Are there any nice synonyms for flavour?

I did some research, and found several synonyms for _flavour_ , including: > Taste, savor, tang, seasoning, tastiness, tang, relish, bite, piquancy, > pungency, spice, spiciness, and zest However, many of these aren't too helpful, because the context is for yoghurt. By the way, one other little question: is it correct English to say _the context is for yoghurt_?


Opposite of "straight talk"

What is the opposite for the _straight talk_ idiom? How do I best call the activity when someone makes a very long preamble before he says what he wants?


Chuffed - happy or unhappy?

I was looking into the word _chuffed_ this morning, and came across this:- > chuffed 1 /tʃʌft/   >  adjective British Informal.   >  delighted; pleased; satisfied. > > Origin: 1855–60; see chuff2 , -ed2 > > chuffed2 /tʃʌft/   >  adjective British Informal.   >  annoyed; displeased; disgruntled. > > Origin: 1825–35; compare dial. (mainly S England) chuff, choff ill-tempered, > surly, probably to be identified with chuff(1) This is worse than _inflammable_. I have lived in the south-east, the south-west and the north-east of England and have only ever come across the first meaning. Is the second meaning still in use anywhere? Does anyone know how this duplicate usage came into existance?


Word for "moving on a ledge"

Is there a single word in English describing a sideway movement when one is walking with his back along a ledge? One can see this frequently in movies. A person is high up on a building or in mountains and the ledge is so narrow one has to be with his back to the building/mountain and move slowly sideways.


What do you call the "narrator" of lyric poem?

In a narrative poem, the entity telling the story is called the _narrator_. The narrator is different from the _author_ , in that the author is the real person who wrote the poem, while the narrator is a fictional entity that "lives inside" the poem. As such, author and narrator can be completely different "people". Is there an equivalent term to refer to the character who "speaks" in a lyric poem? For example, in Shakespeare's Sonnet 18: > Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? How do you call the "I" who wonders whether he should compare his lover to a summer's day?


Should there be a comma when you start a sentence with "And"?

Is it okay to use the word "and" right after another sentence, and should I use a comma? "And, as a member of my high school's entrepreneurship club, I participated..." "And as a member of my high school's entrepreneurship club, I participated..."


What is the ultimate etymology of "false"?

The first two are based on wiktionary > **_false_** > > From Middle English **false** , from Old English **fals** (“false, fraud, > falsehood”), from Latin **falsus** (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), > perfect passive participle of **fallō** (“deceive”). > > Uncommon before the 12 century, the word was reinforced in Middle English by > Norman fals (compare Old French faus), eventually displacing native Middle > English les, lese (“false”), from Old English lēas; See lease, leasing. For > spelling, the -e (on -lse) is so the end is pronounced /ls/, rather than > /lz/ as in falls, and does not change the vowel (‘a’). Compare else, pulse, > convulse. > > **_fallo_** > > From Proto-Indo-European ***gʰwel-** (“to lie, deceive”). Cognate with > Ancient Greek φῆλος (phẽlos, “deceitful”), Sanskrit वृ (vṛ, “twist, crook”), > Avestan (zurah, “injustice”), Lithuanian ẑulas (“rough”), Latvian zvel'u > (“to turn aside”), Old Church Slavonic зълъ (zŭlŭ, “evil”) But here is another etymology from myEtymology.com > **_false_** > > the English word false > > derived from the Latin word **falsus** (wrong, lying, fictitious) > > derived from the Latin word **fallere** (deceive; slip by; disappoint) > > derived from the Latin word **facere** (to make; act, take action, be > active; compose, write; classify; do, make; create; make, build, construct; > produce; produce by growth; bring forth) > > derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ***dhē-** The third etymology is from etymonline. > **_false_** > > late 12c., from O.Fr. **fals, faus** (12c., Mod.Fr. faux) "false, fake, > incorrect, mistaken, treacherous, deceitful," from L. **falsus** "deceived, > erroneous, mistaken," **pp. of fallere** "deceive, disappoint," **of > uncertain origin (see fail)**. Adopted into other Germanic languages (cf. > Ger. falsch, Du. valsch, Dan. falsk), though English is the only one in > which the active sense of "deceitful" (a secondary sense in Latin) has > predominated. False alarm recorded from 1570s. Related: Falsely; falseness. > > **_fail_** > > early 13c., from O.Fr. **falir** (11c., Mod.Fr. faillir) "be lacking, miss, > not succeed," from V.L. ***fallire** , from L. **fallere** "to trip, cause > to fall;" figuratively "to deceive, trick, dupe, cheat, elude; fail, be > lacking or defective." > > Related: Failed; failing. Replaced O.E. abreoðan. The noun (e.g. without > fail) is from late 13c., from O.Fr. faile "deficiency," from falir. The > Anglo-French form of the verb, failer, came to be used as a noun, hence > failure. I just don't know which PIE form of "false" is the right one.


Using "to my mind"

English is not my native language. I am curious about the usage of "to my mind".   * Is it a British English phrase?   * Is it used in American English?   * Is it formal/informal? I've found an interesting article where the author is very surprised by the expression: > I have found that “to my mind” is commonly used in Ukraine ... This is > strange to me and everyone else in my cluster Nevertheless there is "to my mind" in the Cambridge dictionary.


where does the word 'satst' get used? and what does it mean really?

While reading the poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton, I came across the usage of the word _satst_. Can anyone tell me what it means? I can gather what the other words imply, but for this one I needed some clarification. > [...] Dove-like satst brooding on the vast Abyss [...] Paradise Lost (London, 1674)


A phrase like "Good effort!"

Does the phrase "good effort" imply failure? Like, even though you failed, it's good that you gave it your best shot? I'm looking for a phrase like "good effort" that does not imply failure. It would be nice if I could find a similar phrase that implies success. This kind of phrase exists in Japanese, but does it exist in English? When someone tries hard and wins, we seem to concentrate on the win, and see the effort as secondary. But the Japanese seem to value hard work over easy wins.


What are the names of the pieces of a question mark?

A question mark `?` seems to be composed of two distinct pieces, top and bottom. Do these pieces have their own names, and if so, what are they?


Something Known by Multiple Names

Is there a word that means: someone or something that can be known by multiple names? A few examples:   * Rooster can also be referred to as a cock   * Soft drink also known as a soda, pop, Coke, etc. A synonym is the closest descriptor I'm aware of, but it appears to apply to words, not people or things. Likewise, an alias refers to the name, not the person or object itself. Thanks for helping me solve this!


What could we call a "market for predicting decisions"?

I've always called these "decision markets", and will do so here to simplify the language in this discussion. But that term is overused to the point of being confusing, and I'm curious if anyone can come up with a better one. By "decision market", I mean a prediction market in which the traders are explicitly attempting to predict a decision made by the market's own judge. **About Prediction Markets:** A prediction market is usually described as being one in which the traders are attempting to predict the outcome of some future event. But in implementation, a prediction market always has a judge -- usually a single person, but sometimes a committee -- who uses their own interpretation of the event's outcome to set contract values at expiration. So in effect, a prediction market is really a market in which the traders are attempting to predict the judge's decision regarding the event. An example of a prediction market is one in which the traded contracts represent the probability of one or more political candidates winning an election. In this case, the prospectus describes how the judge will decide who the winner was, and might reference the New York Times as an external authority on the election results. A well-written prospectus will always provide an "escape" clause, though, to allow the judge to close out contracts at a reasonable price in the face of unforeseen circumstances, such as a failure of the newspaper itself. **About Decision Markets:** An example of a decision market is one in which the traded contracts represent the release date of an open-source software package. In this example, the judge is the maintainer of the package, and the prospectus states that the judge will ultimately decide when to release the software, based not only on available information such as outstanding known bugs, but also on the price information provided by the market itself. This, for example, gives the market the opportunity to provide quantified signals regarding issues that might otherwise be hidden in mailing list discussions. I don't know of any active decision markets. I'd like to start an open-source project for software which would support them, which leads me to the above question.


What is this accent?

I stumbled upon this YouTube video, and I really like the accent of the speaker. How is his accent called?   I'm not British, but I'm quite sure it isn't the "standard" British accent (e.g. the one you would hear on BBC); it seems thicker, but I don't know which region or class it is typical of.


What is the verb form of "conjunction" in the logical sense?

In logic and computer programming, a conjunction of two logical statements is said to be true if and only if both statements are themselves true. For instance:               "The sky is blue" and "the grass is green"       is a conjunction of two logical statements. Note that a conjunction in this context is not the same as a grammatical conjunction. In product manuals, one often sees things like: "These values are **anded** together". However, "anded" doesn't seem like a proper English term, and it seems like there should be a verb for the act of combining two logical statements with a conjunction. Other logical operators like "xor" certainly use "xored" or "xor'd", but "anded" seems less acceptable somehow. Is there a nice English word for this operation? Some thoughts:   * "conjoined" doesn't seem sufficiently precise, because we're not just sticking the logical statements together, we're combining them with a particular operator (i.e. the clauses could still be conjoined with a disjunction operator instead).   * "conjuncted" might be appropriate, but I can't find anyone using it on the net, and I've never seen it used before in manuals and the like.


Meaning of "or is it"

For example: The exam is easy. Or is it? Is the sentence grammatically correct in the first place?


Why "homophobia" and not "sexualism" or similar?

A phobia is an irrational fear of something. An intolerance to something is usually an -ism, not a -phobia, as in   * sexism   * racism   * ageism Yet people who object to homosexual practices or discriminate against homosexuals are labelled "homophobic" and their intolerance is labelled "homophobia". But homophobia should logically be an irrational fear of things that are the same (and indeed is listed with both meanings in this list of phobias) and an intolerance to a particular sexuality should surely be sexualism, sexualityism, or a similar word. So... how did the "sexualism" meaning of "homophobia" come about? Is there another word for intolerance of / discrimination against people of a particular sexuality that doesn't imply irrationality or fear?


