Questions tagged [ambiguity]
This tag is for questions about words or phrases that have multiple meanings and can thus be understood in different ways. If your question is about different words that can be easily mixed up or confused use the tag CONFUSABLES instead.
1,122
questions
0
votes
1
answer
35
views
Ambiguous ownership when discussing multiple character body parts
Up front apologies for the vague title, happy for editing suggestions on that as I'm not sure how else to describe it. Apologies again.
I have come across a few situations where in a simple sentence I'...
- 1,091
0
votes
3
answers
1k
views
If I say that someone was mean to me, does that imply that they were conscious of it?
The dictionary doesn't help me with an answer. It gives me other words which may or may not require intent.
mean (adjective)
unkind, spiteful, or unfair.
To be spiteful requires intent, to be unfair ...
0
votes
1
answer
45
views
Adjective describing multiple nouns [duplicate]
A term used in a contract stated this "Specialist oils or spark plugs may be required for your vehicle's service. Specialist oil is at a set cost of £24 whilst if recommended Spark Plugs will be ...
0
votes
0
answers
18
views
Term for words meaning both a concept or its best form. Ex: "principles" means "virtue" or "any morals" (good or bad) [duplicate]
These might also be examples:
"logic/reason" as in "valid logic" or "any logic".
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
81
views
Understanding Epictetus' burning down of the Capitol
Excerpt from Epictetus' Discourses, Book I, Chapter 8 (emphasis mine):
You know, I once said the same thing to Musonius when he reproached me for not discovering the omission in a certain syllogism. ...
- 233
1
vote
5
answers
512
views
Difference between "lift" and "lift off" in Feynman Lectures
Here's Figure 4.1:
And an excerpt from the Feynman Lectures on Physics Chapter 4.2:
A very simple weight-lifting is shown in Fig. 4-1. This machine lifts three units "strong". We place ...
- 233
0
votes
1
answer
260
views
Meaning of some words
The closing decades of an artist’s life do not generally make the biographer’s heart beat faster, but Claude Monet is one of a handful of painters who bucks the pattern of an irrelevant old age. While ...
0
votes
1
answer
242
views
Two consecutive sentences starting with the same word. The words have different meaning. How to make an emphasis on the correct meaning?
I work on a technical manual where each separate rule is followed by an example. (Actually, each rule is followed by two examples, a correct one and a wrong one. The wrong ones are skipped for brevity....
- 555
0
votes
1
answer
83
views
Disambiguation of a sentence
I am working on a math problem where I need some help with the English to finish my solution.
I have an ambiguous sentence:
At least one student attended every lecture.
My attempt to disambiguate ...
- 103
0
votes
0
answers
24
views
Is there ambiguity in "by each" in this context?
The sentence:
"Find all malls that have been visited by each student attending Wolf
Secondary School"
I've recently encountered a question like this on a Computer Science test and ...
0
votes
0
answers
144
views
Ambiguous question
I came across a whatsapp message a few years ago about a question framed in a manner that no matter what the person answers they will be considered that thing they want to deny being. Unfortunately, I ...
1
vote
3
answers
74
views
What would you understand if someone told you "you don't pay your tailor enough"? [closed]
It seems that it can be interpreted in a positive or negative way. Positive in the sense that your dress looks great and you should pay the tailor even more. Negative in the sense that the dress looks ...
- 119
8
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Does calling something a 'Novelty Act' bring down its image? [closed]
I'm really confused with this one, if one calls some performance a 'Novelty Act' does it imply they're trying lower its image or is it just neutral?
Well, I looked it up on the internet and it says ...
- 135
0
votes
1
answer
152
views
“In cases where” vs. “If”
Garner's Modern English Usage (2016), p. 147:
H.W. Fowler wrote of case: "There is perhaps no single word so freely resorted to as a trouble-saver, and consequently responsible for so much ...
- 555
0
votes
0
answers
251
views
Want- desire vs lack
When do you use want as "desire" and as "lack?" It appears quite often in texts, and I have a hard time differentiating the two.
For example:
The want of Miss Taylor would be felt ...
0
votes
3
answers
120
views
What do adverbs modify and can it be ambiguous?
