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

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?


Punctuation with block-quotes

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...


Confused by the past tense and the present tense

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?


Please explain constructions in the following paragraph

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.


Singular or plural verb after collective noun initialism

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?


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

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?


What does "Feather your nest" mean?

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.


Conditionals in the future

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?


Why is "dog" in "underdog"?

_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?


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

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


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

> **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?


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

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?


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

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?


"Will have" vs. "Would have"

> 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.


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

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?


Proper definition of validation and verification

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?


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

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.


How would you write informal language like this?

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


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

* 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."


“I haven't got” vs. “I don't have”

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?


Sentence completion question

> 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.


When is it appropriate to use non-breaking spaces?

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.


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

* _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?


"Make an experience" or "gain an experience"

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?


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

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)


Meaning of "seething breeding"?

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


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

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.


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

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”.


"Educative" vs "insightful"

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_?


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

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.


"Class X" OR "X Class"

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


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

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.


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

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.


Is there a special word for purposely misspelling a word?

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.


Is there an adjective meaning "dog like"?

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


Is there a word that means 'Skeptic Hatred'?

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.


Which pronoun to to replace single antecedent?

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?


Use of "still" in a reply in informal conversation

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).


Are monkeys a subset of apes?

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?


Use of “of ” to separate the last name

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.


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

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?


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

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.


When do you use the exclamation mark?

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


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

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_?


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

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？


Is there an adjective combining scientific and economic?

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?


What is this construction?

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


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

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"?


"Knob" vs. "knoll" in AmE

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


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

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?


is -ump a morpheme?

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!


Difference between "memoir" and "biography"

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?


Meaning of "around"

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?


Euphemisms for pornography, violence, and hate

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.


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

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.


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

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


Spelling of "high" vs "height"

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?


Meaning of "triple up"

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.


sylleptic parentheses

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?


What did Old English use Ꝥ for?

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?


How do you pronounce "Git"?

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?


Have you not had lunch yet? Yes

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?


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

_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.


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

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


Punctuations with relative pronouns

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)


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

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.


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

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?


What is the meaning behind "bloody jerry"

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.


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

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


What is the similar meaning proverb in English?

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?


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

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”?


Can a book have a feeling?

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”?


Can we use "liaison" casually?

> 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?


Derivation of "anus" from "annulus"?

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_.


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

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.)


Is there a difference between “introduction to” and “introduction into”?

“Introduction to” seems to be much more common than “introduction into”, but is the latter an acceptable alternative? If it is, is there some difference in meaning, tone, or connotations? I was inclined into thinking that “into” suggests a deeper introduction, going deep inside the topic, but is it just me? I mean specifically the use of “introduction” to mean an introductory presentation of a topic, such as in “Introduction to Linguistics”.


Plural Possessive of a Singular Noun

While browsing this SE site, I stopped to look at the "What kind of questions can I ask here?" section of the FAQ, where the following is written: > Questions on the following topics are welcomed here: > >   * Etymology (history of words’ development) > I'm not claiming the above is wrong, but I am asking if it's right! My question is about the combination of "words'" and "development". Since "word" is plural but their "development" is singular, does this imply that these words need to have a collective development? Alternatively, would it be more like the [possibly] intended meaning to have "development" in its plural form, leaving the words free to develop individually or in any combination?


Is there a formal phrase for saying that the location of an event changes between two places?

The context of my question is the following. I am involved in organization of a conference which is held every year but in two different places (every second year in each of them). What is the best formal way of saying that the location of a recurring event changes between two places? I want to put it on the conference web-page, therefore I need some nice solution.


Adjective "grim"

When we are talking about "grim", do you attribute these two meanings to people, "to look very serious" and "unpleasant and depressing"? Example: > He looked so grim. Would it be "He looked very serious" or "He looked unpleasant and depressing"? Perhaps the context would explain this, if these 2 meanings can be used with people.


Opposite word for “cursive”, as related to writing

I looked up the etymology entry at etymonline.com for _cursive_, which reads: > 1784, from French _cursif_ (18c.), from Medieval Latin _cursivus_ “running,” > from Latin _cursus_ “a running,” from past participle of _currere_ “to run” > (see _current_ (adj.)). The notion is of “written with a running hand” > (without raising the pen), as opposed to **_uncial_**. Now, the _uncial_ entry reads: > In reference to letters, it is attested from 1712, from Late Latin _litterae > unciales_ (Jerome), probably meaning “letters an inch high,” from Latin > _uncialis_ “of an inch, inch-high.” It seems to me that _uncial_ is not the most correct antonym for cursive writing, and _printing_ isn’t a very satisfactory alternative to me. Could anyone give me a word that denotes the style of handwriting where the letters don't connect/the pen is lifted in the process?


Is this sentence using tenses correctly?

> If such stage was completed based on un-signed English financial statements > (USEFS), the doer is to initial all pages of the USEFS. Is the above sentence grammatically correct with two different tenses? I have argued with my friend that the above sentence was wrong as the tenses used were different: "the if tense is in the past while the second part is in the present" and the sentence in this form would be awkward for English native speakers.


What is the correct term for this juxtaposition of words?

> He has a soft spot for playing hard ball Not really a pun, I think. What is the exact term? * * * And correct me if the title can be made better.


How to read parentheses equation

I have problems with reading mathematical equations in which there are parentheses; could anybody help me? For example: >   1. (x−a) (x+b) = 5 >   2. (x−a) + 2 (a+10) = z >   3. 2 + (10−a) d = 7 >   4. y = a/b (7c+11) > How should I read this kind of equations?


How to write word "hashtagged" using "#" symbol? #ed, #'ed, #-ed?

It looks like #ed would be correct way to write word "hashtagged", but this can be confused with hashtag – #ed. What would be another acceptable way to write word "hashtagged" using # symbol?


What is the rule for using a period on a game card?

For example: This appears on a card in a game: "Equipment worn by players on one hand to field baseballs." The answer appears immediately below it..."Mitt" Another example: "Black disk made of hard rubber that is used in ice hockey." Can I leave the periods as they stand? Is this a similar case as to use or not to use a period at the end of every bulleted line?


what's a close synonym for " sorted for Es and whiz"?

what's a close synonym for "sorted for Es and whiz"? and what does it mean in general? When And how can we use in conversation? is it polite or impolite or impolite?


Near in its verb form

Is it correct to say > David does not near women. Meaning that he does not go close to them or approach them.


Is this question grammatically correct?

