentence? > The article is very well written and very **educative/insightful**. When I use Google ngrams, it gives a higher rank to the word _insightful_. However, I am curious to know whether the word _educative_ is an appropriate word in this context. Is there any word better than both _insightful_ and _educative_?


title: Word formation with the nominal suffix -tion: when and why do we insert an "a"?

text: Recently, a colleague became flustered when she used _orientate_ instead of _orient_. She says she frequently makes this sort of "back formation error" because of the nominal form, which is _orientation_. This has gotten me thinking about how nominal forms are created. Certainly, it is unambiguous for words that end in -ate or -ite (I think): > **hibernate** becomes **hibernation**   >  **ignite** becomes **ignition** And some words, you need the "a" to pronounce the word easily: > **cancel** becomes **cancellation**   >  **affirm** becomes **affirmation** But what about other words? Is there a difference in meaning between the suffixes -ation and -tion? Is there a rule about when to insert an a, and when to leave it out? > **prevent** becomes **prevention**   >  **inspect** becomes **inspection**   >  **prohibit** becomes **prohibition**   >  but   >  **indent** becomes **indentation** (not *indention)   >  **cohabit** becomes **cohabitation** (not *cohabition)   >  **orient** becomes **orientation** (not *oriention) Do words that have the -ation suffix have an archaic -ate form? Are they related somehow? NB: I know that _orientate_ is considered a "real" word, but its use is considered uneducated by the hoity-toity academics with whom I work.


title: "Class X" OR "X Class"

text: A. I will sit in class X. B. I will sit in X class. Question: Any specific reason for using "B" format?


title: Is there a generally accepted group of grammatical terms for English?

text: I've never studied English grammar, although I have studied a little German and Latin. If you asked me to differentiate the past perfect from the pluperfect, I wouldn't know where to begin. I read questioners using terms like "verb base + ing" and I ask myself whether he means a gerund or a present participle and I wonder why anyone would use such a phrase. What is the accepted nomenclature for English grammar and can someone suggest a printed- on-paper source? Thank you.


title: Three formal ways to express "we got very good comments"

text: A question from a non-native speaker: For some reason I have to find at least three different formal ways to express "we got very good comments". The context is like "our paper got published and the reviewer's comments were very positive". Now I have three candidate expressions:   1. we received rather positive reviews   2. our results were appraised highly by the reviewers   3. the comments were quite affirmative I am not sure whether "rather" and "quite" are used properly here. Also, I don't know whether "affirmative" has the same meaning with "positive" here. If these expressions are not ideal, can anyone help me find at least three different formal ways to express "we got very good comments"? Thank you.


title: Is there a special word for purposely misspelling a word?

text: I was thinking the other day about **Kleenex** , which is purposely misspelled from **clean** -ex, if that makes sense, and I was wondering if there was a word for purposely misspelling a word, or name.


title: Is there an adjective meaning "dog like"?

text: Feline is an adjective meaning "cat like". Then is there an adjective meaning "dog like"?


title: Is there a word that means 'Skeptic Hatred'?

text: Is there a word for the phenomenon where people have extreme emotional distress towards others who ask for evidence or question the validity of a popularly accepted claim, where the distress commonly accompanies condemnation and/or threats of exile to the individual questioning the claim? For example, assume most people in the world believe a teapot orbits the Sun between the Earth and Mars. A guy comes along and says, I don’t believe that, could you show me the evidence of that? The crowd gets angry and condemns the man. They ask him to back up his claim or he will be exiled forever. Of course he cannot back up his claim, it's much like proving Santa Claus doesn’t exist. So, he is destined to be hated, since they cannot prove their original claim.


title: Which pronoun to to replace single antecedent?

text: This is my all-time question. This time, I was writing specifications of my application and came up with this question. Which one of the following is more commonly used than the others? Note that I'm talking about a case without a relative pronoun.   * When a user logs in for the first time, **the user** has 6 invitations remaining    * When a user logs in for the first time, **the one** has 6 invitations remaining    * When a user logs in for the first time, **one** has 6 invitations remaining    * When a user logs in for the first time, **he/she** has 6 invitations remaining    * When a user logs in for the first time, **he** has 6 invitations remaining  Or, any other suggestions to get the sentence more natural?