I have two questions, but first consider the following sentence:
Cutlery includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture.
Does adverb '...
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
43
views
How to simplify this complex syntax and ambiguous word usage? [closed]
I couldn't understand a sentence in a literary work which is too complex and containing too much terminology. Can you help me understand the sentence by just simplifying or re-organazing or re-...
- 117
0
votes
2
answers
85
views
What is the right way to avoid antecedent ambiguity?
I want to convey the idea that the actor worked in Quentin Tarantino's films in his early days --> early days of the actor, not Tarantino.
Which version is correct?
He worked in three other films ...
- 109
4
votes
1
answer
538
views
Can "If" mean "since"?
Here's my example: "If we all agree on the basic terms, can we do a proper agreement next week."
Can this be construed (in the proper context) as: "Since we all agree, can we etc."?...
- 419
0
votes
1
answer
35
views
"If you really need to do so, change it back as soon as possible"
The default value of X is "Off" and it's generally discouraged to change it. If you really need to do so, change it back as soon as possible.
to do so refers to the act of changing the ...
- 555
-1
votes
2
answers
175
views
What does the fourth number refer to here？ [closed]
John locked his bike with a 4-digit combination lock several months ago, and he cannot recall the
correct combination. Each digit is one of the numbers 0, 1, 2, ..., 9. John only knows that each of ...
0
votes
2
answers
309
views
How to clarify what you mean by "Standard Time" in relation to time zones?
It seems like the term "Standard Time" in the context of describing a time zone is ambiguous. For example "Pacific Standard Time" could either mean:
As distinct from "...
- 865
2
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What does "Can I help you?" really mean?
I am a non-native English speaker. Whenever I travel to the States and I sometimes hear the question, "Can I help you?"
At first, I thought it was a sincere eagerness to help me. However, ...
- 937
2
votes
2
answers
157
views
In trouble understanding contexts from Pride And Prejudice [closed]
Elizabeth could safely say that it was a great happiness where that was the case, and with equal sincerity could add, that she firmly believed and rejoiced in his domestic comforts. She was not sorry, ...
- 23
0
votes
1
answer
51
views
Is this sentence ambiguous? ("it is not" followed by -ing)
English is not my first language. I found the following sentence:
It is not having fear that is the problem.
Am I right thinking that it is ambiguous? I can think of the following different meanings:...
- 3
0
votes
2
answers
333
views
Again on "Either"... does it mean "both"? [duplicate]
I'm aware that the meaning of either can be:
Any of two options
Both the options
It depends from the context ...
This is the context, an official rule from the UK government:
When you arrive at the ...
- 113
0
votes
0
answers
82
views
Ambiguous joke?
I want to refer to "a nice lawyer joke", where the joke is nice, not the lawyer. How can I do that unambiguously? Is it best to rephrase to something like "a nice joke about lawyers&...
- 499
0
votes
3
answers
118
views
Can I mix up plural with singular to resolve pronoun ambiguity?
I have here a sentence with an ambiguous antecedent.
Computers have larger screens than smartphones, the reason why they are still necessary.
The pronoun "they" can refer back to "...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
65
views
How can I construct phrases only to work with one of Given, When, or Then?
I think the following is a problem which falls firmly between two stools, so please forgive me if this is the wrong place, but I think it's more of a linguistic question than a computer question.
...
- 151
1
vote
0
answers
42
views
In some dictionaries paradigmatic is more closely related to standard than to conventional,why? [closed]
I am confused why some dictionaries show conventional and standard both as a synonym to paradigmatic while most only show standard as a synonym. Does standard and conventional means something ...
- 13
0
votes
1
answer
89
views
Have I not understood what "several" means?
This figure can be derived by assuming that out of the 42 million bitcoin wallet addresses on the blockchain, several are no longer in use and that many users occupy several wallets.
Emphasis mine. ...
1
vote
2
answers
104
views
'be sick' : defective verb [closed]
George is being sick means 'George is bringing up food from his
stomach'; George is sick means 'George is ill'. However, George was
sick can mean either George brought up food from his stomach or ...