Something seems off about this sentence, but I can't put my finger on it. The sentence in question: > Which countries is Nicaragua competing with? Alternatives I considered: > With which countries is Nicaragua competing? > > Who is Nicaragua competing with? Open to suggestions, including the "the first sentence is fine", but if there's a better way to ask this question, I'd like to know what it is and why it is preferred (what rules apply, etc.)


"Abandoned" as an antonym of "Abstemious" (adj) ?

Can we use "Abandoned" as an antonym of "Abstemious" (adj)? Please explain your answer.


What does an atomizer spray?

What does an atomizer spray? A spritz? A drop? Something else? I'm helping a friend write marketing copy, and we'd like to give the instruction "spray two drops onto your hand", and we would especially like to avoid the comical "spray two spritzes". Edit: the substance in question is essential oil.


What is the origin of the "Dear John" letter?

You might receive one of these when you are getting dumped by your erstwhile partner. I don't think it is a coincidence that the a recent movie called _Dear John_ includes a _Dear John_ letter as one of its plot points.


"To date" versus "until now"

Is there a difference between these two expressions? Are they perfect synonyms?


"To be an influence" or "to have an influence"

Is there a rule for when one has to say _to be a positive influence on..._ or _to have a positive influence on..._? For example, > The practice of singing songs **is/has** a positive influence on people.


What does “velvet-rope-poor” mean?

There was the following sentence in the New York Times (February 8) article titled, “Azerbaijan is rich. It wants to be famous.”: > “Oil-rich, **velvet-rope-poor** Azerbaijan, a country about the size of > South Carolina on the Caspian Sea, would very much like to be the world’s > next party capital.” Curiously enough, none of Oxford, Cambridge, Merriam-Webster online dictionary and English Japanese dictionaries at hand carries the word, 'velvet rope' under the heading of velvet as I checked, though some include 'velvet carpet' and 'velvet glove.' I understand velvet ropes are seen in airports, hotels and event arenas as well as a red carpet to receive dignitaries and stars. Please correct me if I’m wrong. It seems to me that Velvet, the symbol of the rich and Poor seem contradicting each other. What does “velvet-rope-poor” mean?


Comma after "as such"?

Is it correct to use a comma after _as such_? For example:- > and as such, it is not possible to verify the claim.


Difference between "affiliated" and "associated"

What is the difference between being _affiliated_ and being _associated_ with a group of people?


A word describing liking a part of something but disliking the whole entirety

In a (not so?) recent episode of the most excellent QI, Mr Fry talked about a word which meant liking a part of something although not liking (detesting?) the whole entity; e.g. liking the martial music of Hitlers Germany but detesting the Nazi regime in its entirety. Anyone know what the word is I am am looking for? I have been searching the internet for some considerable time trying to get the answer but without success. Grateful if someone can help.


What does this mean?

What does the following sentence mean? Self-serving bias beckons us not to false modesty but to a humility that affirms our genuine talents and virtues and likewise of others. closely looking at the word humility and its meaning in the sentence.


Meaning of "putting something up"

> teacher: " _put your books up_ " > > //meaning to _put away_ our books to be ready to take the tests What is the meaning of the example above? I am confused as it doesn't make much sense if you translate the words separately


What is the meaning of the quotation below?

> “Perfection is a trifle dull. It is not the least of life’s ironies that > this, which we all aim at, is better not quite achieved.” — W. Somerset > Maugham


Academic language doubts

I don't know If the title is right (feel free to suggest better name). I have to do search for resources write an article and I need to know how to say some expressions:   * What is the name of the work you do at the end of your degree? Similar to PhD Thesis but before doing a masters degree.   * Don't know if it exists a specific term to speak of the travel you do with your classmates the year you finish your studies.   * The same with the subject based on working for a while on some company in order to learn. This are situations found in Spain so maybe these terms doesn't exist.


Are there any other abbreviations in the set "sb." and "sth."?

In the context of foreign language grammar study, "sb." and "sth." serve as substitutions for "somebody" and "something", essentially telling readers that a person or thing can be placed in that part of the sentence.   * Are there standard or common abbreviations in this similar form which mean "somewhere" or "sometime"?   * Are there any other abbreviations belonging to this set of _some-_ words?


When can you pluralize uncountable nouns?

I have a two part question, the second depending on the answer of the first. I don't know if that is frowned upon, but I'm not sure how else to ask. Foil is an uncountable noun so it is not pluralized, but is it correct to use the plural when referring to several kinds of foils? Just like fish is plural but some people refer to several species of fish as fishes? For example, > That company makes aluminum foils Meaning, they make many kinds of foils out of aluminum If this is OK, then why is > "organic and inorganic **matters** " wrong but > "organic and inorganic **matter** " right? There are several kinds of matter being referred to. It seems to be following the same rule.


Is the word "Shinobi" an accepted English word?

I've been wondering if the word "Shinobi" is an accepted English word. As far as I know, its synonym "Ninja" is an accepted English word where "Spy" is the nearest common English.


Is "non-life-threatening" punctuated correctly with two hyphens?

The news reporter said, “The victim's injuries were _non-life-threatening_.” [Verbatim quote, so I cannot alter the wording to say "...were not life- threatening".] Is _non-life-threatening_ correctly punctuated with two hyphens as shown? Or should it be _nonlife-threatening_ in this particular context?


I went to jog / I went for a jog / I went jogging

Sorry if this is a stupid question to ask here, but I don't have much formal knowledge of grammar. I just want to know if "I went to jog" is grammatical, and if so, are there any differences between "I went to jog", "I went for a jog", and "I went jogging"?


Why is the answer “Again with the string?” funny when you pulled the string of a talking doll of your mother?

I know it’s boorish and unsophisticated to ask why it is funny on a joke, but I venture to ask. New York Times’ theater review (May 20) of “Old Jews telling jokes” carried the following Jewish jokes; > ’They’re, going to sell a talking doll of my mother,’ goes a setup, ‘You > pull the string and it says, ‘Again with the string?’ Another one: ‘Why > don’t Jewish mothers drink?’ ‘They don’t want to dull the pain.’ . I understand the spirit of the second joke, but I don’t understand what ‘Again with a string’ of the first joke means, and why this line is ‘typically’ funny. Does it have something to do with the idiom, ‘no string attached’? It’s always difficult for a foreigner to get an idea of the meaning of foreign jokes, whatever it is Jewish, American, Irish, or Russian. Can somebody tell me what the essence of humor of ‘Again with the string’ is?’


"torrential rainfall promoted unhealthiness ..."