title: Use of "still" in a reply in informal conversation

text: In informal conversation, in answer to the question, "What happened?" would it be correct to reply, "Nothing still important"? (Meaning nothing that is still important to discuss now; the topic lost its importance).


title: Are monkeys a subset of apes?

text: I wonder if "ape" is the generic, more general term than "monkey". Can one say that all primates (including monkeys) except lemurs, humans and some other few species are apes?


title: Use of “of ” to separate the last name

text: Sometimes I enconter people with names in which the last part is separated with _of_. I wonder in which cases such usage like _George of Bush_ , _John of Doe_ , or _Bill of Clinton_ is possible.


title: Another word for the "about" section of a personal website

text: The word that I'm looking for was frequently used as a means to communicate that there would be biographical or site based information via the link of that word. I can't recall the word, something that ended in -phile, -phone, -gram or something of that nature. It could have began with homo-. (All of those are likely completely innacurate but for some reason at the tip of my tongue) Does anyone recall this word?


title: What do you use as an alternative for "In light of"?

text: What do you use as an alternative for "In light of" in this context? **In light of** the recent evidence, the police arrested John Smith.


title: When do you use the exclamation mark?

text: I get confused on when to use the exclamation mark "!". Are there concise rules on when to use the exclamation mark "!"? Thanks.


title: Why is "happyness" spelled with a Y in the movie title "The Pursuit of Happyness"?

text: I just noticed that the word in the movie title The Pursuit of Happyness is spelled with a _y_ instead of an _i_. But my spell checker highlights "happyness" as a mistake. Why is it spelled differently here? Shouldn't it be _happiness_?


title: How will people understand this “I am not in a/the good state"?

text: Suppose I participate in a basketball game with my friends. I do not play as well as usual. Can I explain to them: > Sorry, I am not in the good state Will the audience naturally take it to mean that now I am not in the good state in which I can play basketball well? Does it make sense to say that I can be in several possible states, in some of them I can play well in others play badly？


title: Is there an adjective combining scientific and economic?

text: I'm doing a piece of research and am looking for an adjective that combines the words scientific and economic, so a bit like socioeconomic but scientific rather than social. I need to use it to describe the benefits/costs of multilingualism. Any ideas?


title: What is this construction?

text: > I can't tell, but conclude that it was a good idea. What is this construction?


title: "Maths" for "Mathematics"; where does the S come from?

text: So in US English we shorten _mathematics_ to _math_ , and in the UK they say _maths_. Where does the 'S' come from in the UK version? For some reason I had it in my head that this was just because it's plural so you add the 's'; referring to multiple types of mathematics. But a question on another SE site just made me think about it, and it's actually not. "Mathematics" is both plural and singular: > I am studying mathematics in school. > > There are many different types of mathematics. So the 's' isn't a marker of a plural, so my mental-reasoning for why Brits use the 's' in _maths_ is wrong. The question becomes then, why _is_ it there? I can't think of another abbreviation that pulls a letter from the end of the word like that ("math*******" vs "math*******s"). And this isn't just an extension of something used for similar words, because I don't think other subjects are abbreviated this way. So what is the reasoning behind it/where did it come from? Is it just what people started saying? Did a prominent person start using it? Did other people think (not very hard about it!) like I used to and jump to the _plural_ conclusion? Or does it stand for something else? To elaborate on my point about "not just adding the S for similar words", I'll take an example from a comment: "economics". In the US we shorten this to "econ". But I don't think they say "econs" in the UK, do they? So why just "maths"?


title: "Knob" vs. "knoll" in AmE

text: The Harrap's New Shorter French and English Dictionary Ed. 1985, defines one of the senses of "knob" as an AmE equivalent for "knoll", i.e. a small, rounded hill or eminence; hillock. Sadly enough, it doesn't say if this so-called Americanism was to some extent more commonly used back in the 80s than its shared synonym, nor if it ever caught on in AmE in that sense. And so, I wish you could tell if "knob" for "knoll" has any currency at all in AmE today. Or does it sound unequivocally archaic to your ears? http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Knob?s=t http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/knoll?s=t E.g. > The knoll upon which Jacksland stood overlooked the river, just a grassy > knob that felt peaceful and untouched... source


title: Which is the correct preposition for the end of "pride myself" (is it "on", "at", or "in")?