"In the next" or "in next?"

Which variant is correct, "the main idea was in the next: bla-bla-bla" or "the main idea was in next: bla-bla-bla?"


What is a 'star rose'?

I'm reading a book and encountered the words _star rose_. What does it mean? The context is listed below. > As JavaScript’s **star rose** , discontent came from all corners. Some > pointed to its numerous little quirks and inconsistencies. Others complained > about its lack of classes and inheritance. And a new generation of coders, > who had cut their teeth on Ruby and Python, were stymied by its thickets of > curly braces, parentheses, and semicolons.


"maple tree" or "maple"?

Is it correct to say _maple tree_ , or would _maple_ be both correct and enough to mean a tree (not just its fruit)?


Is there a generic word in English that means "through time"?

I know "temporal" means "to do with time", but I'm looking specifically for a term that means "spanning time" or "over time". Not necessarily _all_ time, as "eternal" would mean, nor do I want to necessarily imply anything about the span of time (e.g. being long or short). Upon reflection, I guess "temporally" is actually the closest word to use. I was just hoping for a word that meant literally "spans time". I guess the implication of using the word "temporally", because it deals with time, also often implies over the course of time. However to illustrate the difference, I could use the term "temporal locality" to mean things that are close together in time (a term we use in Computer Science). In this case, "temporal" refers specifically to the concept of time, not the concept of something spanning it (it generally refers to two points in time that are close together, and points in time do not "span" time). **Update:** Here's a much better example, though it's specific to programming: let's suppose we deal with the concept of locking an object. We might say that an object is "temporally locked" which means that it is locked with respect to a certain time; but we might also want to say that it is locked _through_ time. I'd like to be able to say the latter with an adverb such as "it is locked `_____`". Since temporally locked already means something else, we need a distinction. I honestly don't know if such a word exists, and it's more out of curiosity than anything, but thanks to all the folks who have contributed ideas. :) **Update 2:** I've thought of another way to formulate my request. Think of it perhaps as the opposite of a specific point in time. In other words, a word that means **"not restricted to a particular point in time"**. I think perhaps that's a better example than my lock example above. I like the word _chronological_ for this reason, but chronological also implies the concept of order and specifically _progression_ through time, which isn't really part of this concept. _Indefinite_ also works, to a degree, but as the term doesn't involve time itself, it would have to be _temporally indefinite_. This is very close, but again, a single word would be awesome.


Difference between "solicitor" and "barrister"

What is the difference between _solicitor_ and _barrister_?


Is "to be understood" or "to understand" correct?

There are two sentences: > This math puzzle is very easy **to be understood** > > This math puzzle is very easy **to understand** Which is more natural? Are both correct?


The word for last year school, first year university students?

I'm looking for term to describe students which didn't study theoretical physics, but who learned physics in school. These are last years school and first years university students with major physics. Is there a word for this?


Word for change of opinion

What is the word for “changing one’s opinion”? I’m looking for something similar to _concede_ , but that implies that the person knew the right answer all along but was just pretending that the answer was something else. What if I want to imply that the person was sure of something, but something changed what he thought? More specifically, the sentence I’m writing is > He thought this . . . but after being criticized, he __ that the critics > were correct". It’s actually a negative effect, his way of thinking permanently changed due to criticism (and I’m trying to say his original opinion was better).


"Observe" vs. "oversee"

The operator of a machine solely needs to be in control of the machine controls. Thus, they need to be physically in a location near the control panel, and in order to make sure nobody else pushes the button that would fry said operator, they need "visuals" of the area. Do they observe the control panel or do they oversee it? I'm afraid that _to oversee_ is (visually) controlling an act carried out by another party — true?


What does this humor mean?

Why is this caption funny? "Faster! By God, you will earn that tip yet!" Source Since this is about American humor, I'd appreciate an answer from Americans.


Architectural term for places where water is used

Is there an architectural term for places where water is used? If you wanted waterproof flooring for rooms with faucets, drains, etc., it seems like there would be a term for such places so you wouldn't have to write "kitchen, bathroom(s), and other places where water is used" every time.


Is it correct to use the word "wrongdoing" in this sentence?

Is 'wrongdoing' used appropriately in this sentence? **The wrongdoing of spying on students is not only in the boundaries of law, but it is also morally inappropriate.**


What's the right word to use here?

I am looking for the word to complete the following sentence "Simplicity and sophistication are not necessarily **_** " Meaning simplicity doesn't preclude sophistication. Edit: I am not looking for something that means opposite, they are not opposites of each other obviously. I am looking for a word which means presence of something doesn't rule out the presence of the other( like presence of high iron rules out anemia ).


Can I frame a sentence with "has been having"?

Can I make a sentence with "has been having"? Is the sentence below correct? > "My company xx has been having account in your bank for past 3 years"?


Is the expression "the dead of night" or "the dead of the night"?

I always thought it was just "the dead of night" - no "the" following "of"(unlike "heat of the night"). But I recently came across "dead of the night" and I'm wondering if its correct.


Meaning of 'prime', 'set'. Theater dance

I've encountered such phrases inside an agreement document: a) > ...at the completion of each four **primes**.. or > DANCER will participate in all dances prepared for the **prime** The context here is _dancing_ , _performance_. Both **show** and **prime** are present in the document but I don't know whether they are synonyms. b) > DANCER at all times **on set** , rehearsals, stage will be respectful, calm > and represent well the artistic image of COMPANY. What does **set** mean here?


Is there any difference between "my level of English" and "my standard of English"?

Is there any difference between both sentences? Are they synonyms? Is one better for formal speaking than the other? Recently I was rejected in a job because > The standard of your written English is not at the level where you could > write a report to our standard. I'm trying to figure out what is the meaning of standard in that sentence, and I came across that standard also means level,


At least two or more: Not always redundant?

> At least two or more Is the “or more” bit above ever not redundant? Seems absolutely redundant to me, but it gets about 170 million Google hits, and many from government sites and university sites.


What's the exact meaning of "will be held"?

I frequently read > "This meeting will be held next Wednesday..." and sentenctes like that. I understand it means "this will take place", but I am curious about the exact meaning of "be held".   * When is it used?   * Is it used just in formal texts? Is it also used in normal conversations?


Semicolon followed by an em-dash

I recently read "The Cask of Amontillado" for pleasure, and I found this passage: > He had a weak point –this Fortunato –although in other regards he was a man > to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in > wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. For the most part their > enthusiasm is adopted to suit the time and opportunity, to practise > imposture upon the British and Austrian millionaires. In painting and > gemmary, Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack, but in the matter of > old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did not differ from him > materially; –I was skilful in the Italian vintages myself, and bought > largely whenever I could. I found it most peculiar that Poe followed a semicolon with a space and then an em-dash. It seemed natural and made sense. I've never seen this style of punctuation in any other literature I've read. Is this something that is okay to use in similar situations? What's the consensus on this usage?


How (and when) was it that the verb 'go' began to mean 'say' in common usage?

i.e. "So then she goes, 'Hey!' and I go, 'What?' because I was on my way out..." I was musing about this the other day, so I decided to try to find out. Unfortunately, my skills lie in different areas than language research. My instincts tell me that this is an outgrowth of hippie culture in the West during the late 60's, but I have no proof of this at all. I remember being in elementary school in the 80's and my teachers would absolutely flip out over this construction and lecture "People don't GO, Brian. People SAY." Lecturing notwithstanding, listening to students at recess revealed many students 'going' this or that. It seems now to be relatively accepted in spoken English, though not written. It also seems to apply to a wider range of use cases than _say_ , e.g.: "So he goes ( _makes face like a duck_ ) and then..." So, it kind of has taken on a meaning of 'to communicate, to embody a message, to say' as well as to literally move from one place to another. At least it has in the midwest...is this in use anywhere else in the US?


Word-Order "now" and "to be calculated"

Is it > The process _now can_ be calculated just like in the book. or > The process _can now_ be calculated just like in the book. ? Best regards (and feel free to edit if I missed something)


What does "a minor variation" mean in the following sentence?

> Under the terms of the deal, Company A is allowed to pursue a minor > variation of this technology of Company B. Does "variation" mean "type"? I cannot figure out what it means.


On the various meanings of "over"

Could you tell me the meanings of _over_ in the following?   1. The girl wandered over the field.   2. The **girls** wandered over the field.   3. The girl walked over the field.   4. The **girls** walked over the field.  Does (1) mean that the girl wandered _across_ the field? Or does is mean that the girl wandered _all over_ the field? Is (2) just the plural version of (1)? If (1) means "wander all over", can (3) mean the same thing?


Alternatives to 'respectively'

Is there any other word I can use instead of _respectively_? This word provides me a way to describe a list of items conveniently in a single sentence and hence save space. I've used this many times and there are mainly two reasons I am asking this:   1. I'm just looking for alternatives, since I don't want to use the same word everywhere.   2. Another small reason is that I find the word _respectively_ a bit long which makes writing short sentences using it difficult. Since an example of its use was requested:   "Samantha, John and Jack bought apples, mangoes and oranges respectively from the market." (I know it's not a very creative one.) I also looked for synonyms at thesaurus.com but the only close ones I found were _correspondingly_ and _individually_. I'm unsure whether these are valid substitutions for the use of _respectively_ as in my example.


Lecture/presentation/event: “conduct" vs. “carry out” vs. “hold”

When talking about a lecture, presentation, or event, what verb should be used? As far as I understand, any of _conduct_ , _carry out_ , or _hold_ are possible here. What’s the difference, and which of them (if any) is the best option? I’m particularly interested in something like this: > Professor A is going to [ ** _INSERT VERB_** ] a lecture about B next > Thursday, February 14th.


"To market, to market, to buy a fresh pig" vs "To the markets" valid English?