> During the monsoons, it rained heavily and continuously. The ditches, pits > and channels all overflowed with water... In the (....) I want to say something like: > _this whole scene of torrential rainfall promoted unhealthiness, due to > which the postmaster's health deteriorated._ Although it doesn't sound quite right, is there a better way to put this in? **EDIT** : The whole story takes place in a village. The protagonist, who spent all his life in a city, comes here for his first job. Although due to his background he's unable to mingle with the other residents of the area. As a result, he feels lonely and out of place. Due to the abundant rain of the monsoons, the whole place develops a very gloomy ambiance – which promotes illness (I hope you get the idea).


Most of the world thinks I'm awesome. The rest have not met me yet. have or has?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  When “most is” and when “most are”? I am having a dilemma here... "Most of the world thinks I'm awesome. The rest have not met me yet." - the rest of the world has not met me yet, so I'd think it's "has", but a friend of mine used "have" - could he actually be right?


An expression to define that "very little span of time"

I am referring to the context where you miss or don't miss something by a very short time, like when you miss or succeed in taking a train or a flight by just a few minutes or even a few seconds. What are the common expressions or sayings that can be used in such cases?


Is this an absolute phrase?

In the following example, is _more full picture_ a kind of absolute phrase? > He has given us a lot, _more full picture_ of dinosaurs of the East Coast.


adjective describing middle distance (neither near nor far)

Is there an adjective that is somewhere between near and far?


Why do English people pronounce 'sixth' as 'sicth'?

It's common practice in Ireland (and the US as far as I know) to pronounce the x in the middle of sixth: six-th _[sɪksθ]_. However, I've noticed from visits to England as well as watching British television, that a lot of English people pronounce it as 'sicth' _[sɪkθ]_. Why is this, and is it an accepted usage?


Is "a topic about which I could talk for hours" correct?

I'm a little bit confused whether the following sentence is correct or not. > It is a subject about which I could talk for hours. As far as I'm concerned with English grammar it should be correct but the part _about which_ just doesn't sound good to me.


Most is adjective or adverb, comparative or superlative in the following phrase?

In the following phrase, from the 1971 film "The Devils" by Ken Russell, what is "most"? An adjective or an adverb? And in what form, comparative or superlative? > I conjure thee, most frightful beings, by this most sacred substance. _Beings_ refers to demons and _substance_ refers to the blood of Christ. First, there's a very obvious mistake, in the first part of the phrase: should be "ye", not "thee", since it refers to several things instead of one. Isn't this correct? Second, the usage of "most". My initial interpretation was that "most" was used to mean "above everything else": _the most frightful beings of all_ and _the most sacred substance of all_. But in the way that's written one can also interpret it as "something very important" but not the most important: _very frightful beings_. My intention in creating the question was to elicit different opinions, views, interpretations about how "most" was used. I cannot make up my mind and wanted to confront my own interpretation with those of others to help me decide. Thank you.


Why is "back" used here even though it is the first action?

I knew I must reach the body for the key, so I raised the lid, and laid it **back** against the wall. This is the first time he has laid the lid against the wall, but why is _back_ used here?


Relation between "concept" and "conception"

> **concept** : an abstract idea; a general notion > > **conception** : the way in which something is perceived or regarded These two words are troubling me because it seems that there is a way that _concept_ and _conception_ can be used near-identically or near- interchangeably and in a way that differ only to the extent of some kind of _inflection_. I'm not a linguist, but I think _inflection_ , though very general, might be the grammatical idea most likely to address this problem. Is there a more specific way of stating the relation between these two usages?


Is this an incorrect use of the word 'Synonymous'?

"Robespierre is synonymous with the Great Terror in the French Revolution". As far as I know, when things/words are synonymous with one another it's because they have a similar meaning. However, I've heard statements similar to the above many, many times. Is this an alternative and correct way of using 'synonymous'. If so, under what grammaticality is it correct?


When indicating separate items linked by a common word?

Let's say my sentence is: > I am a part of Generations X, Y, and Z. In a case like this, should "generations" be plural or singular? I feel it should be plural, since singular makes it sound like "X, Y, and Z" are one item, but: > I am a part of Generation X, Y, and Z. I feel someone would argue that since there is context in the word "generation" (as in "everyone will know you mean three separate generations because no one generation is called "X, Y, and Z"), Y and Z do not need to be "counted".


Past perfect/simple question in an example

Talking about the trip I did a few years ago: > I have been there and it was amazing. I had not seen a frozen sea until that > time! Did I use past perfect correctly or should I just say "I did not see .."? Also is the "until that time" ok?


Is inverted word order such as "Anybody else does have any other concerns?" correct?

I know that if I was supposed to spin a grammatically correct sentence with the same meaning, I would probably say: > Does anybody else have any other concerns? However, is the sentence in the subject of the question correct as well, even if unusual??


Why can "bill" mean (almost) opposite things?

_Bill_ is somewhat of an auto-antonym, since it can mean either a piece of paper which has positive monetary value (i.e. a _note_ ), or a piece of paper which has negative monetary value (though it only applies to a certain person). Maybe I'm reading too much into the usages, but it seems strange that the two meanings of _bill_ are nearly opposite. Does anyone know why this is?


"Savings Account" vs "Checkings Account"

The correct form is "savings account". Why don't we say "checkings account"? Why is "checkings account" incorrect and why is "savings account" correct? We certainly wouldn't say "saving account". Please advise.


Use of personal pronouns in papers (research, etc.)

Back at university, I remember being told to never use personal pronouns in my dissertations. I was never given a reason, but I was told to avoid statements like > The evidence leads me to believe. or > After researching similar techniques I had settled on .... I remember spending a lot of time constructing sentences that used "the author" rather than "I" or similar. These are some very bad examples (as I submitted my final dissertation back in 2008). Since then however, when I've read research papers, scientific articles and dissertations the authors have referred to themselves as "I" or "us" (when collaborated on). This seems to fly in the face of what I was told at university. Is there a hard-and-fast rule to this, or is it down to personal preference?


pretend, imagine and suppose

An article about the msnbc political show with Chris Hayes is titled : > Let's pretend we had a functional Congress. The way I read this title is that it says that we are to pretend that we have a functional Congress now, as opposed in the past. Hypothetical past tense is used with "suppose" and I guess that "Let's suppose we **had** a functional Congress" would be as acceptable if not preferred to "Let's suppose we **have** a functional Congress", but what about the use of "pretend" and "imagine" with the past verb form the same way? In this sentence I'd understand that either pretend, suppose or imagine would imply that we don't have a functional Congress, but for the sake of argument we are imagining a situation in which we have. By using any of these verbs in this sentence the inference would be that the fact of the matter is different, and the situation we are imagining, supposing or pretending to exist is counterfactual. "Had" in this sentence thus refers to current state of affairs and not to the Congress in the past, that is, "had" is used to convey a hypothetical idea and not to place the situation in the past. I understand that unlike suppose, verbs pretend and imagine are not normally followed by hypothetical past tense verb, but I find examples such as the example I cited or with "imagine": Imagine if we had the McCarthy era right now. Imagine we had a studio right now. where the meanings of the three verbs seem to overlap, and I understand that the past tense verb following them can be rephrased as "we are imagining a situation in which something is true or is happening now" as opposed to imagining a situation that occurred in the past.