text: as in "I pride myself on my ability to speak Klingon and Romulan in the appropriate accents." Which is the correct preposition for the end of that expression?


title: is -ump a morpheme?

text: Can someone explain how to classify a sequence like -ump in morphemics? Even though it is neither inflectional, grammatical, nor unbound, this meaningful particle can become distributed into a series of rhyming lexemes very similar in meaning, only for the difference in their substance. Consider: lump, clump, thump, bump, slump.... just to name a few.   What are these called? (It's for a research project I'm doing on onomatopoeia) Thanks!


title: Difference between "memoir" and "biography"

text: I am an avid reader, and noticed that books I checked out from the library lately seem to use "memoir" and "biography" interchangeably, although they are all shelved as "biographies". Is there an actual semantic difference between "memoir" and "biography"? Or is it just something that comes down to personal preference?


title: Meaning of "around"

text: In New York Times, > Still, rooms were large by the city’s pint-size standards, service was > sharp, and for the moment, they offer some of the best values **around**. What's your understanding of _around_ in this context? I've gone through all the definitions in the dictionaries, but I'm still not sure which meaning applies here. Can you help?


title: Euphemisms for pornography, violence, and hate

text: My company is creating a website and we want to say that uploading of pornographic, violent, and hateful content is prohibited. Some people at the company think these exact words are too direct, so we want to replace them with a euphemism. Does " **adult content** " or " **mature content** " encompass porn, violence, and hate? Personally, when I think of adult or mature, I only think of porn. I think it's because American culture these days has played down the effect of violence and hate. It's okay for kids to watch Iron Man beat up other people, but not okay for them to watch Playboy. So in effect, you don't need to be adult or mature to watch violent and hateful content.


title: Use of definite article in "the more" and "the less"

text: Why is the definite article used in expressions like _the more_ and _the less_? For example, > The more you study, the more you know. > > The less you study, the less you know.


title: What is the meaning of "You are only coming through in waves"

text: What are all the possible meanings of "You are only coming through in waves"?


title: Spelling of "high" vs "height"

text: Out of curiosity, how come _height_ is spelt with an _e_ while one drops it in _high_ or _highest_? In my opinion, it seems rather weird that it isn't consistent. Is there a logical or historical explanation?


title: Meaning of "triple up"

text: I understand the meaning of "triple", but what does "triple up" mean? What is the meaning of "up"? > Our campuses are increasing class sizes. Services may be diminished. Even in > residence halls, you might see more **tripling up**. It's that type of > ripple effect in the quality of the student experience. > Admissions officers at the State University of New York college campus here > are suddenly afraid of getting what they have always wished for: legions of > top high-school seniors saying "yes" to their fat envelopes. Students are > already **tripled up** in many dorm rooms after an unexpectedly large > freshman class entered last fall.


title: sylleptic parentheses

text: Here's a quote from Wikipedia: > the triple point of Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW, 273.16 K and > 0.01 °C) Now, "VSMOW" refers to "Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water", while "273.16 K and 0.01 °C" refers to "the triple point of Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water". To me, the writing here seems to be in error: one shouldn't combine parentheses like that if they refer to two different things. Either use > the triple point of Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW) (273.16 K and > 0.01 °C) or (preferably) recast the sentence. But maybe I'm wrong: maybe standard practice is, or usage guides suggest, that such 'sylleptic' (if you will) parenthetical explanations are fine to use. Does anyone know?


title: What did Old English use Ꝥ for?