Is the phrase "to market" as in "going to the markets" valid use of the English language? I can think of two examples in local Australian vernacular:   1. The Nursery Rhyme: "To market, to market, to buy a fresh pig" [Going to the markets, to the markets, to buy a fresh pig]   2. An advertising jingle: "You haven't been to market until you've been to Paddy's"  [You have been to an authentic markets until you've been to Paddy's] Or this is just an historic use of the English language that we never lost?


difference between action and live action

In film genres I have seen and heard 2 words: 1) Action Movie 2) Live-Action Movie What is difference between these 2 words? What live represent here?


Verb to describe water "hitting" an object from a relatively high place?

Example: > A pan being **hit** by a continuous flux of tap water. I think _hit_ is too strong for this sentence? Is there a better verb to use?


What is a clyse?

I've been reading about the recent flooding in Somerset, and came across this:- > Floodwater is removed from many of the moors of the Somerset Levels by > pumping stations, which were originally steam-powered. These were superseded > by diesel engines, and more recently by electric pumps. The King’s Sedgemoor > Drain is unusual in that it operates entirely by gravity. Consideration was > given to replacing Dunball **clyse** with a pumping station in 2002... This word doesn't appear in any online dictionary I can find; the nearest is _clysis_ , meaning:- > the administration of an enema. which, whatever your views on Somerset, is probably not what is meant. There's a video of _Monk's Lease Clyse_ in action here. Which bit is the _clyse_?


Does "moonlighting" have a negative or neutral connotation?

We all agree that "moonlighting" denotes having a second job. However, Merriam-Webster and Oxford Advanced Learner's don't define it in exactly the same way. For example, Merriam-Webster attaches a neutral meaning to it: > _moonlight_ (intransitive verb): to work at a second job in addition to your > regular job OALD, on the other hand, suggests a more negative connotation: > _moonlight_ (intransitive verb): to have a second job that you do secretly, > usually without paying tax on the extra money that you earn I don't know if this is a case of British English vs American English. So I'd like to ask native speakers of English: Do you attach a neutral or negative meaning to the word? For example, would you say that Madonna moonlights as an actress, without implying that she doesn't pay taxes on the extra money she makes?


A word/phrase to describe implicit expectations between people

I was talking with a chinese friend about the concept of renqing (人情) and the idea that when two people know each other they may develop implicit expectations that they are obligated to help each other (人情在) based on that relationship, even if it isn't a deep friendship. She was saying that there may not be a word or phrase for this in english because of the difference in our cultures - that we are more individualistic, but I think the idea is fairly universal even if the degree is different. My closest approximation is "strings attached" but I'm not sure if there was something better. *Also is there a word to describe the idea of looking for the right word/phrase to encapsulate a large concept like above? Thanks!


Is the construction "It allows to ..." proper English?

I frequently encounter phrases like this: "It allows to apply these features to customisable sets of fonts". My question is whether this is proper English or not? In my mind, "it allows the application of ..." or "it allows one to apply ..." sound much better. I suspect that this is a Germanism (that would explain why I hear it so often), but it would be nice to know for sure.


"First year birthday" or "first birthday"

What should I say to refer to the baby's first year birthday? The baby turns one year old on that day. Is it correct to say _first birthday party_ or should I say _first year birthday party_?


Boy-o Vs. Guy usage

As far as my understanding: Boy-o reflects one's behavior while it can also be used to address a group of males. But Guy seems to be mostly used in addressing the people while it is less used as a behavioral word. Please suggest what should I use and when. Here are some examples I thought of: Usage **:** **Boy-o**               1). How's it going boy-o?     2). That particular stare has the boy-o in it. (I think it makes more sense)      Usage **:** **Guy**               1). He's a nice guy.     2). The kids asked passing workers for pennies for the guy.      Also, I think Boy-o seems to be informal as compared to guy. Looking for an appealing noun to address a group of people. EDIT: Boy-o _reference_ : Strangers in Death


Is there a word or short phrase to indicate a myth that is not true?

People usually say "it is just a myth" to indicate they either don't believe it to be true, or that they are sure it is not true. However, this is inaccurate, as myths can be true or not true, or anything in between. "Myth" only means that there is no (or just anecdotal) evidence. How can I accurately say that something is a myth **and** it's false. Edit: I edited "not true" to "false". Myths are not binary. One answer provided a definition, in the sense of something which is believed to be true but it's not. However, not true and false are not necessarily the same. To not be able to prove something to be true is not the same as proving it to be false. What I'm specifically looking for is to express that A) Something it a myth B) It has been (or can be) decisively proven to be false. The importance is to **accentuate** part B. To answer this, do you really require a long list of examples where a myth is ambiguous, some believe it to be true, others don't believe it but no one can decisively prove anything?


Use of "Afghani" as an adjective

So we know that the noun "Afghan" is preferred over "Afghani" when it comes to describing the people of Afghanistan, but what's the scoop for using it as an adjective? For example, is saying an "Afghani carpet" incorrect, offensive, both or neither, as opposed to an "Afghan carpet"? Context: A rather lively debate on Travel.SE about whether using the term "Afghani passport" in a newspaper article is a mark of cluelessness.


Is the "went" in the following sentence redundant?

> As Eri closed the laptop, her stomach started to growl. That's right. She > hadn't eaten breakfast yet. She'd been so absorbed in the video that she had > completely forgotten about it. **Eri stood slowly from the sofa and then, > giving the laptop a final glance, went to prepare herself to go out.** I was wondering whether the went in the last sentence is redundant. I think the word **prepare** already implies that the person stood up and moved from its current position?


A little less after that

I encountered this sentence - > It was an hour's drive to Providence, a little less after that. What does it mean by "a little less after that"? Does it mean "after Providence, it will be a little less than an hour to reach the place"?


Subject and object while using passive voice

My English teacher and an overwhelming majority of my English class insists that in the following sentences the bolded words are **subjects** and the italicized words are _objects_. > **I** ate the _cake_. > > The _cake_ was eaten by **me**. The first sentence is obviously correct, but I'm fairly certain that in the second sentence "cake" is the subject and "eaten by me" is the object. > The **cake** was _eaten by me_. May I have some concrete evidence proving or disproving my point?


Can "conversant" be a noun?

Googling amongst the world's online dictionaries produces conflicting results, but on the whole indicates that the answer is "no". However, it feels so natural to say: > The conversants conversed. Whereas: "the conversationalists conversed" is a bit long.


Meaning of "Ship it!"

I wrote the letter > Dear XXX, > > I am writing to inform that I found the workaround solution for bug... and got the answer > Great! **Ship it!** If I correctly guessed, _Great!_ means approval of my solution, but what does _Ship it!_ mean? Is it slang or some special emotion?


Osteopath vs Psychopath

Greek "Pathos" means "disease" or "suffering". In that sense "Psychopath" means "a person with an antisocial personality disorder". Originating from the same root " **Osteopath** " means "A therapist who manipulates the skeleton and muscles". Shouldn't it mean "Suffering of Skeleton and muscle"? And, Shouldn't "A therapist who manipulates the skeleton and muscles" be represented by " **Osteopathologist** "? Greek "Logos" means "Science". Biology = "Study of living beings". Zoology= "Study of animals". Then why "Study of plants" is represented by " **Botany** ". It should be " **Botanology** ". Isn't it? So, what are the explanations about the two words (1) Osteopath and (2) Botany?


Placement of comma before quotation mark

What is the rule for comma placement before a quotation mark? When should the comma go before and when should it go after the quotation mark?


Why do lots of people use "seperate" instead of "separate"?

* Catalan: "separar"   * English: "separate"   * French: "séparer"   * Galician: "separar"   * Italian: "separare"   * Latin: "separo"   * Portuguese: "separar"   * Romanian: "separa"   * Spanish: "separar"   * Sweedish: "separera" Then, why do I see "seperate" lots of times? Where does it come etymologically? Will it become accepted?


A word for "Progress Bar" when it's not used to measure progress

What would you call something that looks exactly like a progress bar (ie: When you are installing a program) but that isn't used to measure the progress of a task. In this case it's used to display the "threat level" of a suspected software, in an anti-virus. But I'm looking for a more general word than "threat bar".


"often" vs. "oftentimes"

“often” vs. “oftentimes” Is “oftentimes” a pleonasm? My current understanding is that “often” denotes frequent occurrence. If “often” communicates frequent occurrence, then what need is there to append “times,” a temporal aspect already communicated by the word “often?”


Asking about the university courses

What is the correct way to ask another person about the course he is doing/pursuing at a college or university? > What course are you doing?


Why is English written and read left to right?

Why is English written and read from left-to-right as opposed to right-to- left, top-to-bottom, or (not even sure any language does this) bottom-to-top?


Enquiry about the bus route

Is this correct? Asking the driver or the another person:   * Does this bus go (or goes) to _X_?   * Do you go to _X_?


Usage of word "meat"

I am not a native English speaker and never lived in an English-speaking country, so I wonder how you would apply this word. Would you apply the term "meat" to the following things?   1. Muscle tissue of a cow   2. Liver tissue of a cow   3. Brain tissue of a cow   4. Muscle tissue of other beasts (swine, goat, rabbit)   5. Muscle tissue of a bird (chicken, quail, turkey)   6. Muscle tissue of a fish   7. Muscle tissue of mollusks, such as oyster, squid, shellfish, snail   8. Tissue of polyp, medusa   9. Tissue of a sponge   10. Tissue of a mushroom   11. Tissue of a plant


Which is correct: "home in" or "hone in"?

I've heard people say " **Home** in on something", but I've also heard others say " **Hone** in on something". Which is the correct expression, and what is the etymology of these?


Is there a word for someone with the same name?

