Topics having to do with multiple meanings of a word or phrase.
2
votes
2answers
137 views
How to determine if an attribute applies to a group or a specific individual
I am in the middle of an argument, and therefore trying to figure out the breakdown of the definition:
a member of a military group devoted to engineering work
which appears in Merriam-Webster's ...
3
votes
3answers
530 views
Ambiguous use of infinitive after “It's needed”
After writing this sentence, I found myself thinking that its meaning may be a little confusing to other people:
It’s needed to make clear some issues regarding absences.
I used the phrase to ...
3
votes
2answers
233 views
Is “Betty learned that Albert telephoned after Isaiah visited” ambiguous?
Betty learned that Albert telephoned after Isaiah visited.
Can anybody explain whether "after Isaiah visited" tell us: (1) when Betty learned something about Albert or (2) when Albert telephoned?
...
10
votes
4answers
387 views
Ambiguous connotation of “just” - How do natives interpret these?
First of all, these questions are a bit related but not what I'm actually asking about:
Is “I just spent all my money” grammatically incorrect?
“I just ate them” and “I've just eaten them” - What's ...
2
votes
3answers
230 views
Multiple 'as' (subordinate conjunction) in the same sentence [closed]
Performance is poor as losses have increased and are projected to remain negative going forward as the company works through problem assets and realizes related expense.
Is this sentence correct? ...
5
votes
10answers
287 views
How to avoid ambiguous wording: “Each has the same number of each type of flower”
I'm editing a math word problem that has the following ambiguous set up.
A florist has 18 carnations, 24 daisies, and 12 lilies. She wants to
make flower arrangements that each have the same ...
2
votes
4answers
239 views
Ambiguity of “We discourage X from doing Y by using Z” [closed]
Given the sentence,
We discourage people from committing crimes by using law enforcement, religion and education.
I see two possible interpretations:
[We discourage people by using law ...
2
votes
1answer
166 views
Usage of “make it” in this context [closed]
Consider the following sentence . My boss (say Mr X) wrote this to me in an email and before this paragraph he actually gave a list of items that I need to work on :
We will have a Webex meeting ...
-2
votes
1answer
113 views
Ambiguity in “free shipping of the product” [closed]
Trying to write a mail in English I have a problem with the following sentence:
Only free shipping of the product will be asked
I tried many ways to tell that using other words, other ...
1
vote
6answers
928 views
What does “don't shoot yourself in the foot” mean? [closed]
What does "Don’t shoot yourself in the foot" mean?
Unfortunately, most salary decisions are based on perceived performance, not on actual performance. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot.
5
votes
2answers
105 views
What does the phrase “a fine one” mean in this context?
In one one Daniil Kharms' short stories, Tikakeyev “insults” Koratygin by saying:
A fine one you are!
This causes a fight between the two. When I first read this, I didn't see the “insult”, ...
53
votes
14answers
3k views
How to avoid ambiguity in “I am renting an apartment in New York”?
Does the sentence:
I am renting an apartment in New York.
imply that I am the landlord or the tenant?
How can I unequivocally communicate that I am the tenant (or the landlord)?
13
votes
5answers
678 views
What to call it when someone takes something the most negative possible way
Is there a word for the situation when someone takes something said in the most negative possible way, basically stretching what is said to fit the negative meaning that they desire it to mean.
...
0
votes
2answers
328 views
Can “myself” stand for both “me” and “I” in “my mother and I/me”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When is it correct to use “yourself” and “myself” (versus “you” and “me”)?
In one of my older questions I asked for an ...
1
vote
3answers
1k views
A word to describe a situation where something said has multiple meanings? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
A word with a wide range of meanings
Is there a word that describes a situation where someone says something that has multiple meanings? or can be taken multiple ways.
...
4
votes
3answers
293 views
“Principle” or “Principal”?
I was solving a grammar exercise from the book, Word Power Made Easy, when I came across this question
A feeling of one's worth is one of the principle/principal goals of
psychological therapy.
