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.

Ex Input:
Possible Duplicate: How do I say 'Our meeting is preponed'? A friend of mine asked me this question, and it caught my curiosity. Is there an explicit opposite of the word postpone? As in, do something in advance? Clearly what I just said is functionally equivalent to the answer I am seeking, but I was wondering if there was a single word that is the antonym. More context: Bob was supposed to start work in July, but due to a work visa issue, he had to begin in advance.

Ex Output:
The most business-speaky option is expedite. Other alternatives include accelerate, hasten, and advance. Technically prepone is in fact the precise antonym, but I honestly wouldn't be caught dead using it.


Ex Input:
For example, we agreed with a friend to meet in a week, and the day before the meeting I want to make sure nothing has changed about the agreement. So I'd come up with something like Are we still meeting tomorrow? Is there a better (shorter) way to say/ask this?.

Ex Output:
Your phrase is perfectly expectable. The only obvious shortening would be: Are we still on? You could shorten it further to: We still on? But at some point you aren't really gaining anything. Other alternatives: Are we still on for tomorrow? You still up for lunch tomorrow? We still good for lunch? Is tomorrow still good? And so on. Most of these, by the way, are extremely informal and are primarily heard in purely conversational English.


Ex Input:
Perhaps you say a bad joke or you make a really awkward noise, and everybody suddenly stares at you?.

Ex Output:

This would be an awkward silence. An awkward silence is an uncomfortable pause in a conversation or presentation. The unpleasant nature of such silences is associated with feelings of anxiety as the participants feel pressure to speak but are unsure of what to say next.