If a person shares my name, in Dutch there is the word "naamgenoot", meaning roughly 'member of the same _name_ '. > **John A** : Hi, my name is "John"   >  **John B** : O, then we're `insert solution word here`! Similarly,   * 'classmate' is 'klasgenoot' in Dutch   * 'roommate' is 'kamergenoot' in Dutch I'm pretty sure I cannot call someone with the same name as mine a 'namemate' :) > **Edit** Because sceptics appear to be frustrated mightily by an apparent > lack of research, there was some discussion on this in chat, with no > satistfactory conclusion. > > According to WP/Merriam Webster `namesake` appears to be linked to > intentional name correspondance (being named _after_ someone). There may be > a US/UK English divide there. > >> "I was named after my grandfather. I am his namesake." - usage per Wikipedia > > Also, the introduction seems to hint at much broader meaning: > >> " **Namesake** is a term used to characterize a person, place, thing, quality, action, state, or idea that has the same, or a similar, name to another" Do you know of a better word/phrase to describe this _succinctly_?


What is the English word for "one who composes prayers"?

I remember meeting a priest from Rome who described himself as a [missing word here] which he defined as one who writes prayers. I cannot for the life of me recall or find this word, and I'm starting to wonder if perhaps he coined it or borrowed it from another language.


Synonym for "scheduled" or "queued"

I'm looking for a word or phrase to describe a support ticket status that says "we are aware of this issue, and will look into as soon as we can", as opposed to "we are looking into this right now". _Scheduled_ sounds like we have a time in mind, and we are putting it off until that time for no specific reason. _Queued_ sounds like "this issue is just another in the queue, please wait your turn". We want to communicate "its important to us, but we cant look into it right now. We will look into it as soon as we are done with whatever else has higher priority".


Colorful term for someone with a long-overdue library book

I'm trying to find a humorous term for someone who still has an overdue library book after a number of years. I first came up with "delinquent lendee", but I'm sure there's something more apropos or alliterative.


Use of present perfect after past simple as clauses of the same sentence

Here is the thing I've written lately. Now, when I look at it, I'm not sure whether this is the right ( _natural, basically_ ) way to put things. > This post was written about a year ago, but it has been long forgotten among > the drafts, as I haven't been frequent guest here lately. I'm not so sure about the use of tenses. The first clause was in Perfect too before, but I've changed it to Past to comply with basic tense rules at least virtually.


Is there a word for "stripped of ones essential weirdness"

I'm looking for a word like "emasculated" or "neutered" except here it would mean "stripped of one's essential weirdness". You could use it in a sentence like: > He was _[stripped of his essential weirdness]_ so he just cried through his > pants like a broken sea-monkey.


Take a walk vs walk

Can we say that I am going to take a walk instead of taking the bus? Or should we say I am going to walk instead of taking the bus?


Is this usage correct?

Is this usage correct according to these examples? I need to get this room left by students. is the above correct and if so does it mean the same as I need to cause this room to be left by students or I need to get the students to leave this room? and the same for the rest of the causative verbs such as: I need to make the question understood by people, She wants to have her talent acknowledged by her teacher. Thanks in advance


"—" vs. ";" vs. "," vs. "()" — what's the difference?

All of these punctuation marks seem to have the same purpose. Is there any general guideline for picking one for each use case?


What is the proper placement of parentheses?

Does it make a difference if the item in the parentheses is a single word or a full sentence? In the middle of a sentence, or at the end? Does the sentence in the parentheses get its own punctuation if it's a different type of sentence—declarative sentence followed by an interrogative parenthesis?


Single or Plural: Asking for names of people

If I were to ask the name of two people, should I say "What is the name of PersonA and PersonB?" because each person has only one name or "What are the names of PersonA or PersonB?" because I am asking for two names?


Using Crippled as a verb

Is it right to use the word _crippled_ as a verb with the sense _disabled/unable to do things?_ An example sentence: > I am crippled to complete my tasks as I didn't receive the credentials.


using the word "croesus"

I came across the word croesus a long back but pondered over its usage recently. It has the two following definitions: 1\. the last king of Lydia 2\. a wealthy person Is it correct, formally, to say that he is a croesus when I mean he is wealthy and filthy rich or rather I should say that he is like croesus? My friends dissent such a usage so I got bemused.. Please help.


What does "matched by" mean here?

I have a question about the following paragraph from this article: > We’ve compressed the grand scale of the March on Washington—which took place > on August 28, 1963, fifty years ago this coming Wednesday—into succinct > quotes, a vine of grainy footage of Martin Luther King, Jr., at the crowded > dais, and a dream metaphor whose ubiquity is **matched only by its** anodyne > appeal. I don't understand "matched only by" as used in this sentence. It means to be on the same level... but it doesn't make sense here. Thank you in advance.


“Get something to do” vs ”Get something doing”

Having the following sentences: > I did not get it to work.   >  I did not get it working. Is there a difference in the meaning? What usage of "GET" is this (I would be happy for dictionary entry reference). IMHO the first one is "cause" (like _I got him to do that_ ). But I cannot find a reference to "get sth + ing".


Present perfect

I have a question about the present perfect. Here's a sample dialogue. > A: Hey, John...Are you listening? Hello?? > > B: Oh hey Mary...I've been occupied with this dreadful thought. > > A: What might that be? > > B: I don't even have the courage to talk about it.... In the dialogue, B says, > "I've been occupied with this dreadful thought." Am I right in saying that this implies this dreadful thought has been occupying his mind? I've seen this sentence too. > "I am tired now since I've been running for hours." Here the effect of the present perfect is the same but it's present perfect continuous. So, the above example,"I've been occupied..." should be "I've been being occupied with?" or they are the same but it's that the former is more common?


Present perfect and its interpretation

I have a question. Does this mean the consequence or the continuous state? > A half century past the beginning of the movement, it's been invested with > an aura of mystique. I think it can be both... What is your take? Thank you.


Repeated structures vs. repeating structures

I'm writing a paper about data mining. When I find some pattern periodically occur in some dataset, should I say: > Repeated structures are found in the dataset. or > Repeating structures are found in the dataset. I find myself end up with both forms in my paper so I doubt I really understand the difference and know when to use which. From the Ngrams both forms seem to be correct.


Capitalize after slash at beginning (e.g. Risk/Issue management)

Should a word after a slash at the beginning of a sentence be capitalized? E.g. >   1. Risk/Issue management >   2. Risk/issue management > I would guess the first one is correct because "Issue" would be an alternative beginning due to the slash.


How did 'wieldy', the positive form of 'unwieldy', come to be a non-existent word?

I.e., is there a known reason behind why the negative form of the word 'wieldy', 'unwieldy', is so vastly used, whereas the positive form is essentially a non-existent word -- MacMillan Dictionary doesn't even have an entry for it and the spell checker of my current browser is giving me a red squiggly line underneath that word? The various on-line dictionaries I've consulted say 'wieldy' means 'easily controlled or handled', 'capable of being wielded easily' (e.g., _wieldy weapon_ , _wieldy car_ , ...), and, as such, I expected that word to be common among native British or American speakers, but Google Books shows (only) 20,600 hits for it and 1,500,000 hits for 'unwieldy'.


What should be the right tense in this sentence?

I read this sentence in a book recently: > What I should have **done** is **given** him the... (Emphasis mine) I'm not a linguist but I thought it should be: > What I should have **done** is **give** him the... Can anyone tell me which is right and why? Thank you. Edit:   Going by what most people have said, if the first is grammatically correct (which I do not argue), the explanation I can think of is this: from the first part of the sentence (the subject) `What I should have done`, there is a present perfect tense (i.e. `have done`). This influences the second part of the sentence (the predicate, I think that's what it is called as I'm not an English student) and makes it a present perfect tense, too (`given`, in this case).   Going by this reasoning, as I asked in a comment, this example should be grammatically correct: > What I **did** was **gave** him... I'm sorry if it seems I'm pushing this too far. I'm quite particular about trivial matters.


Lake before or after lake name

Why are some lakes called "X Lake" and others called "Lake X"? Is there some sort of linguistic reason behind the naming? ### Lake First   * Lake Michigan   * Lake Union (Seattle) ### Lake Last   * Great Salt Lake   * Green Lake (Seattle)


What does “cantilever” stand for in the line, “baseball environment obsessed with the cantilever between pitcher and hitter?

In the New York Times’ (August 5) article titled, “How A-Rod doesn’t add up,” Doug Glanville, ex-outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers tells: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/05/how-a- rod-doesnt-add-up/?hp > “Performance-enhancing drugs thrive in a baseball environment obsessed with > the **cantilever between pitcher and hitter** , opportunity and failure, the > home run and the glove man, the quantitative and the qualitative. With all > of this balance, numbers often tip the scale, and when it’s in a player’s > interest to use numbers to gain value, he will do so, especially if his > contract depends on it.” I was drawn to the usage of ‘cantilever’ in the phrase, “obsessed with the cantilever between pitcher and hitter, opportunity and failure ...” I understand ‘cantilever’ is a projecting beam or structure supported at only one end like a porch supported by steel cantilevers, and it is used figuratively in the above message, but my poor imagination doesn’t go any further. What does “cantilever between A and B" in opposing position mean? Does it have something to do with conflicting balance, or competing tactics? Could you paraphrase “cantilever” in a plain word?


How do you abbreviate "Government"?

As far as I can tell there are _eight_ ways to abbreviate or write the contracted form "government".   1. gov or Gov   2. gov. or Gov.   3. gov't or Gov't   4. govt. or Govt. (with the full stop/period) Are any of these forms considered incorrect? In formal writing I know it is never advisable to write contractions but I imagine there must be exceptions to the rule, consequently which is the preferred version? Is there a rule which explains _how_ polysyllabic words ought to be contracted? * * * **Edit** April 5th 2014   I did a little research on Google Ngram Viewer, comparing Govt/govt with Gov/gov (Google Ngram appears to be unreliable with apostrophes and the period/full stop) and came up with these two. ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/GnRbq.png) ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/oSb7L.png)


Use of "then'" in the sentence

I came across the below sentence in this article. _"The emasculated society of Europe serves, **then** , as a warning to conservatives, and reinforces their belief that America must reverse the trend of modern politics, which has involved the increasing assumption by the state of powers and responsibilities that belong to civil society."_ My understanding is that the **then** here is a time indicator of the Europe at that time i.e. the author means " _The emasculated society of Europe at that time._ " (Correct me if I am wrong) Is this a common style? Are there other ways to indicate the time of a particular instance/event and give additional details related to that instance/event like how it is being explained here. Also how is the below sentence different from the above sentence? _"The **then** emasculated society of Europe,serves as a warning to conservatives, and reinforces their belief that America must reverse the trend of modern politics, which has involved the increasing assumption by the state of powers and responsibilities that belong to civil society."_


Is there a generic name for public transport interchanges? For example: railway stations, bus stations, ferryports, airports, tram stops.