Is there a word for the comments that a news anchor makes about a story?

While watching the local news this evening, it occurred to me that while the news anchors were reporting stories, they often add their own comments between stories. For example: the news anchors were talking about how movie trailers before movies in theaters were going to start being shorter. The other anchor said at the very end, "Those trailers were starting to be longer than the movies themselves", then chuckles and continues with the next story. (I know, pretty corny) Is there a word that refers to these comments anchors make in transitioning between stories?


What would you call a person being coached?

I am looking for an intuitive one word description for somebody that is being coached, as in enjoying the services of a coach. I am thinking of something analogous to the oft used _mentee_ as somebody being mentored, or enjoying the services of a mentor.


What is the etymology of "dewclaw"?

A _dewclaw_ is a vestigial digit on the foot of some mammals, notably dogs. Here's a picture of a dog's paw with an arrow pointing to the _dewclaw_. ![dewclaw](http://i.stack.imgur.com/i77IK.jpg) The _claw_ part is obvious enough, but why _dew_?


On the right path?

Suppose someone is trying to solve some math problem and he has the right idea to attack it, but still need more time to figure out details. When I want to encourage him, should I use "You are on the right path" or "You are on the right track"? Or maybe some other more common expressions?


Using a comma — or other punctuation — at the start of a line

I was always told that, when writing on a page, you should always make sure never to start a new line with a comma. E.g. > The man was tired   >  , so he went to bed. Is this an actual rule, or just a trend for the sake of tidiness? Does it apply to other punctuation?


How does the apostrophe work?

I am under the impression that we use the apostrophe to describe ownership. Someone would say "This is Jennifer's coat" to mean that the coat belongs to her, as opposed to, for instance, "Jennifers are people who enjoy arranging flowers" implying there are multiple Jennifer. However I have been told that if I were to say "It's coat" I would not be saying (for instance) "The monster's coat" but rather I would be saying "It is coat". What is the difference here? Can you explain how the apostrophe works in greater detail?


Favorites is/are empty

I'm not English native speaker and I'd like to know correct form of this sentence. If I want to say that my favorites folder is empty what's the verb I should use in this case? I mean when the sentence will be like 'Favorites is/are' empty. Could find neither singular nor plural mark in most of modern dictionaries.


What is the correct usage of the word "Contra"?

According to multiple sources (1 and 2), the word "contra" can be employed as either a preposition or an adverb. From my perspective, however, there is a dearth of clear examples featuring this word in context. I am looking for input on its general usage, in addition to whether or not "contra" can/should be used in conjunction with "to," a la "contrary to," "counter to," etc.


What do you call moving a word to change a sentence's meaning?

Prosodic stress is stressing different words to change meaning: _I_ didn't take the test yesterday. (Somebody else did.)   I _didn't_ take the test yesterday. (I did not take it.)   I didn't _take_ the test yesterday. (I did something else with it.)   I didn't take _the_ test yesterday. (I took a different one.)   I didn't take the _test_ yesterday. (I took something else.)   I didn't take the test _yesterday_. (I took it some other day.)   Is there also a name or phrase describing changing the same word's position to change meaning? ONLY she told me that she loved me. (She's the only one.)   She ONLY told me that she loved me. (She told me nothing more.)   She told ONLY me that she loved me. (She told no one else.)   She told me ONLY that she loved me. (She told me nothing else.)   She told me that ONLY she loved me. (No one else does.)   She told me that she ONLY loved me. (And nothing else.)   She told me that she loved ONLY me. (And no one else.)


What's a very long prosodic stress example?

I found this example in Wikipedia, but it's only 6 words long: _I_ didn't take the test yesterday. (Somebody else did.)   I _didn't_ take the test yesterday. (I did not take it.)   I didn't _take_ the test yesterday. (I did something else with it.)   I didn't take _the_ test yesterday. (I took a different one.)   I didn't take the _test_ yesterday. (I took something else.)   I didn't take the test _yesterday_. (I took it some other day.)   What's the longest reasonable **simple** sentence (not a compound or complex sentence using extra clauses or conjunctions just to create length) where stressing every separate word creates different meanings? Here's a few simple substitutions that gets me 11 words: _My_ youngest student didn't repeatedly take the oral test last week. (Yours did.)   My _youngest_ student didn't repeatedly take the oral test last week. (My oldest did.)   My youngest _student_ didn't repeatedly take the oral test last week. (A teacher did.)   My youngest student _didn't_ repeatedly take the oral test last week. (He indeed didn't.)   My youngest student didn't _repeatedly_ take the oral test last week. (He took it once.)   My youngest student didn't repeatedly _take_ the oral test last week. (He did something else.)   My youngest student didn't repeatedly take _the_ oral test last week. (He took a different one.)   My youngest student didn't repeatedly take the _oral_ test last week. (He took the written test.)   My youngest student didn't repeatedly take the oral _test_ last week. (He took something else.)   My youngest student didn't repeatedly take the oral test _last_ week. (It was another week.)   My youngest student didn't repeatedly take the oral test last _week_. (It was last month.)   (Although adding the adjectives "youngest" and "oral" are weak solutions, since " _youngest_ student" and "youngest _student_ " stress different meanings but still refer to some kind of person and " _the_ oral test" and "the _oral_ test" stress different meanings but still refer to some kind of test. Similarly, adding the adverb "repeatedly" is a weak solution, since it still refers to taking of some kind.) In any case, is there a good and significantly longer example?


Differences between "technic" and "technique"

Are those synonyms? Is one more acceptable in a certain dialect than the other? I checked their definition on The Free Dictionary but it's still not clear to me.


How to express this thought in English?

The words in bold in the quote below are meant to express something that I don't know how to put in English. The main idea is that someone is spending too much energy in many different areas thinking that he is going to achieve some considerable progress in all of them while in fact he is only going to enjoy a small amount of success (if any) in all those areas due to the enormous scale of area. > Jack: So what project did you choose for this semester? > > Linda: The children illiteracy in in-land towns in Uganda, The correlation > between humans' eating habits and their behavioral patterns, The possibility > of practical application of the Poincaré conjecture solution in the nearest > future, The affect of globing warming on blue whales migratory patterns... > > Jack: Wow! Isn't it too many? Why not focus on only one project and research > it thoroughly instead? I suggest that you should not **shallowly spread > yourself on so many** projects.


