Topics having to do with multiple meanings of a word or phrase.
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
2answers
108 views
And/or in total negation: “Some people are not able to interpret and/or analyze”
In the following sentence, the “and/or” seems odd in a case of total negation:
Evidently some people are not able to interpret and/or analyze at that deeper level.
Because the sentence says “are not ...
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 ...
2
votes
2answers
123 views
What is the term for this ambiguous sentence?
I apologize that I don't know how to search for this question--it may be a duplicate, or maybe I just should have learned it in English class!
I'm a teacher, and in another StackExchange, I wrote the ...
2
votes
4answers
322 views
Semantic or pragmatic ambiguity?
When one says "Do you want a cup of coffee?" he can mean:
either an informative question — "Do you feel a desire to a cup of coffee?",
or a polite offer — "I can make you a cup of coffee if you ...
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? ...
2
votes
4answers
546 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
3answers
216 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
520 views
Interpreting the meaning of 'but' as an implication for exclusion/inclusion
I often find it difficult to interpret the meaning of but in some of the sentences where it is used to imply exclusion/inclusion. For example: Drink everything you want but alcohol.
Also, sometimes ...
2
votes
1answer
46 views
“Feeling well” adverb ambiguity
Am I just crazy, or is there some ambiguity in the phrase "feeling well"?
Example:
Billy has a genetic defect that causes him to lose sensation in his fingertips every few days, or so. "How are you ...
2
votes
1answer
71 views
“sallow complexion”
In Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, in several places he describes people having a "sallow complexion".
According to Collins dictionary:
Sallow
(esp of human skin) of an unhealthy pale or ...
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
4answers
244 views
Does the word “Loyal” have other meaning than “remaining faithful to somebody/something and supporting them or it?
I found the following definition in the answer to “What are pimps and hoes?” in Music Genres Questions in Wiki.answer.com.:
“A pimp is a loyal person who pimps out girls of so called hoes
...
2
votes
1answer
51 views
What does a “visiting writer” mean?
From wiki page about Michael Crichton":
In 1988, Crichton was a visiting writer at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology
What does exactly the term visiting writer mean?
Does it mean he ...
2
votes
1answer
539 views
Phrase and word-order meaning
I know that "only" and "just" and word-order are oft-mentioned topics on here, but word-order for phrases and meanings - don't both of these mean different things?
Here is an example of how word ...
2
votes
0answers
160 views
Shakespeare: “Asses are made to bear” [closed]
When Petruchio invites Katherine to sit on his lap, she replies, "Asses are made to bear, and so are you." (Taming of the Shrew Act II, Scene 1.)
The denotation is clear, donkeys (Equus africanus ...
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.
...
1
vote
6answers
934 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.
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", ...
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.
...
1
vote
4answers
241 views
What does this mean: “Avoid oral calcium, dairy products, shark cartilage & exercise during the medication.”
I found this behind a medicine. At first thought, the sentence looks like it suggests avoiding exercise during the medication. However, I remember reading somewhere that in US English, when there is a ...
1
vote
2answers
112 views
Meaning and etymology of “down with”
I've searched a lot and found out that down with as a slang phrase means "being in an agreement with something". On the other hand, I know that it also means "death upon something".
So in a sentence ...
1
vote
3answers
481 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 ...
1
vote
2answers
71 views
Is the title ambiguous?
I am writing a paper for a conference, and I am a bit worried about correctness of the title that I chose.
The title is "Energy Functions of X and their Existence Conditions"
Where X is long ...
1
vote
2answers
73 views
Multiple Instances of Same Noun: Does the use of “that” distinguish between them?
Consider the following sentence taken from some co-operative housing rules:
"Any costs of repairing a suite are the responsibility of the owner of a suite, which could be a different suite from ...
1
vote
1answer
83 views
What is the meaning of “He was a myth made man”?
I can't understand the meaning. Is it "He was a mythical person" or "He was a myth that became a man"?
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
...
1
vote
5answers
104 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
62 views
Parenthetical statement that expresses a condition
I am studying a book and one of the lines (which was written in the 30's) is,
We had admitted that we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
My question is ...
1
vote
1answer
153 views
Guidelines for interpretation of “all but a few”
For a clause of the type [all but a few X] [Y], there seem to be two possible interpretations. The first one is "Y is the case for all things/people/places, except for a few X," as in the following ...