What does "The power to be strong" mean, and is it valid English?

I was reading Microsoft Encarta and in a part of it, Nietzsche’s ideology was put forward as: > **"For Nietzsche the power to be strong was the greatest value in life"** Isn't "the power to be strong" ridiculous? I mean, "the desire to be strong" makes sense to me. Also "the power was the greatest value in life" is reasonable, but "the power to be strong" seems a kind of **tautology** to me. Power is something like being strong. Is this sentence semantically correct?


Using the word "doc"

Merriam-Webster obviously says that the word is an abbreviation for _doctor_ , and I also acknowledge the fact that it's less formal than _doctor_. My question is: when talking to your doctor, would it be considered rude to call him or her a doc?


Ambiguous subject-object: is or are?

As non-native speakers we are struggling with this sentence. Are both sentences correct and is just a matter of interpretation on what the subject is ("claims" versus "amount")? Or is it clear that only "b" is correct? How do both sound to a native speaker? a) While many claims in Wikipedia articles are backed up with citations, there is also a considerable amount which are not. b) While many claims in Wikipedia articles are backed up with citations, there is also a considerable amount which is not. Thanks a lot in advance.


Why is “resolved” used ahead of a question in a debate title, instead of saying “the Subject, topic” or alike?

I’m now reading a book titled “Competitive Debate – The Official Guide” by Richard E. Edward. In it, there is the following sentence: The topic for public forum debate are selected by a comitee of the NFL. --- Some public forum topics have been resolutions of fact: “ **Resolved** : The United States is losing the War on Terror.” Some topics have been solution value: “ **Resolved** : The costs of legalized casino gambling in the U.S. outweigh the benefits” “ **Resolved** : The United States should issue guest worker visas to illegal aliens.” In all of the above examples, for what meaning is “Resolved” used? I gusess “Resolved” means “Question to be resolved.” But I don’t understand why it (Resolve) is used in past participle form, not in noun form, and why not using a word like “the debate subject” “theme”, “issue”,“agenda” or even “Resolution required”?


How do you punctuate elliptical constructions?

I have trouble punctuating elliptical constructions. Which of these is correct? > Asterix defeated seven Romans; Obelix, three. > > Asterix defeated seven Romans, Obelix, three. > > Asterix defeated seven Romans; Obelix three. > > Asterix defeated seven Romans, Obelix three. What if I include the conjunction? > Asterix defeated seven Romans, and Obelix, three. > > Asterix defeated seven Romans, and Obelix three. > > Asterix defeated seven Romans and Obelix three. Is the punctuation different for shorter constructions? > Obelix missed her, and she him. > > Obelix missed her, and she, him. > > Obelix missed her and she, him. > > Obelix missed her and she him.


"silk purses out of a sow's ears"

Yesterday I posted a question(How do expert writers avoid using "I" when they have to refer to themselves in their article?) and received a good yet insult- ish like answer. I'm not a native so I am just wondering if the idiom **You can't make silk purses out of a sow's ear** either **is** insulting or **borders on** being so. thanks every one


Would a golfer say, "I shot for 200 yards"?

I'm wondering if "for" is the correct word to use in the phrase, "I shot for 200 yards". This is in relation to a golf video game I'm working on. After the shot, the computer tells you, "You shot for 200 yards!" to inform you how far the ball went.


Positions of "of which"

I am not sure how to use _of which_ here. I do know I could use _whose_ , I would just like to understand this structure more. Each bag contains a number of bank notes (bills). And now: > Select the bag the sum of notes of which is 1000. or > Select the bag of which the sum of notes is 1000.


"Importance of ＿ to" or "Importance of ＿ for"?

Which is correct: "the importance of money for someone" or "the importance of money to someone"?


Where should I put stress on these sentences?

I am studying intonation and stress in English, and would like advice on where to put stress on these sentences.   1. "How do you do?"   Does it sound like this? HOW do you DO?   2. Where should I put stress on this sentence:   "Did you say you were holding a party?" to get an answer like this one:   "No, I definitely did not."   Should I put it on "Did" or "say"? Or somewhere else?   3. "Is he going to take that job?"   Should I emphasize "IS" to get an answer: "No, he changed his mind."


Stylistic level of a phrase starting with an infinitive[?] form

I wrote the following sentence: > Bringing an article from draft to polished publication on a scientific > journal requires **to go** through a process called "peer reviewing". My questions are:   * Is it actually an infinitive form?   * Is this form stylistically readable and acceptable for medium-high level writing?   * How would you rework the phrase to express the same concept in a stylistically more appropriate form?


What would you call this kind of prepositional phrase?

What would you call a sentence that goes something like > The foreman sent a worker to find me with a hammer. The sentence is ambiguous, and could mean either:   * The foreman sent a worker to find me holding a hammer; or    * The foreman sent a worker holding a hammer to find me.  I am looking for a description other than "ambiguous" to explain why the prepositional phrase "with a hammer" is causing ambiguity.


Different types of "pride"

At one point while browsing the internet I came across an article that had wonderful adjectives for the different types of pride one can feel. Unfortunately I didn't bookmark it, and I can't find it! Examples of what I mean:   * The pride you feel when one of your students does well vs.   * The pride you feel when you create something wonderful vs.   * The pride you feel when an opponent stumbles There are subtle differences between each one. I'm wondering - does someone know if there is a reference for these terms? I thought it was wonderful that there was actually a distinction in the types of pride one can feel.


"justify" vs. "align" in the context of alignment

A function offers an option. The value of the option decides if elements in a column are aligned right, aligned left or centered. Is it OK to call this option `justify` or is only `align` correct?


Pronunciation of "often"

How should _often_ be pronounced in formal speech? "off-ten" or "of-fen"?


How to use 'both due to' in a sentence?

I'm a non-native speaker and I'm having trouble using **_both due to_** in a sentence. I want to describe a certain thing, let's say 'A', is a result of two processes, 'B' and 'C'. I remembered a friend of mine who is a native English speaker advising me to use 'both due to', but I can't remember exactly how.


Can "lend" and "borrow" refer to money?

I'm not sure how to use the following words correctly in finance. Until now, I've used _lend_ and _borrow_ to represent acts that are relative to loans. Today, one of my friends told me that _lend_ or _borrow_ is not the correct way to speak about the money, but didn't recommend any other words to use. Can anybody point me in the right direction on this? Moreover, I know the word _repayment_ is the act of paying back money that I've borrowed, but don't know the word that represents people returning money that I've lent them.


"put down" ≠ make a down payment?

> A Peace Corps volunteer started a credit union requiring people receiving a > new home to **put down** community references in lieu of collateral. These > references were friends, family members, or neighbors who could vouch that > the applicants would pay the loan. The decision to create these arrangement > was based on microfinance – the idea that people would be more likely to > default on their own possessions than to compromise their reputation in the > community and let their community down […]" I'm quite confused as to the meaning of "put down" on this sentence. I thought it could mean "down payment", but you can't put down a person… And collateral is something the person owns that serves as a guarantee, but if it's part of the a down payment, it's no longer a guarantee. So I don't think put down really means make a down payment. Could somebody please explain how this system works and what "put down" means in this sentence?


What is the meaning of "Hip" in the given context?

I have a difficulty to interpret the meaning of "Hip" even after consulting the dictionary. Let me give the meanings given by online Oxford dictionary: > **hip 1 |hip|**   >  _noun_   >  1\. a projection of the pelvis and upper thigh bone on each side of the > body in human beings and quadrupeds.   >  • ( hips) the circumference of the body at the buttocks : _a sweater tied > around the hips_.   >  • a person's hip joint : _she ran into a fence and dislocated her hip_.   >  2\. the sharp edge of a roof from the ridge to the eaves where two sides > meet. > > _PHRASES_   >  **on the hip** _archaic_ : at a disadvantage. > > _ORIGIN_   >  Old English hype, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch heup and German > Hüfte. > > **hip 2 |hɪp| |hɪp| (also rose hip)**   >  _noun_   >  the fruit of a rose, esp. a wild kind. > > _ORIGIN_   >  Old English hēope, hīope; related to Dutch joop and German Hiefe. > > **hip 3 |hɪp| |hɪp|**   >  _adjective_ ( hipper |ˈhɪpər|, hippest |hɪp1st|) informal   >  following the latest fashion, esp. in popular music and clothes : _it's > becoming hip to be environmentally conscious_.   >  • understanding; aware : _he's trying to show how hip he is to Americana_. > > _DERIVATIVES_   >  _hiply adverb_   >  _hipness |ˈhɪpn1s| noun_   >  _ORIGIN_   >  early 20th cent.: of unknown origin. > > **hip 4 |hɪp| |hɪp|**   >  _exclamation_   >  introducing a communal cheer : hip, hip, hooray! > > _ORIGIN_ mid 18th cent.: of unknown origin. Now please consider the below sentence > Ramu wore a T-shirt with a logo of his news paper and old pair of jeans. He > looked unusually **hip** for someone in a crisis. what does the **hip** implies here?


Question on grammar

Please tell me which one of the following two sentences is correct. Do we have to conjugate the verb of the object, like in the first sentence? > I found a car that works.   >  I found a car that work.


Is it improper English to read the number 1100 as "eleven hundred"?

For numbers between 1000 and 9999 is it proper English for the word "hundred" to be used? For example is it necessarily wrong to say "eleven hundred" when referring to 1100?