...
1
vote
0answers
396 views
Words that contain other words but which aren't anagrams [closed]
What are words that contain other, often contradictory words or phrases, such as "manslaughter" ("man's laughter") or "therapist" ("the rapist")? I found "to get her" ("together") on another site. No ...
3
votes
2answers
316 views
Can “show-stopper” have a negative connotation?
If not, what word do I mean to use when I use "show-stopper" negatively?
It seems that in high-tech culture a show-stopper is a development problem that prevents forward progress, or an unacceptable ...
5
votes
1answer
322 views
Is it offensive when using the word 'animals' (in this context)?
I have read this question on Travel.SE, and I am kinda confused about the use of the word animals in that question:
These are entirely different classes of travel. Portugal+Spain is an easy trip ...
6
votes
4answers
712 views
Difference between “robot”, “machine”, and “automaton”
What is the difference in meaning between a robot, a machine, and an automaton? I was inspired to ask this because I really can’t understand the subtle (or not so subtle) difference in meaning here.
...
4
votes
6answers
299 views
“Obstacles along the road to success” vs. “obstacles across the road to success”
My sister got this question for one of her tests.
There are many obstacles __ the road to success.
Her options were:
across
along
I initially thought that across would make more ...
0
votes
5answers
322 views
What does the title of the movie “The Man from Earth” mean?
Someone told me: "Here 'earth' means 'cave'. 'Man from earth' means 'caveman'."
I doubt that. I can't find any dictionary supporting that explanation.
However, the word "earth" does have multiple ...
1
vote
2answers
1k views
The etymology of “religion” comes from “legere” meaning to read + “re” meaning again. Or does it? (more inside) [closed]
The etymology of religion as mentioned in the title comes from Etymonline.
And that's very interesting. It makes sense too.
My question is, how do the phrases, "to read", "to choose", "to gather", ...
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?
1
vote
1answer
442 views
What does “get to” mean?
I know there are a lot of meanings to the verb "get", so I am unable to understand which one is used in the following sentence:
They had a baby which was different, so it got to live.
I know ...
6
votes
5answers
771 views
Is “SSA triangle problems may have zero or two solutions.” an ambiguous statement?
A test I took included the question
True or false: SSA triangle problems may have zero or two solutions.
SSA triangles, as was taught in the lesson, can have zero solutions, one solution, or ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
What's the meaning of 'squared away' here?
We had a death in the family this weekend, so I haven't had the time to spend on this... We've the funeral next weekend, so hopefully we can get squared away before Friday...
Looking it up at ...
0
votes
2answers
1k views
How would you parenthetically cite an author that appears twice in a works cited page? MLA
How would you parenthetically cite an author that appears twice in a works cited page?
I would like to cite Wachs. Here is a piece of my works cited:
Wachs, Juan, Helman Stern, Yael Edan, Michael ...
4
votes
5answers
1k views
“To be in limbo”: Explanation needed
I have asked an English well versed friend to translate an usual expression in my mother tongue (as is, not so relevant for the post) who prompted me: To be in limbo.
The only relevant point is that ...
1
vote
2answers
366 views
“adjective noun noun”: which noun does the adjective refer to (“electrical system operators”) [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How does the hyphen change the meaning in expressions like “high performance” and “high-performance”?
Is there a grammar rule behind the hyphen in the phrase 'one-act play'?
...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Close to home = quite accurate?
Citing Wikipedia:
Many actuaries were unhappy with the stereotypical portrayals of these
actuaries as unhappy, math-obsessed and socially inept people; others
have claimed that the portrayals ...
4
votes
4answers
8k views
Does the term “within 7 days” mean include the 7th day? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is “in [some period]” different from “within [some period]”?
The title states it all: When an author says "within 7 days", does the author mean ...
2
votes
4answers
165 views
“I want it rather than him”?