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 ...
1
vote
2answers
99 views
Antedecent of “its” in “the dog attacked the cat and its friends” [duplicate]
The dog attacked the cat and its friends.
Does the sentence imply that the dog attacked the cat and the cat's friends or that it attacked the cat and the dog's friends?
How would one properly ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
deep roll of blue at the tops
I want some help with my question about the meaning of “deep roll of blue at the tops”:
"The men were dressed in blue, of the same shade as their hats, and wore well-polished boots with a deep ...
1
vote
1answer
87 views
Meaning of “Apply at 4–6 weekly intervals”
I purchased some fungicide. The instructions on the back of the bottle say "Apply at 4–6 weekly intervals."
Does that mean it should be applied 4–6 times a week? Or every 4–6 weeks?
1
vote
3answers
410 views
Meaning of “saved my sanity” [closed]
What is the meaning of the phrase saved my sanity?
I attempted another sip and winced. He smiled and poured more water in my drink to dilute it. It ruined the scotch but saved my sanity.
The ...
1
vote
3answers
138 views
additional local and domestic long distance minutes are $0.10 per minute [closed]
All airtime is billed by the second after the first minute, additional local and domestic long distance minutes are $0.10 per minute.
My phone company and I are arguing over the use of the word ...
1
vote
2answers
373 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'?
...
1
vote
2answers
122 views
“My job is not to worry about those people” — what does “not” refer to?
In the famous leaked video, Mitt Romney says
My job is not to worry about those people
An equivalent sentence probably is
It is not my job to worry about those people
Some media in my home ...
1
vote
3answers
94 views
Is “have not worked here for a long time” ambiguous?
I have not worked here for a long time/for many years.
Is it ambiguous? Which of the two below is the correct meaning?
I have been working here, but only for a short period of time.
I once ...
1
vote
1answer
122 views
“much too [something]” vs “too much [something]”
Which are the differences in meaning and usage between the two expressions "much too [something]" and the most common "too much [something]"?
Are they completely interchangeable?
i.e.: "much too ...
1
vote
1answer
100 views
What is the average number of meanings for a word in English?
Many words have multiple meanings. Sometimes they are related (like "theory" as opposed to "practice", versus "theory" as in "scientific theory"), but sometimes they’re completely different (like ...
1
vote
1answer
395 views
Word-order and meaning - which is correct for this notice? [closed]
I'm creating some signs for the office car park, and one of these signs is to control access. What I'm trying to get it to indicate is that cars aren't permitted between 10 am and 4pm except for ...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
Is there a technical term for when verbs in a sentence appear as if they have been swapped around? [closed]
Is there a technical term for when verbs in a sentence appear as if they have been swapped around as in the example here?
'her fingers creased in gold [and] her body ringed in folds'
In this ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
For the title alone
Someone has voted for one of my questions with this comment:
+1 for the title alone.
Which of these two possible meanings is the most correct:
The title itself is so nice that I would have ...
1
vote
1answer
444 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 ...
1
vote
3answers
584 views
“All X are not made equal” - ambiguous meaning?
A phrase commonly heard in English (at least informal English) is something like the following:
Well, this car is good, but all cars are not made equal!
This would be commonly understood by most ...
1
vote
2answers
650 views
How to interpret this kind of sentence?
I have a question related to an example sentence below. I always have slight doubt in interpreting sentences which have this kind of clauses being connected.
Consider this sentence:
The book ...
1
vote
1answer
402 views
Is this sentence ambiguous?
I was reading my apartment lease recently, and I came across this sentence in the rent section:
"Lessee will pay a penalty of $16.00 for rent that is unpaid before the 6th of the month."
The ...
1
vote
1answer
205 views
Present perfect or past simple? [duplicate]
I know the basic rules about using PP and PS (like specified time in the past etc.) but in some cases, it is not clear to me:
I have finished painting. - present perfect, I just announce that.
I ...
1
vote
0answers
145 views
What does 'next Monday' mean? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Which day does “next Tuesday” refer to?
Meaning of “last/this/next Monday”
Scenario: You get a phone call on Wednesday, saying "you have to report
to X next ...