How to say *develop a long term career*?

I have finished my studies and I want to start my career at a company. I want to express that I am searching for a position where I can work the next years of my life, so no limited 2 years contract. I want to state that I want to develop a long term career. What are the right words for this? > After finishing my studies I am now searching for a position as a xxx within > the xx industry where I can develop a long term career and expand my > technical and personal skills. What are the right words? Can I use _long term career_? Another idea was _stable_ , but I think this does not fit. > After finishing my studies I am now searching for a position as a xxx within > the xx industry where I can develop a stable career and expand my technical > and personal skills.


I have been a long time not going there

I have been a long time not going there. I have around 5 years no going there, can we say "I have been a long time not going there."


What is one’s mother-in-law’s mother-in-law called?


Word for a person who quotes well?

Is there a word to describe a person who makes up nice quotations?


Difference between 'such as' and 'like'

This one never ceases to confuse me. When to use 'such as' and when to use 'like' while giving examples? Is there any clear rule? >   * Metros like Mumbai, Delhi and Karachi are unsafe after dark. >   * Metros such as Mumbai, Delhi and Karachi are unsafe after dark. > (Before anyone points out, Delhi and Karachi are unsafe round-the-clock, but it's just an example.)


Where does the word smidgen come from?

As in, a word signifying 'a little' - used in common vernacular in England, and possibly elsewhere.


Can an independent clause have an implied (or null) subject?

I'm trying to determine whether a clause with an implied subject can be considered independent - specifically in the case of compound sentences. For example: "I was tired, but went to the party anyway." To my thinking, the second clause _is_ an independent clause because the reiterated "I" is implied, but I can't find much to back this up. Thoughts?


What does "as poor a piece of journey-work" mean?

Could someone please explain the bold term to me in layman's terms: > The gentleman's spiritual intercourse seemed to me **as poor a piece of > journey-work** as ever this world saw.


Correct Use of "A" or "Any"

I am not sure what the difference between 'a' or 'any' is in the following sentences. Which one of the following sentences is the most grammatically correct? > Please select a number less than 1,000. > > Please select any number less than 1,000. Thanks for your help.


understanding switch in verb tenses

In the following paragraph, the main discourse started in present tense(ask), but then switched to past tense ( **might** ). Why is such a switch allowed? > Microeconomists and macroeconomists ask different types of questions. A > microeconomist **might** be interested in answering such question as: How > does a market work? What levels of output does a firm produce?


"Staying at my aunt's place" or "staying with my aunt"?

Are both of these sentences correct? Is there any difference in meaning between them? "I'm staying with my aunt." or "I'm staying at my aunt's." What I mean is "remain at her place temporarily." The "with" sentence does not seem to be very common and I would probably run across it mostly in British texts but maybe I'm wrong.


Looking for an idiom similar to sink or swim

I'm looking for an idiom - if one exists - similar to "sink or swim", but describes when someone must learn quickly (say a new job) because they are being faced with the actual experience


One word for "proactive changing of behaviour"

I need to find one word for "changing behaviour". The word should imply proactive change (in behaviour) and not reactive change (such as adapting or the likes). It has got to do with changing behaviour of customers. An example usage: > The "proactive change" of the consumer result in benefits such as lower > premiums, incentives as well as improved health


Wasn't and weren't?

> "I would if I wasn't American." > > "I would if I weren't American." Which one is correct?


Origin of POSSLQ

I looked up the etymology of this on etymonline, but it doesn't state the origin. It only defines what it stood for. It did tell what its date of origin is however, but that isn't what I was looking for. Can someone please tell me its origin?


Is "Be as + adj. + as sb. have ever been" superlative?

e.g.: Elsa and Anna are as close as they have ever been. Does it mean that they are as close as they used to be, or, they are closer than ever? What about: Elsa and Anna are as closest as they have ever been. and Elsa and Anna are as close as they have never been. I'm getting more and more confused as I'm typing out these sentences. I think at least one of these is wrong usage.


Method 1: wasn't/weren't + subject + verb(ing) + object? Method 2: was/were + subject + not + verb(ing) + object ? Which method correct in past continuous tense ~ negative interrogative form? Or both are correct? Example: A). Wasn't she crying? Or B). Was she not crying? Please explain this..


Is reported speech reasonable in this example?

What is the right word to the gap (21)? ( **had/have** ) > That is about 400 years earlier than when the Inca Indians were thought to > (21) **__** discovered the silver in the ground. I think it's **had** as the tense before is past simple, but the official solution is **have** Which one is the right anwser?


What is "skat"?

I have been reading a report of a mining accident involving a _skat_ conveyor. But I can't find out what the skat conveyor is conveying. I have found some references to a _card game_ :- > 1 : a three-handed card game played with 32 cards in which players bid for > the privilege of attempting any of several contracts > > 2 : a widow of two cards in skat that may be used by the winner of the bid but one could hardly ship that around on a conveyor. Urban Dictionary has an alternative definition, about which the less said the better. So, in a mining context, what is _skat_?


What is a term for someone who is just asking to be put in jail?

My friends and I are trying to think of a term that refers to someone who is just asking to be put in jail. The closest I can think of is hooligan. Is there anything closer?


A noun to describe character sequences between words

I'm creating a formal system in which a sentence can be formed by four types of sequences of characters:   1. Words   2. Prefixes   3. Suffixes   4. Sequences in between words What noun would you use to describe a sequence of characters in between words? I initially thought of "spaces" but that didn't seem appropriate as you could form sentences like `cat->scratch`, and `->` is definitely not a space. A friend of mine suggested "delimiters" but here `->` doesn't delimit anything. Now we're both out of nouns.


Is there a word or phrase that explains that the usage of "we" in some contexts does not necessarily mean "all of us"?

I need to explain to a person that the word "we" doesn't necessarily mean "all of us" in some contexts. For example, a speaker giving a speech may say,               "What we learned from the Great Depression was that....      Obviously, not every one to whom the speech is being delivered might have learned the same lessons from the Great Depression. Indeed there might be some who haven't even heard of the Great Depression. So the speaker, using the word "we", doesn't really mean "all of us". How is this _usage_ of "we" _described_? I know I can simply say "We doesn't necessarily mean 'all of us'", but I want to know if there is a better word or a phrase that can describe this usage of "we".


Meaning of the phrase "squeeze water from a stone"

What does the phrase "(to) squeeze water from a stone" mean? > Have you ever squeezed water from a stone?


Hypernym for "business", "company", "organization", "institution"

Is there a hypernym for the following terms?   * _Local business_   * _Company_   * _Organization_ or _institution_ ## Edit I am building a website where one can create a profile that will either be a Local Business, a company, an organization or an institution. At the moment I am using the general term `Profiles` but it does not sound very professional. I would like to stand away from the term Profiles if possible. I was also thinking about the term `Entity` but it's not very nice either.. Facebook is using the general term `Pages` (see here) but for them, a page can also be a brand, a cause, a community, etc...which is a bit different.


Term for space in a bank where tellers work

Is there a term for the work area inside a bank branch, the "behind the counter" area where tellers work and cash, checks, deposit slips, etc. are kept?


Is "[I am] possessed of impeccable grammar" correct, idiomatic, or ironic?

If it's a correct, non-idiomatic usage, is "possessed" an adjective, or...? What is "of" under that circumstance?


Mandatory date or binding date?

_Mandatory_ or _binding_ – which is the better word? Here is the context: I'm dealing with a contract that forces me to complete one task by a specific date. Is this a _mandatory date_ , or a _binding date_? Which word is better? Could you suggest an alternative word if one is more appropriate?


Ambiguity of "to be" + gerund

I would like to ask about a basic sentence that really confuses me. > My favorite sport is swimming. I think it is strange. "Swimming" can be interpreted as a gerund ("I like to swim; it is my favorite sport") but also as a verb ("What my favorite sport does is swim"). I would like to resolve the ambiguity, so _swimming_ can only be interpreted as a gerund. How do I go about that?


Is "must" ever grammatical as a past tense verb?

I have seen uses of _must_ that appear to be in the simple past tense. Sometimes these seem grammatical, but sometimes not. Examples that help illustrate my confusion: > _He knew he must go to New York_ \- sounds fine to me. > > _He went to New York because he must_ \- sounds questionable. > > _Because he must go to New York, he bought plane tickets_ \- sounds > completely ungrammatical. > > _He must go to New York_ \- grammatical, but with no other verbs to provide > context, can't interpret this as being past-tense. My question: is this past-tense use of _must_ ever acceptable? Is it only acceptable in certain contexts - if so, what are those contexts and why? (Note - I'm not looking for _had to_. _Have_ is a different verb, so _had to_ expresses the same meaning as the past tense of _must_ , but it itself is not the past tense of _must_.)


Is "looking to" acceptable English in this use?

Recently there is dramatic increase in the use of **_looking to_** _verb_ as in: > Jeff is looking to start something big. ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/s1PAS.png)   * Is this acceptable grammar?   * Why is it recently popular?   * What could best be used in its place?


Asking for a duel from someone avid in the other direction

> Anyway, I'm not gonna get too detailed here since I can easily go on forever > about Anime. However, bashing (or liking) the wrong Anime is like asking for > a duel from someone avid in the other direction... I just came across the sentence above from this page. I don't quite understand the second part of it, i.e., how should I interpret _bashing the wrong Anime is like asking for a duel from someone avid in the other direction_? I understand every word in the sentence, but I have a really hard time figuring out what the author wanted to convey. It seems to me that the author was imitating some popular style from a movie or a book that I might be not aware of.


Is it correct to say "more time"?

My teacher said today that it's incorrect to say "I need more time" in English. She said it is used widely but it is a slang. I don't agree with that as I encountered it often in English books, but after some searching in Google I didn't find confirmation or denial of this. Could you help me, please?


Wer, wie, was, wieso, weshalb, warum, all start with W in German. In English they don't, why?