What's a good way to write a sentence like the following:
I want it rather than him.
where I mean that "I want (to have) it rather than him (having it)," and don't want the sentence to be ...
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Meaning of “game of thrones”
What exactly does game of thrones mean? It is being translated into my native language (Czech) as a game in which one might win one of the many thrones, but to me it sounds more like a game in which ...
2
votes
1answer
87 views
Parse tree of “several more successful books”
Let us consider the following sentence:
After that first attempt, she wrote several more successful books.
Does this mean she wrote several additional books that were also successful? Or that ...
1
vote
3answers
480 views
'Supposing', 'Let us suppose': differences in hypothetical sentences
Are there differences in meaning between the sentences below?
Supposing they had taken your car without asking you, what would you
have done?
Let us suppose they had taken your car without ...
11
votes
3answers
352 views
Is this an example of a zeugma?
The following joke is well-known for its ambiguity, with some variation in the animals used:
Would you rather a bear ate you or a snake?
When the answerer responds something along the lines of, ...
5
votes
1answer
682 views
Is “to have to do something with” ambiguous?
I am struggling with understanding of this structure. So here is something I would need to explain:
It has to do something with the car. [It is related to the car somehow.]
But what if I want to ...
5
votes
1answer
362 views
Ambiguity of “Lindsey told Jessica that she had cancer”
Lindsey told Jessica that she had cancer.
Who had cancer? Is there any rule in English to claim it definitely?
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 ...
3
votes
2answers
204 views
Where to put an adjective to avoid ambiguity?
The essence of this question is not about style. It is foremost about avoiding ambiguity.
The sentence is "She called me." If I want to use the word "sniffling" to describe the caller, where should I ...
4
votes
8answers
370 views
Nested parentheticals — restructuring for clarity
It's widely known that the name "JavaScript" is trademarked by Oracle (formerly a trademark of Sun, formerly a trademark of Netscape).
What was formerly a trademark of Netscape?
Sun?
Oracle?
...
2
votes
3answers
213 views
How to denote a larger distance
Suppose I have some measurement with interferometer number 1, let's call the result A, and another measurement with interferometer number 2, let's call that one B. Suppose that always A>B (in some ...
0
votes
1answer
438 views
Is “in [some period]” different from “within [some period]”?
Q1: "I'll finish this job within 5 days" definitely means the job is expected to cost 5 days or less. However, does "I'll finish this job in 5 days" mean exactly the same?
Q2: Can we say, "I'll ...
0
votes
2answers
210 views
How do I clean up this ambiguous sentence? [closed]
I wish to express that art is self-indulgence, and that one shouldn't expect others to care about your art. I need to sum up this idea in a curt phrase suitable for a point in a list. The phrase I've ...
-2
votes
1answer
230 views
In Legal English (law) is there an authoritative meaning to “over the age of ‘X’”? [closed]
[This is a question about Legal English, that is, English language used in legal writing, not about strict usage of English outside of legal writing. —DN]
In Legal English what does “over the age of ...
1
vote
2answers
6k views
What does “Let me know if the problem persists” exactly mean? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When are “if” and “whether” equivalent?
Which one is the correct meaning of "Let me know if the problem persists."? Or is it ambiguous?
If the ...
3
votes
5answers
288 views
Does this type of grammatical construction give an ambiguous meaning?
A girl was found in a house belonging to one of two criminals; is it correct to express this in the following way:
The girl was found in one of the criminals' houses.
Does the plural use of 'house' ...
2
votes
4answers
523 views
Is “once you stop to think about it” ambiguous?
I tripped over a phrase in a book similar to "Once you stop to think about it, the existence of rainbows is pretty amazing."
Now, in context, it is pretty clear that I am supposed to stop my usual ...
0
votes
4answers
386 views
“Everything is not…”
I keep hearing people say everything is not… which frustrating because it is ambiguous. It could mean either
Nothing is… (for the set of all things, no thing is…)
or
Not everything is… (for ...