What’s the meaning of “fee-simple titles”?

What’s the meaning of _fee-simple titles_ in: > Late in the nineteenth century, Mexicans, whose claim to their land was > based on royal decrees of the Spanish Crown ( **rather than the fee-simple > titles familiar to North Americans** ), were confronted by shrewd traders.


Hypernym for "before" and "after"

What is the the hypernym for _before_ and _after_? What sort of prepositions are they?


Word to describe this kaleidoscope-like motion

I'm looking for a word which describes a certain motion, a way of moving. Namely, I'm searching for a word which describes how a kaleidoscope moves when you turn it, or how a web moves when you pinch it in one location and drag that point around. This motion is distinctive in that if one location in the object moves then every other point moves in a complicated but, nonetheless, a systematic and fluid way. I will be very sad if no such word exists. **EDIT** I'm going to ask that everyone ignore my web analogy. That motion is distinctive to the idea I'm trying to capture. Here are a couple gifs that exemplify what I have in mind:   * Sphere   * 4-d Rotation   * Kaleidoscope In addition to what I have said, this movement is interesting in that moving one point causes all the other points to move, but changing the root point you move does not alter how the other points were moving when you were moving the original vantage point. I think I'll have to give up and just go with kaleidoscopic.


word for a put-together system or solution

I am looking for a word to describe a system or solution that has been put together from pre-existing parts. For example if a computer company gets software from 3 different software houses and sells it together as a complete solution maybe with some integration work on their part. The company might even white-label the system/solution and the customer may not even be aware that the system has been put together from constituent parts. The word could be IT industry specific but it doesn't have to be. I always thought the word 'turnkey' meant this but I have found that 'turnkey' really means the opposite (ie an off-the-shelf system) and bespoke is a closer word but a bespoke system implies to me that it has been created entirely from scratch to the customer's specifications whereas the word I am looking for is more like 'assembled' really but that seems a bit weak.


Single word for "working without details"

I'm looking for one word that expresses lack of information, lack of knowledge and lack of guidance. The word is an adverb. It could be used in a sentence like so: > He was working on a project ... _Proactively_ is close, but it's not what I'm looking for.


In «In addition to *his being a great writer*,» what is «his being a great writer»?

Is that a gerund-like construction? A noun phrase? What kind of part of speech is that? I apologize in advance if there is some thread that already deals with this issue, but since I don't really know the name, I didn't know where to look. Have a great day!


In comparison with or when comparing?

Please let me know either **_When comparing_** or **_In comparison with_** should be used for cases like the following: > 1) _When comparing_ the existing methods that deal with segmentation using > space based point assignment methods (Wenki, 2012), the presented method in > this paper has increased the accuracy. > > 2) _In comparison with_ existing methods that deal with segmentation using > space based point assignment methods (Wenki, 2012), the presented method in > this paper has increased the accuracy.


Alternative to the phrase "not to mention"?

Despite knowing how the phrase "not to mention ..." is often used, it still grates on me to use it because I am in the act of "mentioning" even as I use it. I found it helpful to read the origins of the phrase here, but I would really like to use an alternative word or phrase that means the same thing. Any suggestions?


Term or phrase describing action occuring when not watching

I am an IT professional. More specifically in automation. I am looking for a term or phrase that describes the event when either: a. you are watching something closely and the issue doesn't occur or b. you are _not_ watching something at all and the issue _does_ occur


How to ask about one's availability? "free/available/not busy"?

Are the following equally appropriate to be used at work with a colleague or client? I don't want to be informal, but I don't have to be too formal either. > Let me know when you are free so that we can discuss this in more details. or > Let me know when you are available so that we can discuss this in more > details. or > Let me know when you are not busy so that we can discuss this in more > details. _Disclaimer:_ I'm not a native English speaker (as if I had to explain that)


Does the "elbow-handshake" have any relation to the phrase "rubbing elbows"?

This is probably answerable with a general reference (or a pair of such references), but I have not been able to find one. _Etymology Online_ does not cover the origin of "rubbing-elbows" as meaning _to socialize or mingle in a crowd_ in either the section covering rub or elbow. Other top search hits just cover the meaning of the phrase in discussions of synonyms for socializing (hob-nob etc.), without going into the history and origins. There is also the "elbow-handshake" (or less formally the "elbow-bump"), where literally rubbing elbows or forearms substitutes for a handshake greeting. Wikipedia traces this to a leprosy outbreak circa 1970 (in Hawaii, among peoples whose primary language may or may not have been English), but is very light on references. I first recall hearing of this handshake from watching a documentary about one of the 1990's Africa Ebola outbreaks, where it was presented as a de-facto greeting replacement that crossed cultures, creeds and nations. My questions are what is the origin and time period of the phrase "rubbing elbows"? And does the practice of greeting with elbows or arms instead of hand have a more definite origin? And if so, is there any evidence that it was adopted with any conscious awareness of a literal acting out of a the common idiom "rubbing elbows"?


break/burst into + '-ing' form

Is it possible to use a verb in the -ing form with these phrasal verbs? I mean, dictionaries I use contain only some exemplary sentences with a noun following the phrasal verb (break/burst into laughter, break into a smile, burst into tears), but in google there are also sentences with "break into laughing/smiling etc.). And my second question: are these two phrasal verbs always interchangeable or are there some restrictions? Are these two phrasal verbs identical in terms of their use?


"To mentor someone during a project" vs. "to mentor someone on a project"

>   * ..., whom I mentored during his final semester's project. >   * ..., whom I mentored on his final semester's project. > Which of these two is grammatically correct? Since I am not talking about the final semester but the _final semester's project_ , I am not very sure about _during_. Can someone help me with this?


Is verbing in "I medalled in volleyball" correct?

Is “I medalled in volleyball” a grammatically correct sentence? According to OED, _medal_ is a verb and a noun. I haven't seen any usage of the word as a verb, but I am assuming the above sentence is correct.


Is "banana" the shortest overlap word?

Banana, alfalfa, entente: these are words containing an overlap, that is, the pattern XYXYX where X and Y are replaced by letters or sequences of letters. The idea is that the two occurrences of XYX overlap. Is there any 5-letter English word like that? Any other examples besides the ones I mentioned?


How did the phrase "hear you out" or "hear me out" come about? The phrase means "listen to whatever I have to say before you pass judgment on me," or "tell me whatever you want; I don't mind and won't pass judgment on you." First, why is it "hear" and not "listen"? Second, how is the "out" used in this context, and what is the purpose of the "out"? Third, how old is this phrase?