> Wer, wie, was, wieso, weshalb, warum. Wer nicht fragt bleibt dumm.    This is the theme song to the German Sesame Street, IIRC It roughly translates to: > Who, how, what, why, why ,why. If you don't ask you stay stupid. Anyhow the German question words all start with **W**. English seems to have fewer words for the same meaning compared to German and one of them is an exception and does not start with **W**. Why? English and German are both Germanic languages. So what happened here? Also I did a quick check to be sure that **why** really has at least three counterparts in German. Did English have those and lost them? > Wer --> Who   >  Wie --> how   >  Was --> what   >  Wieso --> why   >  Weshalb --> why   >  Warum --> why   >


'To take something into account' vs. 'to take something into consideration'

OALD defines the expressions as follows: > **to take something into account** : to consider particular facts, > circumstances, etc. when making a decision about something > > **to take something into consideration** : to think about and include a > particular thing or fact when you are forming an opinion or making a > decision While they mean roughly the same thing, the word _consideration_ being marked as _formal_ leads me to believe that the difference between the two is purely stylistic. Am I right in thinking that the difference is just a matter of style? Please clarify that one for me.


Choosing Past Simple or Past Perfect: Do I need "had" here?

Do I need "had" here? If yes, do I need to change "did" to "done"? > A: Lucy accidentally broke her mum’s favorite cup yesterday. > > B: Oh! I think her mom was really angry at her, right? > > A: Not really. > > B: Why not? > > A: Well, as soon as she broke the cup she began to clean in the house. By > the time her mom came back from work Lucy **_had_** cleaned three rooms, > **_did_** all the dishes in the kitchen, and even mopped the staircase! Her > mom was very happy when she got home.


Could “Instead,” be used as the first word of a sentence without any following “of”?

Would the following sentence be correct? If not, I am looking for an adverb to express the meaning of “instead”. > Our team could have won the match if our coach had interchanged the goal > keeper after the collision. **Instead,** our coach decided to interchange an > attacker, which proved to be a bad team management decision. Can “Instead” and comma be used to begin a sentence, without any following “of”?


Proofreading / Grammar question

I would like to know what the correct answer to this question is, which has me stumped despite doing some research: ![enter image description here](http://i.stack.imgur.com/62xyx.png) The only thing I can think of is to go with b. and use 'extreme nut allergy' instead of 'extreme allergy to nuts', but it seems to me that that would actually create a misplaced modifier. The reference is the Chicago Manual of Style. Thanks.


How to pronounce the final “s” in plural nouns

Could you please help find which word below is pronounced differently from the rest with regard to the final _s_?   1. _caves_   2. _marks_   3. _exams_   4. _days_ I choose number 2, _marks_.


Difference between "résumé" and "CV"

What's the difference between _résumé_ and _CV_? When is _résumé_ used? And when is _CV_ used? Are they equivalent?


What is the meaning of "contribute" in the following context

What is the meaning of _contribute_ here? > Plug-ins can **contribute** actionSets extensions that define actions with > an ID, a label, an icon, and a class that implements the interface > IActionDelegate. The UI will present that label and icon to the user, and > when the user clicks on the item, the UI will instantiate the given action > class, cast it to IActionDelegate, and call its run() method.


What part of speech is "(noun) the (noun)"?

What part of speech is the part boldfaced in these sentences?   * **Chell the protagonist of Portal** is a woman.   * **Ludwig Wittgenstein the Austrian-British philosopher** worked primarily in logic.   * **Tim Berners-Lee the inventor of the World Wide Web** said "more you enter, the more you become locked in".


What is a word for a mean kind of happy?

What's a word for an emotion that's akin to happiness but felt by someone so mean that you doubt they're capable of true happiness? As "smirk" is to "smile", this word is to "happy".


difference between capacity and ability

What is the difference in meanings and nuances between "capacity" and "ability" as in the following newspaper article in The Washington Post of today. "Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday called the North Korean actions a “real and clear danger and threat” to the United States’ allies in the region, South Korea and Japan. “They have nuclear capacity now. They have missile delivery capacity now.” …The Pentagon declined to specify where the systems would come from. “Though we do have a limited number of THAAD units available for deployment, we are quite confident in our ability to rapidly redeploy this system as dictated by threat levels,” said Defense Department spokeswoman Lt. Col. Monica Matoush."


what does operator-dependent mean in medical term?

I am writing paper on liver transplantation. And one of the term I came across is **operator-dependent**. Can someone help me understand it please? I got the definition below from this site. I still need better definition so I understand it better. > **adj.** a characteristic of esoteric forms of faith healing that cannot be > verified scientifically because the healing process depends largely on the > special skills of the practitioner that preclude systemic investigation. In sentence. > The measurement of portal vein flow has typically been accomplished with a > Doppler effect-based ultrasound [2-3]. But, with this technique a precise > flow measurement at the portal vein is considered as one of the difficult > tasks due to its operator-dependent nature


Word for a smart and stubborn person?

I'm trying to find a single adjective that would fit the best to the following person's trait: > One who thinks knows everything/best, and often doesn't listen to orders and > instead completes some task his/her own way. This person, while intelligent, > is right about 50% of the time, when doing things its own way. So far I've thought of _independent_ , _idiosyncratic_ and _stubborn_ , but these words don't imply the "knows everything/best" part of the trait.


Are there any differences between "ascribe" and "attribute" when used as "because of"? The following two sentences, which one sounds more natural? > The fall in the number of deaths from heart disease is generally attributed > to improvements in diet. > > The fall in the number of deaths from heart disease is generally ascribed to > improvements in diet. Thanks.


'Correct' term for... upwards moving menu?

I posted a (technically inclined) question at StackOverflow — and I agree with a particular commentary, and we'd like to get your opinion. Here's my original question: > Dropdown menu. > > But ours open upward - 'popup', as in 'popup menu' has proved oddly > confusing to some of our business oriented folk. So we tried throwing in > 'vertical menu' and then.. this was a mistake.. 'vertical animating menu'.. > so what would you call it? And here's the original thread for our commentary. It'll be interesting to see what you all can come up with!


What is the proper term for describing all 50 states in the USA, without including territories etc

The 48 mainland state are referred to as the "contiguous united states", I can't seem to find the word for "All 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska, not including Guam and Puerto Rico". I can't help but feel like there should be a more professional term than "all of the states"


Grammatical term for topicizing in English: Thing, question/statement about thing

I'm looking for the name of a style of sentence construction. "That word; I do not think it means what you think it means." (I know that is not the correct quote. Moving on) ASL has a common structure of topicizing: presenting the emphasized part of a sentence first, and then talking about it: "CAT, DOG CHASE" means "The dog chased the cat", or more accurately, "The cat, the dog chased it". This emphasizes the cat rather than the more straightforward "DOG CHASE CAT". Is it just _anastrophe_ or **do we have a more specific term**?


Does the word after a question mark start with a capital letter?

1. Should I write it like this? Or perhaps like this?   2. Should I write it like this? or perhaps like this? What about after an exclamation mark or semicolon?


Plural of "Hypothesis"

_Hypothesis_ is the singular form of the word. What is the plural form of _hypothesis_? Context: The scientists formed not one hypothesis, but many [insert word here].


Why does binomial nomenclature seem to break case rules?

According to the Wiki page for binomial nomenclature, we are supposed to capitalize the first word when naming species regardless of where it occurs in the sentence. To me, this seem very incongruous with not only the English language but all languages that I know of which use Latin characters. So what is the justification for this (if any)? For example, I have a house cat but my biology teacher has a _Felis catus_. \-- I see where people may be having trouble with this now. I don't know if this is a rule or not but I can find no other real examples of capitalization being used like this. virmaior has shown me that there is a seldom used rule about Platonic forms which would apply if creatures where forms. That is not the case (they have actual bodies and so on) but perhaps that really is the best answer as incorrect as it may be. \-- Oldcat has brought up an interesting point below: > Felis is the proper name of the genus, not of any particular cat. We do > capitalize breeds of cats, like Persian and American Curl, because they are > the proper name of the group. This is similar to points made by a few others and may be related to Platonic forms. I'm still not seeing what would make the less specific term Felis catus capitalized while the more specific term catus by itself isn't (aside from the seemingly arbitrary explanation that Felis catus is a Platonic form while catus alone isn't)? Unfortunately, the fact that we then again begin capitalizing the even more specific breed name only confuses the issue further. Do you see my point? \-- It occurs to me that there may be multiple answers to this. In scientific technical writing it could be proper to use _Felis catus_ and in common usage it may be more proper to simply use felis catus (or possibly Felis Catus but not Felis catus because that would be a ridiculously arbitrary rule for a common language). It isn't lost on me that a very similar idea has been mentioned _several_ times but the difference is that here I'm accepting that these terms have, in fact, become part of the English language while rejecting binomial nomenclature as part of the English written language. Is that a common consensus? If it is then shouldn't there be a general rule about this instead of a bunch of specific cases where groups are considered proper nouns in some cases and improper nouns in others?


What's the term for expressions like "man's man" or "lawyer's lawyer"?

To indicate an exemplar or someone well-respected within their own group or occupation, sometimes you see expressions like "man's man" or "lawyer's lawyer." Is there a name for this construction? This isn't to be confused with someone who provides a service serving another in the same profession, like a lawyer defending another who's been sued. Some examples of the expression: Dennis Drabelle in the _Washington Post_ : > Enter Jack Tobin, a former Miami defense lawyer who made so much money > “defending insurance companies in personal injury actions” that he retired > early ... As the title of James Sheehan’s engaging thriller makes clear, > Jack is a **“lawyer’s lawyer,”** and the case against the convict, Thomas > Felton, cries out for a second look. Imran Amed in _The Business of Fashion_ : > As I later learned, Peter was a real **editor’s editor** , having mentored > and trained writers who would become key staffers at some of New York’s most > important and respected media organisations, from _The New Yorker_ to _The > New York Times_. Gregory P. Kane in _The Baltimore Sun_ : > Detective Brenda Leigh Higgs, a 15-year veteran, called Chief Johnson **"a > policeman's policeman"** who "hasn't forgotten what it's like to be a > policeman on the street."


