Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.
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Question: I've been reading Michael Innes books again (in this case 'From London Far'), and I came across the word gratricidal, in the a passage about a Scottish castle... Castle Moila was famous alike in legend, history, and fiction. To these courts Magnus Barelegs has brought fire; Donald, Lord of the Isles, a traitor's promise; Macleod of Lewis a gratricidal knife. Here had come Prince Charles Edward, thwarted of a throne, and daughters of a hereditary captain had offered him manchets and wine. So what is gratricide? Attempts to find this online are stymied by the spelling being corrected to fratricide.

Answer: Magnus Barelegs, named in the question, was Magnus Olafsen who ruled in the 11th century. Therefore the 'MacLeod of Lewis' mentioned must be contemporary, or perhaps somewhat later. The Lewis branch of the clan MacLeod, descended from Leod, a son of Olaf the Black, was a notoriously bloodthirsty family, particularly among themselves : The traditional progenitor of the Macleods was Leod, whom tradition made a son of Olaf the Black, King of Mann and the Isles. Tradition gave Leod two sons, Tormod - progenitor of the Macleods of Harris and Dunvegan (Siol Tormoid); and Torquil - progenitor of the Macleods of Lewis (Siol Torcaill). In the 16th and early seventeenth centuries the chiefly line of the Clan Macleod of The Lewes was extinguished due to family infighting. This feuding directly led to the fall of the clan, and loss of its lands to the Clan Mackenzie. The modern line of chiefs of Clan Macleod of The Lewes are represented by the leading family of a cadet branch of the clan - the Macleods of Raasay. ScotWeb Thus the reference is almost certainly a misprint for 'fratricide'. Note : As one of the Johnstones of Annan (Numquam non Paratus - 'never unprepared') whose ancestors were prone to sneak over the border and raid the English, one can make no criticism of other Scottish clans.


Question: I'm looking for an idiom or expression that means someone just makes frustrating or disappointing remarks. Maybe some of you have watched the TV cartoon 'The adventures of Gulliver' in which there was as a character named 'Glum'. He was all the time pessimistic about everything and used statements like: 'We'll never make it'; 'We'll never get out of here alive'; and 'We're doomed.' I want to use that idiom or expression in examples like this: Husband: After getting my promotion, I will take you to a fantastic trip. Wife: Oh, stop talking nonsense! I know It won't never happen, it's impossible you get a promotion. Husband: You remind me of 'Glum'! All the time _____ (i.e. acting like Glum, just having a gloomy outlook on everything). Please stop using such remarks and be a little optimistic! I have found wet blanket for describing such people. PS: We Iranians use an expression that literally says 'to read a frustrating or disappointing verse'. So in above example, the husband might reply like this: Hey Glum, the only thing you know is reading a frustrating/ disappointing verse! (Sometimes we call these people 'Glum'.).

Answer: I've got a gut feeling that this question is a duplicate, but 'naysayer' fits in your context: a person who habitually expresses negative or pessimistic views: 'Despite a general feeling that things were going well, a few naysayers tried to cast gloom. [Dictionary.com]


Question: I am just wondering about the difference between: in contrast to and in contrast with.

Answer:
In fact, they could be used interchangeably, however, 'in contrast with' is more common in UK English. Moreover, When we say 'contrast with', CONTRAST is behaving as a verb. Example: 'He likes to contrast his checkered jacket with plain pants' or 'his checkered jacket contrasts with his plain pants.' But when we say 'in contrast to', it is behaving as a noun. Example: 'His checkered jacket stands in contrast to his plain pants.' (As you can see, in this sentence 'stands' is the verb). (Testluv, GMAT Instructor, Beat the GMAT forum)