text: Here are some examples of citations in the OED of Old English where they use a standalone crossed thorn, **Ꝥ** : >   * Þu aclænsast Ꝥ weofod and ʒehalʒast. >   * Þær after com swulke mon-qualm Ꝥ lute hær cwike læfden. >   * Heo unwreih þene put Ꝥ hit adronc inne. >   * Đer··Ꝥ fyr ne bið ʒidrysnad. >   * Þa sæde he [Epicurus] Ꝥ se lust wære Ꝥ hehste good. >   * Þu steorest te sea stream Ꝥ hit fleden ne mot fir þan þu markedest. >   * Eft is heofena rice ʒelic þam mangere þe sohte Ꝥ gode mere-grot. >   * Al swa þat wilde swin Ꝥ wroteð ȝeond þan grouen. >   * Swa hwa swa wille sawan westmabære land, atio ærest of ða þornas & þa > fyrsas & Ꝥ fearn & ealle þa weod. > That’s the Unicode glyph of a thorn with a stroke:                Þ  00DE       LATIN CAPITAL LETTER THORN      þ  00FE       LATIN SMALL LETTER THORN             * Icelandic, Old English, phonetics             * Runic letter borrowed into Latin script             x (runic letter thurisaz thurs thorn - 16A6)      ᚦ  16A6       RUNIC LETTER THURISAZ THURS THORN             x (latin small letter thorn - 00FE)      Ꝥ  A764       LATIN CAPITAL LETTER THORN WITH STROKE      ꝥ  A765       LATIN SMALL LETTER THORN WITH STROKE      Ꝧ  A766       LATIN CAPITAL LETTER THORN WITH STROKE THROUGH DESCENDER      ꝧ  A767       LATIN SMALL LETTER THORN WITH STROKE THROUGH DESCENDER      It may be that it is supposed to be a small thorn with stroke not a capital one. I need a better magnifying glass. :) If you can't see it in your browser, it looks like this: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/kWIJP.jpg) But my question is: what does it mean? What does that mean? Is it a scribal abbreviation for _the_ or _that_ , or both or neither?


title: How do you pronounce "Git"?

text: How do you pronounce _Git_? Because I don't live in a country that uses English, I haven't heard it yet.   In my country, some people use [ɡít] and others use [jít]. Which is the one that most people use?


title: Have you not had lunch yet? Yes

text: In English, _yes_ here means "Yes, I have had lunch". Answering "no" will mean "No, I have not had lunch". (My question isn't about how to answer this simple question) However, in some languages, _yes_ actually means "Yes, your statement is correct; I have not had lunch". Answering no would actually mean "No, your statement is incorrect; I have already had lunch". I wonder what such a difference is called? Such difference can lead to mis- communication, as I have personally experienced. Is there any background information for the two approaches?


title: Why isn’t “disharmony” spelled “*dysharmony”?

text: _Disharmony_ is a Greek word with a Latin prefix meaning “absence of harmony” or “bad harmony”. So why not spell it _dysharmony_ , as one spells _dysfunction_ or _dyspepsia_?


Is using the word "singular" to describe someone or something unique an outdated adjective? E.g. By a **singular** piece of good fortune, Mr. Athelney Jones, the well- known member of the detective police force, happened to be at the Norwood Police Station, and was on the ground within half an hour of the first alarm.


title: "Tit for tat"—Where does this come from?

text: I always ask myself where this saying originates. I only know the individual words, _tit_ and _tat_ , but why is this a saying?


title: Punctuations with relative pronouns

text: Sogou is a Chinese search engine, which can search text, images, music and maps. Is a comma required before "which" in the above sentence?


what's the meaning of "made his remarks ... concrete" > He never made his remarks on the relation between biopolitics and liberalism > concrete. (source)


title: What does "please with sugar and knobs on" mean?

text: What does _please with sugar and knobs on_ mean in the following sentence? > Please, pretty please, pretty **please with sugar and knobs on** , do not > ever look at your monthly/quarterly/annual statements; they only serve to > confuse you. Specifically, what do _sugar_ and _knob_ refer to? This comes from a comment on Money SE.


title: How did the term "to favor" come to signify a limp?

text: Often in athletics, horse racing and when you encounter a person with an injured limb or other thing it will be said "He seems to be favoring his right leg" by which a person/commentator/etc means "He seems to be having trouble with his right leg". This seems counter to the typical meaning of "to favor" which would mean "to show preference towards" in fact an injured leg often means preferring the other leg. How did this meaning come about?