"Strike gold" but without the implication of searching?

Whenever I hear the phrase _I struck gold_ the fact the person had to have done a certain search is implied to me. Is this correct? For example, if I say: > Janet loves sex so much! I've struck gold with this one! In the above example, is the fact that I've been looking for a woman implied in the phrase or is it possible, from how the sentence stands, that I wasn't looking for a woman at all and she just came to me out of the blue? If the effort is implied, what would be the phrase for an "effortless gold strike"? EDIT: According to the current comments, I'd like to add that this question is not related to sex only. The example was just an example. I'm referring to the phrase generally as used in any situation.


What do you call a quote from an article that is displayed prominently in the article itself?

When you're reading an article, often you'll see a quote from the very same article written in large, bold letters. I guess it's supposed to entice skimmers to read it or some such. What is that called?


"On mind" vs "in mind"

Are these interchangeable? >   * Do you have anything _in your mind_? >   * Do you have anything _on your mind_? > The first form seems to be the most commonly used one. But the second form is also used in some instances. And I am not sure if there is any difference at all. If both are correct, what is the difference?


Would vs Will in future events

What is the difference between the following: >   1. Sorry, mate. I wouldn't be able to come for dinner. >   2. Sorry, mate. I won't be able to come for dinner. >


Equivalent for the Russian idiom "to write into the drawer"

There is following idiom in Russian "to write into the drawer" which is being used to describe situation when writer or scientist writes (sometimes prolifically) without publishing anything. Are there direct equivalent or some other idiom/expression which conveys the same idea in English?


What does Pope Francis “called out him (Pope Emeritus Benedict) on it” mean?

There was the following sentence in the article titled “Pope Francis tells Pope Benedict to stop rolling his eyes in meetings” in May 2nd New Yorker magazine - http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/05/pope- francis-tells-pope-benedict-to-stop-rolling-his-eyes-in-meetings.html > Pope Emeritus Benedict’s return to the Vatican began on a sour note today as > the current Pope, Francis, reprimanded him for rolling his eyes > sarcastically during meetings, observers said. > > The trouble started when the former Pope showed up at a meeting that > “Benedict wasn’t even invited to,” a Vatican source said. After about ten > minutes of suffering through Benedict’s sighing and eye-rolling, Francis “ > **totally called him out on it** ,” the source said, adding, “What Benedict > was doing was totally disrespectful. Plus, he is supposed to be retired, so > he shouldn’t have been wearing his Pope costume.” Though Oxford English Dictionary defines “call someone out” as   1. summon someone to deal with an emergency or to do repairs    2. order or advise workers to strike.    3. (archaic) challenge someone to a duel,  none of the above definitions seems to fit to “Francis ‘totally called him out on it.’”   There is no entry of the idiom, “call someone out” in either Cambridge or Merriam Webster English Dictionary. It looks like the phrase, “Pope Francis “totally called him out on it” to mean he was totally upset with Benedict’s presence accompanied with exaggerated gestures during the meeting, but I’m not sure. What does this sentence and idiom,'call sb out on stg' mean?


An International English Olympiad question

I had recently appeared for an English Olympiad, and this particular question confused me: Q) Choose the odd pair:   1. A. cat:feline B. monkey:simian C. horse:stallion D. cow:bovine Now, the problem is that, in the 1st two options, the animals look like each other; but in the last two options, the animals are pairs. Which is the correct option?


Punctuating an attribution

I'm editing a manuscript that has a lot of constructions like these: > _“The sound is almost deafening,” Amanda said as they continued down the > narrow lane._ > > _“Maybe I could come and work here,” Amanda said as she craned her neck > watching..._ > > _“So how is it going?” Bernice asked as Amanda walked to the lectern._ I instinctively want to put a comma after each “said”, but can't back my play with an explanation. Any thoughts? (There are too many of these too rewrite each instance.)


Difference between "ignorant" and "uninformed"

What is the difference between _ignorant_ and _uninformed_? In ordinary usage, is one considered a put down and the other considered a statement of fact? If so, why? Am I ignorant or simply uninformed?


Word for the habit of spending money on things that are not really needed

I know there is the word "spendthrift" — but what word denotes the habit of spending too much money or resources on things that are not essential?


What is the meaning of expression "zen and the art of.."

Over the years I have come across a bunch of book titles and blog posts that goes "Zen and the art of X", and X being any damn thing. What to deduct when you see such a title? My research lead me to this question, but it is not exactly what I am looking for.


-ness suffix etymology

What is the etymology of the suffix '-ness'? I have come across it in OE texts but always assumed it was a later borrowing.


"Attendance at" or "attendance of"

Should I use _at_ or _of_ in the following passage? > and through attendance **[at/of]** the regular video conferences has played > an active part in ... I guess my _attendance at school_ could be questioned here, but perhaps through my _attendance of an intensive English class_ I'd be able to figure out which one to use.


Should I use articles and capitalization in code comments?

When I watch programming video tutorials I noticed that different people (native EN speakers) use different styles of commenting the code when it comes to articles. Some use the headline style without article and capitalizing every word like:               <!-- Code To Set Right Block Color -->     background-color: red;       and some write it as a normal text:               <!-- The code to set the right block color -->     background-color: red;      My question is which of these two comment styles (or some other?) is more appropriate when commenting programming code when taking English rules into account ?


"Report by" or "report from"

Which is better? > A new report **by** (Company name) was released today. > > A new report **from** (Company name) was released today.


"Do (the) dirt(y) on/to you"/ "do you (the) dirt(y)"

Which of the following means _she harmed your reputation maliciously_ and sounds idiomatic?   1. She did dirt on you.   2. She did the dirt on you.   3. She did dirt to you.   4. She did the dirt to you.   5. She did you dirt.   6. She did you the dirt.   7. She did dirty on you.   8. She did the dirty on you.   9. She did dirty to you.   10. She did the dirty to you.   11. She did you dirty.   12. She did you the dirty.


Free as in 'free beer' and in 'free speech'

This phrase is all over the internet. They will say that something is free as in 'free beer' and free as in 'free speech'. I have never really understood this. Are these the examples of two different types of 'free'?


Is "hell of a" positive or negative?

I find it a very curious thing that the phrase "hell of a" seems to be suitable to describe both good and bad things. e.g. > It was a great party. We had a **hell of a** time. vs > We sold the house eventually. But we had a **hell of a** time. I certainly hear it more commonly used as in the first instance, but I imagine that this is a regional thing. But I wonder which sense came first. What is the etymology of the phrase? And, with this in mind, how should I interpret a sentence with very little context? e.g. > We had a **hell of a** time when we visited my parents over Christmas.