- 2,491
0
votes
0
answers
153
views
About the words "anything but"
I am unsure about the possible meaning(s) of this phrase. Does a sentence like
"She did anything but sleep"
mean something like she is a very dilligent or very lazy person depending on ...
- 1
-1
votes
1
answer
773
views
Is ill-qualified even a term?
I know the words unqualified, disqualified. But is the term 'ill-qualified' right grammatically? In some articles I have seen that they used it to say people who are not competent enough and in some ...
- 99
0
votes
1
answer
59
views
Can you please explain the significance of "problems" at the end of the sentence?
I wrote a mail asking for some job to be done at the earliest. I was replied with "I'll do it this afternoon, problems." I don't understand the meaning of that extra "problems" at ...
0
votes
2
answers
623
views
What is the difference between "all butter" vs "butter"?
Japan had a lower consumption of butter compared with Russia.
Japan had a lower consumption of all butter compared with Russia.
Do the two sentences above mean the same? please explain
Japan had a ...
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Ambiguity in the sentence "In case of fire, do not use elevator."
The aforementioned sentence arises in an assignment of the course Introduction to Mathematical Thinking, where the notion of literary ambiguity is made explicit in our everyday use of language. ...
- 121
0
votes
0
answers
33
views
as strong and fast as you might be, a wise ninja knows his greatest strength comes from the people who care for them
I was wondering "as... as you might be" refers to "even though you think you are strong.
And if I change "as strong as you might be" to " to "as strong as you can be&...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
56
views
contextual meaning of "dynamics"
In the following sentence, what is contextual meaning of "dynamics"?
The sharing economy has sadly proven that the pathologies of the
physical world all too often carry over to the platform,...
- 223
0
votes
3
answers
154
views
Ambiguous prepositional phrase in a legal document [closed]
In common speech or writing, disambiguation of objects of prepositional phrases can be inferred from context. However, there is no room for error in filling out legal documents! I came across this ...
0
votes
2
answers
313
views
Only one vs. One and only one
Suppose that someone proposes "only Jenny can eat this cookie".
Is this proposition saying that Jenny can indeed eat this cookie and no one else can? (1)
Or is this proposition actually ...
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
47
views
Meaning and Usage of "comma" and "claimed"
Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the State Commission shall have jurisdiction—
(a) to entertain—
(i) complaints where the value of the goods or services and compensation, if any, claimed
...
- 31
1
vote
0
answers
27
views
Ambiguity in "translated" as an adjective?
Suppose I have a German document that has been translated to produce an English document.
It seems that there are two sensible ways to interpret the following request:
"Give me the translated ...
- 792
1
vote
1
answer
29
views
Meaning of ‘following’ in the extract [closed]
Could anyone please clarify the meaning of ‘following‘ in the extract below. For me, it refers to not the Wednesday immediately after the Tuesday but rather the Wednesday of the next week - ‘the ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
333
views
4
votes
5
answers
589
views
Kiss me for 100 dollars? [closed]
I am baffled by the usage of "for" in the following sentence:
A girl asks a guy "Would you kiss me for 100 dollars?"
Does she mean:
A: You kiss me and you get 100 dollars
or
B: ...
- 41
0
votes
0
answers
40
views
a word that describes this phenomenon : 'the constituents are attributed a term, but the usage of the term does not imply the constituents'
Here's a puzzle : I'm looking for a word (or a phrase) that describes the case where the components belong to a term, but the term does not essentially map back to the components.
I think it has ...
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What does 'worn smooth' mean?
I am reading an article on this link, and in one part, it says 'patterns of thought and movement worn smooth with use'. I searched, and couldn't find a definition for 'wearing smooth'. Does it mean '...
- 129
0
votes
2
answers
818
views
"Do my best for something to happen" is grammatically correct?
“I did my best for them to add (something) in the list” is that a grammatically correct way to convey the intended meaning, which is (I convinced them) to add that thing to the list?
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
107
views
This sentence seems too ambiguous to me. I don't get the meaning
"But in the harsh light of hindsight it's uncomfortable how often the writers' stabs at bitter-little-pill realism - a sort of kitchen-sink Tolkien - tip over into edgy nihilism for nihilsm's ...
- 129