1
vote
1answer
96 views

“My late friends” — they're not dead!

Context: We're discussing about how we used to get penalized in school for being late to classes, many years ago. I wanted to say: In my old school, it was hilarious to see my late friends get ...
0
votes
1answer
46 views

Objectivity vs. Objectivism vs. Objectiveness [closed]

What are some clear-cut distinctions between objectivity, objectivism, and objectiveness?
1
vote
5answers
102 views

“stop to do something” vs. “continue to do something”

A transcript of a recent speech by Barack Obama contains the following sentence: Boston police, firefighters, and first responders as well as the National Guard responded heroically, and continue ...
-2
votes
1answer
113 views

“to spread over” vs. “to spread across” [closed]

I doubt whether I should use "over" or "across" for a liquid spreading "along" a surface.
2
votes
1answer
96 views

Justice as a title … where does it come from?

In the US supreme court judges, among others, are called "justice [name]". Where is this use rooted? Obviously the term comes from Latin "justitia" originally, but that means justice as in the the ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views

The meaning of: “Why don't you just beat it?”

I would like to know what does this phrase means: "Why don't you just beat it?" My dictionary says only that: beat it: get lost Can you beat it? : Do you get it?
2
votes
4answers
545 views

Words with multiple uses

I was posed a question the other day: "Can you think of a word that can be used as a Noun, Verb or an Adjective?" One such word would be "light". Is there a rule for identifying such words? (See ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views

What the British say vs. What the British mean [closed]

There's an amusing email being sent round which has some common phrases British people use and others mis-interpret. I was actually shocked at how I often use these phrases without giving any thought. ...