"At that school before"

Would it be right to say "I was at that school before," or do I have to say "I went to that school before/I studied at that school before"?


Is there an English word for the Japanese オブジェ?

The Japanese word オブジェ means something like “avant-garde sculpture”, it does not apply to things like classical sculptures or 18th century busts. Most modern art sculptures are called オブジェ by Japanese people. I am not totally sure オブジェ is always art, as a decorative interior dead tree with no further processing can also be an オブジェ. I can't find an equivalent word in English, is there any? Google Images might give you a better idea of what it is used for.   Strangely, the word actually comes from the French “objet”.


Why is the Dostoyevsky novel "The Brothers Karamazov" not translated "The Karamazov Brothers"?

In most cases I would say that the family name should come first, as in "the Ringling Brothers circus" or "the Bronte sisters", but then there is the Dostoyevsky novel "The Brothers Karamazov". Why does the family name come after the brothers in this case?


Contextual meaning of "run out of"

This is from CSI NY. Two investigators are examining a victim's body. > Joe: Well, I almost **ran out of** here. Any idea who she is? > > Mic: No. Definitely doesn't work in the lab.


Word for one who does not eat onions

Is there a single word for someone who does not eat onions? I remember having heard this word somewhere but do not remember it now.


Total number of combination or combinations

May I know which sentence is grammatical? > Given n services in sequential composition, where each of them having l > candidates, the total number of combination is l^n. > > Given n services in sequential composition, where each of them having l > candidates, the total number of combination are l^n. > > Given n services in sequential composition, where each of them having l > candidates, the total number of combinations is l^n. > > Given n services in sequential composition, where each of them having l > candidates, the total number of combinations are l^n.


"Rumpus" vs "ruckus"

My brother thinks a _ruckus_ is more violent than a _rumpus_. I think most people normally only use one word or the other for _any_ disturbance/commotion. Apologies if this looks a bit like a "vote" type of question, but who's right?


Expression: 'Correct! J'?

> **Possible Duplicate:**   >  What does a single letter "J" mean in emailing? To q question that I had asked I got a reply as below: Correct! J Is there an expression like this in English. Just to clarify, neither my name nor the sender's name has the alphabet _J_ embedded. The sender's entire reply was as follows: Correct! J -Sender Name Also, this does not appear to be a typo since this is the second time I received this reply.


Does "not that you would know" make sense in English?

Today I was teasing a colleague of mine who keeps forgetting things. I said "You forgot because it's Friday today... Well, not that you would not forget any other day". I am not sure if it was correct. Also, would past tense be here, e.g. "not that you would not remember if it was Tuesday"?


Why use 'being' in this sentence?

I came across this sentence in my programming book: > There are a number of differences that need to be explained though, the most > important one being that read or write accesses to the file performed by > applications actually affect the target of the link and not the link itself. Why would it bother to use the following? > ...the most important one is that read or write...


I was discussing this last night with my girl friend... How do you describe the taste of an onion? Specifically the growing "spicy" sensation after taking a bite. I'm just talking about the standard yellow onion.


Punctuation help

I need help with the correct punctuation for the following: > Every empty box symbolizes a child's wish unanswered, and a dream > unfulfilled. I think the construction of the sentence is more powerful as is than if the adjectives appeared before the nouns "wish" and "dream," but is the punctuation correct?


What does it mean to have a 'saucy facial expression'? I came upon a comment saying that and I have no idea what it means.


Is "I am optimistic that <something will happen>" correct?

Is it grammatically correct to say the following? > I am optimistic that compilers will improve their error messages in the > future.


Direct and Indirect Objects with the verbs: Give, Buy, and Bring

Both these phrases are correct, >   * Give me it >   * Buy me them > so why are these sentences wrong? >   * Give John it >   * Buy John them > In these sentences, "me/John" are both indirect objects, and the sentence format is same. So, why are former sentences correct and latter ones wrong? Also, _Do it for me_ is correct but _Do me it_ is wrong. What is the reason for this?


Is there an antonym for the word dislocation?

For my PhD research I am writing about the metaphorical displacement of people (as in "they drove me out of their group", "he was snatched away before his time"). Essentially there are a variety of synonyms I use going from dislocation, to delocalization, deportation, forced migration, and exile (though exile is a bit different). The one I use most often is delocalization. So here is my question   1. Is delocalization an understandable term?   2. Does it have an antonym? That antonym would have to mean something as 'the attachment of people to a place.' I have been using the word _localization_ so far, but somehow I feel might be more about locating something or someone, rather than attaching oneself to a location.


Meaning of a quote from "The Quiet American"

> Innocence always calls mutely for protection when we would be so much wiser > to guard ourselves against it: innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost > his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm.   >  —Graham Greene, The Quiet American Does the part 'when we would be so much wiser to guard ourselves against it' mean that we should stay away from being innocent? or stay away from the notion innocence itself? Does 'Innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm' mean that innocence is harmful although it does not intend to? What was the author trying to imply?


Is the expression 'more alike' awkward or does it work in an interface?

I want to create a button on an interface that will show me more items (cars) of the same kind (or similar in characteristics). I was thinking of 'more like this' but this is a bit too long and the interface is already crowded, thus I came up with 'more alike', but I don't know if people understand this. Alternatives are 'see similar cars' and 'other similar cars' but they are also too long. How would it be more appropriate to say, in a short form?


Accept and change

Is there any word which accumulates the meaning of both words "Accept" and "Change"? Example : I accepted and changed myself from the feedback given.


Is there an idiom for “can take truth unprettified whatever it is”?

Here's the scenario: I screwed something and that caused some real harm. Now another person could just tell me, “Dude, you screwed X and this caused this and this harm," but instead he will try to be supe- diplomatic and vague to “not hurt my feelings.” I’d like to tell him, “Dude, stop that diplomacy and prettification — I can take the ugly truth, whatever it is.” Is there a widely recognized idiom for conveying that message?


Where does the phrase "to get on like a house on fire" come from? (Meaning "to immediately get on very well with someone", particularly a new acquaintance.) It's quite common here in the UK, but even as a native speaker it strikes me as bizarre.


what does over-ridden means?

I got a email from my lecturer saying > You have over-ridden the design document with a progress report. What does this mean?? Cheers for your help.


What is a proper word for time slowing down

I've been trying to figure our a proper single word for the phenomenon of time slowing down . Is there any such word ?


Can we say "Had Einstein used his spare time on something more useful for the society, ..."