A word that defines shy, but in a positive context

I'm looking for a word that describes _shy_ and _reserved_ , but not to portray weakness or one that has a negative connotation. > Being shy and reserved as an executive doesn't fit well for career > opportunities.


Is defined by vs. is contained

Say I have a definition and I am trying to find an English word that represents it, and I provide an example of said word (think word=fruit, example=apple). Someone gives me a word whose definition is a superset of mine (think food). How would I go about expressing "My example is _contained_ within the definition of the word you suggested."? _contained_ does not seem very sound here. I am looking for a word that is used commonly.


started+ verb vs. verb

Why most of the time some of the verbs(both infinitives and gerunds) are prefixed with the word started, is it a stylistic matter or does it give a better flow to the statement? Cant we use the base form of the verb without the word start? For example: > Recently in our school, they started teaching/to teach computer philosophy.


The opposite of a "nip" in the air?

What's the opposite of a nip in the air? Nip is for cold, what do we say for a slight hotness in the air?


"vermilion" or "vermillion"?

Which one has primacy in English: "vermilion" or "vermillion" (as a color) ? Both have entries in various dictionaries. Is the difference concerned with AmE/BrE ?


'As' for contiguous time

> "I could have told you that would happen before you even started," said Jane > as she sucked on the straw of her cola. In this sentence, Jane is obviously not performing a ventriloquist type act. The actions are not simultaneous but consecutive, but would _as_ work to express this? I could try, > "I could have told you that would happen before you even started," said > Jane, then she sucked on the straw of her cola. But here I have created a comma splice, and a semicolon just doesn’t seem to work. It separates the actions too much in time. Or I could try, > "I could have told you that would happen before you even started," said Jane > before she sucked on the straw of her cola. Again the same problem, I have separated the sense of the actions too much in time.


"of the feudal Estates type" or "of the feudal-Estates type"?

In one Wikipedia page I read this definition: > The zemsky sobor was the first Russian parliament of **_the feudal Estates > type_** , in the 16th and 17th centuries. I don't understand, why is there no hyphen between **_feudal_** and **_Estates_**? Is there any rule that would regulate the usage of hyphens in such cases?


What is the noun to refer to the 64- or 32-bit -ness of an operating system

I know that "processor architecture" can be used to refer to whether the processor is 32-bit or 64-bit (or something else), but what word can be used for the operating system? Note that it's not necessarily the same as the processor architecture, e.g. I can install a 32-bit OS on a 64-bit machine. Also, this is for a business document for non-technical people, so I'd like to avoid an overly technical terminology.


What's the difference between 'attaining awareness' and 'understanding of sensory information'?

the word 'perception' has two meaning in wikipedia: > perception is the process of **attaining awareness** or **understanding of > sensory information** example 1: > With microphones, cameras, accelerometers, compasses, temperature gauges, > and brightness detectors, smartphones have become extra-sensory devices, > able to augment your own **perceptions**. example 2: > cannot perceive it, out of **perception**. I think the example 1 take the first meaning and example 2 take the second. why i need to make this difference ? Because my teacher told me that Human perception is limited by the capacity of sense organs. which means we **cannot augment perception**. And yes, we human being can employ the man-made sensors, but actually it's the man-made sensors perceive the world, not us. they just told us the results, we didn't perceive it, we just know it. so, I want to know the actually meaning of 'perception'. if perception only means get information **from 5** normal sensors of human. then the example 1 is wrong!


'the fact that'

I used the following sentences having a statement of 'the fact that' Original sentence: 1) The effectiveness of MDPs for low-income women has been supported by the fact that women’s microenterprise has significantly increased their incomes, empowered them to gain autonomy in their family as well as improved the welfare of their families and children. 2) the fact that the addition of the social capital variables significantly increases the power from Model 1 to Model 2, 3, and 4 implies that social capital also contributes to the relationship between gender and business start-up. A reviewer of a journal asked me to eliminate 'the fact that'. Is using 'the fact that' reduntant? Could you give me alternative sentences not having 'the fact that'? What about 'despite the fact that'? Instead of this sentence, do I need to use 'although' to avoide using 'the fact that?' Thank you so much in advance.


Word meaning "close in time, or presently happening"

Is there a word that can be used to describe something that is either close in time, or currently happening? Something like "proximate" or "imminent", but without the implication that the thing has not happened/started happening yet.


How is cereal pronounced?

Which of the following ways is cereal (as in breakfast cereal) pronounced? > Serial, as in a serial number or > Se-real, where the "ce" is "se", not "see" (short "e").


Legos not LEGO?

I've seen many people make reference to LEGO as Legos. e.g. "I enjoy playing my Legos". But from my understanding this is incorrect and should be referred to simply as LEGO (in capitals as per company standards) i.e. "I enjoy playing with LEGO". There is no reference to the terms Legos on the official LEGO site at http://www.lego.com. Although there are hundreds of mentions in LEGO's official message board (search site:lego.com +legos). I also don't want to accept that individual pieces of a LEGO set can be referred to as Legos as the official site refers to these as "parts" (see http://us.service.lego.com/en-US/replacementparts/default.aspx). Also a collection of LEGO sets can't be referred to as Legos as these are also referred to as "sets" by the LEGO company. Is it correct to refer to LEGO in any denomination as Legos?


How to say "along the way" when I mean it literally?

I wanted to help a foreigner looking for his guide. I said: Go towards the church, you will meet your guide along the way. I meant that he would meet him while going towards the church. What should I say instead of along the way which I think is idiomatic?


Fiction and non-fiction references together

What is the best way to mix fictional and non-fictional references in a text eg; Billy and Mike are fictional and wrote a song (fictionally) that is sung by a singer played by an actress whose name is Dawn Waters. Can I say that _Dawn sang the song that Billy and Mike wrote_. I know I could say this in certain informal situations but what would be more correct for a more formal situation without getting totally technical.


Derogatory word or term for a peasant/lower class

What is a derogatory word or term for a peasant/lower-class person that is stronger or more insulting than _pleb_? It could be an archaic term used by nobles during the Middle Ages.


What does the phrase "God and my twin vicars" mean?

As you all may have figured out, I have an affection for Britishisms and peculiar colloquiaisms of British speech. Recently, I came across an inscrutable one watching the hilarious FX show _Archer_ , and so wondered if someone knowledgeable might decipher the meaning of the phrase "God and my twin vicars" for me. Now, something that complicates this question is that _Archer_ is meant to be a humorous show, which means that proper interpretation requires taking into account prior context. The relevant context here, as far as I can discern, is that one speaker, Captain Reginald Thistleton, is supposed to be a parody of an upper-class officer, and the other speaker, Woodhouse, is a former Lawrence-of-Arabia type who fought in the War as Thistleton's protege, and is now an aged manservant flashing back to his exploits. I've included a brief transcript for clarity; Thistleton is just emerging from his fighter plane: > THISTLETON: I say, Woodhouse!   >  WOODHOUSE: Yessir?   >  THISTLETON: The Hun' did a fair job of stitching up the old kite this time, > what.   >  WOODHOUSE: Thank God you're all right sir!   >  THISTLETON: **God and my twin vicars** , Woodhouse. Quart old Jerry au > chandelle[??]   >  Old bastard went down like a quail.   >  THISTLETON ( _exclaims_ ): You scoundrel! Is that brandy?   >  WOODHOUSE ( _beaming_ ): Thought you'd like a pick-me-up, sir.   >  THISLETON: Woodhouse! You're a rose among thorns. What does it mean? Would a native British English speaker easily recognize this reference?


Noun-adjective-noun: Can a noun phrase have an adjective in the middle?

Can a noun phrase have an adjective in the middle as in the following examples? >   1. car new tires >   2. salad high-calorie dressing >   3. house external wall >   4. nitrogen fine droplets > These examples seem ungrammatical to me, but the writer (who is not a native speaker of English) says that bringing the adjective to the front of the noun phrase would be incorrect, because, for example, in number 4, the droplets are fine, not the nitrogen. Are there any rules that govern this sort of thing? And is the potential of incorrect adjective-noun modification pointed out by the writer a legitimate issue?


What is the origin of “call a spade a spade” and does it have racial connotations?

Now that we know how to punctuate the phrase “call a spade a spade” I am curious where it originated and what the original meaning was. Also, the term “spade” can have negative racial connotations and a friend of mine told me that she thought the phrase did too. I’ve personally never heard it used in a derogatory way, but I figured this was the place to ask.


Is there any difference between "unproductive" and "nonproductive"?

If you can find any difference between "unproductive" and "nonproductive," could you explain that with some illustrative sentences?


Should the title of a short story have a comma after it if it is the subject of a sentence?

A friend of mine was asking me this question. She used the following sentence in her essay for her English class: "Harrison Bergeron" is a laughable read. However, her English professor marked this as wrong, stating that it should be the following: "Harrison Bergeron," is a laughable read. The subject of the sentence is obviously the short story "Harrison Bergeron," which must be in quotation marks. The rule that I understand is that after a quotation, suppose it is anywhere but the end of a sentence, there must be a comma before the closing quotation mark. But, what about a short story/poem title? As my friend began to write a paper summarizing two plays, she wrote the names of the plays in the following way: Unlike _The Taming of the Shrew_ , the protagonist in _A Doll House_ , does not have a husband that wishes to gain his wife's love and respect. I can understand the usage of the comma after the first play, as it is the end of a dependant clause. However, she put the comma after _A Doll House_ for the purpose of not having her professor mark this as wrong. This is not in quotations, but if the rule for commas applies for short stories, does it carry over into this context?


What is the difference between "universal" and "generic"?

I hear lots of time the words `universal` and `generic` being used in similar contexts (especially in software engineering) - what is the difference between them?