title: What is the meaning behind "bloody jerry"

text: I've heard this term in a pirate movie or video game, not sure where. Since, I've been wondering what real meaning this sentence have.


title: When did the conjunction "for" become old-fashioned?

text: > I am not going to school today, for I am sick. When did "for" become old-fashioned? Is it still used in everyday conversation?


title: What is the similar meaning proverb in English?

text: We have a proverb in Bengali, if I translate it directly into English, it emerges as: > Who is in there in the temple? I did not eat the banana! Meaning in the temple banana is used for prayer to the God. So stealing banana from temple is very bad. But the person who steals always wants to pretend that he is not responsible for that. But he has the fear in his heart. So if anybody enquires anybody, other than him, as to who has stolen the banana, the thief speaks the first(albeit he is not asked!) that he did not do anything indicating he is the thief! The whole proverb, in a short, signifies that who has done the wrong, speaks the first when asked to others, revealing he is the doer. So what might be the proverb in English or expression to express the same meaning?


title: What does the phrase "throw someone back on his wit" mean?

text: It's from an article at the economist.com, and it's in the 2nd line of the 17th paragraph(the paragraph right above the 3rd image). > Like Holland or Portugal, it was a country whose poverty of natural > resources **threw the people back on their wits**. Does it mean “leave the people on their own”?


title: Can a book have a feeling?

text: I was drawn to the expression, “The book feels expressive” in the following sentence of the article titled “The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Family” in The New Yorker February 4 issue: > “In any case, it may be that “The Triple Package” like “Battle Hymn of the > Tiger Mother” isn’t really about its argument. **The book feels > expressive,** rather than analytical. Chua and Rubenfeld are self-conscious > tiger parents.” http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/02/the- > battle-hymn-of-the-tiger-family.html The format of [Subject+ feel +adjective] may not be uncommon. But I wonder;   1. Can an inanimate object such as book, desk, airplane, house ‘feel,’ i.e. have a human sensation like expressive, impressive, fashionable, swift, dull and so on?   2. Is this just a figurative expression? Can we say 'books love bibliophiles' as well as 'bibliophiles love books'?   3. Does the word, ‘feel’ have the meanings of ‘is felt (to me),’ or 'give the feeling (to me)' as an intransitive verb? Would you clarify why a book can “feel”?


title: Can we use "liaison" casually?

text: > Then there was the Mad Russian, who made her laugh and behaved impossibly > badly and proposed to her daily. Some other shorter-lived liaisons, now > forgotten. Then Henry.   >  — William Nicholson, _Secret Intensity Of Everyday Life_ In the context, the narrator says the word _liaison_ without rendering any moral viewpoint. Though many dictionaries contain moral defects in the word, Longman Advanced American Dictionary says _liaison_ means “a sexual relationship between two people who are not married” without any further moral angles, and Merriam-Webster says it means “a close bond or connection”. Can we use the word _liaison_ casually, like in the example?


title: Derivation of "anus" from "annulus"?

text: I have always thought the word _annulus_ to be exceptionally awkward. I'd like to know the relation between _annulus_ and _anus_. Geometrically, an annulus is a disk with a hole in it. The anal muscle ("sphincter") has an annular shape. I'm wondering how we got from _annulus_ to _anus_.


title: Is an impromptu speech essentially the same as, or different from, an extempore speech?

text: I was taught by at least two speech professors that an impromptu speech is one that is given on the spot, with no formal preparation, whereas an extempore speech is one that is prepared in advance. If this is so--contrary to some dictionary definitions, could the similarity between the words "extemporaneous" and "spontaneous" have created confusion in this regard (as they both contain the ending letters -aneous)? An impromptu speech is, after all, given spontaneously. Could an extempore/extemporaneous speech be neither strictly spontaneous nor strictly planned but an admixture of both? (Perhaps I've answered my own question by suggesting an extempore speech has elements of both spontaneity and planning. Having done a good deal of public speaking, I have on many occasions departed from my prepared remarks by either adding or subtracting elements in an impromptu or spontaneous way. A sudden "brainstorm" could trigger such redacting, or even a puzzled look on the faces of my auditors(!), not to mention time constraints.)