The complete sentence is : > **Had** Einstein used his spare time on something more useful for the > society, the improvement of our knowledge of the nature of the universe > would have been greatly delayed. I move "Had" to the head of the sentence to make it a little uncommon.


Synonyms for "ease of use"? Preferably shorter

I'm currently copywriting a description for a facebook page. Unfortunately it imposes a limit on me of about 200 characters. To get to the point, I'd need a synonym for "ease of use" that's a bit shorter to trim it down. (Also, I currently end two sentences with "use" and it's not pretty)


What is "desysopped"?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Rollback_feature: > Standard rollback may only be used in certain situations – editors who > misuse standard rollback (for example, by using it to reverse good-faith > edits in situations where an explanatory edit summary would normally be > expected) may have their rollback rights removed. Since rollback is part of > the core administrator tools, an admin could theoretically be desysopped in > order to remove those tools. I couldn't understand the last sentence, I was wondering what's "desysopped" ?


What term has replaced the term “microcomputing” from 1986?

![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/ggkRx.png) Why has the term "microcomputing" been used less and less since 1986-87 (ngram)? What term has replaced the term "microcomputing" since 1986?


"Merge a with b" and "Merge b with a" or "Merge b into a"

I might be having a dumb day but today after looking over my code I ran into a meaning issue with my own syntax, and the comments explaining that syntax...something I've never actually thought about until I decided I need to be clearer to myself, as this application gets larger and larger and I'm the only maintainer on this project...so here is the question. If I were to say **merge hash1 with hash2** _what would that mean to you_? Would it be more proper to simply say "merge hash2 into hash1" since this is what I actually mean? I'm not the the only one reading this so I want to be as clear as possible to people who aren't programmers what exactly is going on. For anyone who wants elaboration on entities:   hash1 = {a: "default", b: "default", c: "default"}   hash2 = {a: "new", b: "new"}   Where in this case hash2 is being merged into hash1 so that hash2 overrides hash1.   **For anyone who doesn't program, think of it as two lists, list2 merging into list1.**


Usage of "cowardly" and "coward"

I recently discovered that _cowardly_ , which looks like an adverb, is actually also an adjective. So far so good. Then what is the difference between _cowardly_ and _coward_ , and is there any preferential usage of either?


People's names as names for genitalia?

How did Peter, the surname, Johnson, and the nicknames for William(Willy) and Richard(Dick), come to mean penis? Was the first instance of these usages, related to a specific person? Are there more examples in this area? Is this exclusive to English?


What's the distinction between "nonessential" and "inessential"?

I'm revising a text that uses the word "nonessential", but my ear is telling me "inessential." Usually when there are two very similar words like this, there is some subtle (or not so subtle) distinction between them. Does anyone know what it is, and if so, can you cite any authorities who discuss the distinction?


"Any" followed by singular or plural countable nouns?

This question has troubled me for ages despite my several attempts of looking it up in dictionaries or usage books. Do we say, "Do you have _any ideas_ " or "Do you have _any idea_ "? I do see an example where "any" means "it doesn't matter who/which/what", therefore "You can borrow _any book_ you like." Also, does it matter between using it in questions and negatives?


What do the allusions in this poem mean?

This is a poem **Across** by **Vikram Seth** :               Across these miles I wish you well.     May nothing haunt your heart but sleep.     May you not sense what I don’t tell.     May you not dream, or doubt, or weep.     May what my pen this peaceless day     Writes on this page not reach your view     Till its deferred print lets you say     It speaks to someone else than you      I'm having trouble understanding the meaning of the last four lines. Can someone explain the exact meaning of the last 4 lines?


The word describing being in a steady & boring situation for long time

What word describes the situation where you have to stay in a boring condition for a long time? For example when a doctor tells you you have to stay in bed for two days without leaving it at all! The words that come to my mind are "boring" and "tedious". I just thought there might be a better word choice.


Etymology of "sh**hole"

What is the etymology of _shithole_? Did it originate from A) the orifice through which excrement is passed, or B) the hole in the ground intended for the disposal of such excrement? (This is a serious question for professional research. You don't want to know the details.)


Current / Previous / Previous -- A term to describe this state other than tense or currency

I'm looking for a term to describe a state. Ordinarily I would use the word "Currency" to describe the state of "Current", "Future", "Previous", however in the context, this would be too easily confused with a monetary currency. What would be another good word to use to describe a "currency" state? "The currency of the address" sounds and reads horribly, and certainly "tense" in this context doesn't work.


Is "grit and resolve” a popular phrase?

In the article of Time (May 5th) titled “Obama aspire to do Big Things,” I noticed Press Secretary Jay Curney used the word, ‘ _grit and resolve’_ followed by “(and) not in a John Wayne way, but in a commitment and focus,” when explaining Bin Laden death in a press interview held on May 2nd. I guess _‘grit and resolve_ ” simply means “resolute” from the component words. But I’m curious to know whether they (grit and resolve) are often put together like this as an idiom. Can you teach me? The Press Secretary’s remark containing ‘a grit and resolve’ is as follows: “Obama has discussed this thematic connection with his aides in the West Wing, explaining that the death of bin Laden signals something far greater than a national security accomplishment. “He views this as a demonstration of this country’s capacity to overcome skeptics and do things that people had decided were no longer doable,” explained Press Secretary Jay Carney, in an interview Monday afternoon. “There is sort of _a grit and resolve_. And not in a John Wayne way, but in a commitment and focus.”


What is a "bernie"?

Proper nouns are not playable in Scrabble, but I know (from studying words) that "bernie" and "bernies" is playable in Scrabble. But I cannot find a definition for the lowercase version anywhere online. Help?


"Based on" vs. "based upon"

Should I use _on_ or _upon_ in the following sentence? > I remembered the story years later when I investigated the incident it was > based on.


How to correctly capitalize words inside of brackets/parentheses in article names and book titles?

How do I correctly capitalize words inside of brackets/parentheses in names and titles? A few examples: > Captain America (untold stories)   >  Captain America (Untold Stories) > > Madonna (written by E. Cales in 1998)   >  Madonna (Written by E. Cales in 1998) > > My Summer Vacation (with my family)   >  My Summer Vacation (With My Family)   >  My Summer Vacation (With my family)


Is the expression "quote you happy" accepted English grammar? What is its history?

I'm editing a document written by someone who grew up in the UK, which contains the phrase "We'll quote you happy". That doesn't parse for me (I grew up in New Zealand), but a quick search about the web suggests it is used with regard to cars or car insurance in the UK, and thus might derive from an advertisement that I have not seen. Is there a specific meaning? Would I be advised to leave it as-is or change it?