Topics having to do with multiple meanings of a word or phrase.
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)?
25
votes
4answers
7k views
How to answer a negative question without ambiguity?
I faced a problem to answer a negative question, for example When someone ask you:
Don't you have any money?
It's a yes/no question but how should one answer the question without ambiguity?
...
21
votes
3answers
3k views
What is the origin of “hot” as “good-looking” or “attractive”?
I'm not sure if "hot" as "warm" or "heated" existed before "hot" came to mean "good-looking" or "attractive", but if so, how did this new meaning come to be?
20
votes
5answers
4k views
How should I address someone with a known name and unknown gender?
When communicating with foreign cultures, the gender of the addressed person is not always clear from the name. What would be a professional way to address someone in this situation. (Dear Mr or Ms ...
19
votes
6answers
4k views
What is the difference between “archetype” and “prototype”?
I'm very confused by the difference between "archetype" and "prototype", and even more baffled when to use which. Can someone clarify?
17
votes
10answers
1k views
Ambiguity of “Dogs must be carried on this escalator”
In the words of the old joke, I wanted to go up to the next floor of a department store, and I saw an escalator with a sign saying
Dogs must be carried on this escalator.
But I didn't have a ...
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.
...
12
votes
4answers
10k views
How should “midnight on…” be interpreted?
From what I understand, the word "midnight" is usually interpreted incorrectly.
Midnight is written as "12am" which would imply that it's in the morning. Therefore, it should be at the start of the ...
11
votes
5answers
12k views
What is the difference between “nothing but”, “anything but”, and “everything but”?
What is the difference between these phrases? When is it valid to use which? Should they be avoided as being ambiguous?
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, ...
10
votes
4answers
389 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 ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
How can I distinguish “can” & “can't” from pronunciation?
It's very difficult for me to separate them.
I was just listening to some video and it said
"Fat cells can’t reproduce themselves."
What I thought I've heard is "... CAN reproduce ..."
Frankly, ...
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 ...
9
votes
6answers
1k views
Ambiguity of “quite”
The adverb "quite" has the following meanings according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
1: wholly, completely ("not quite
finished")
2: to an extreme : positively "quite
sure" —often ...
9
votes
2answers
85 views
notionistic education / teaching?
What's the right word to indicate a type of education based on memorizing facts or a superficial understanding of things, without real insight or critical mind development?
In my native language ...
8
votes
5answers
325 views
Nationality modifier vs. Language modifier
"Chinese writer Mo Yan wins Nobel literature prize" (USA Today)
"Chinese author Mo Yan wins Nobel Prize for Literature" (BBC)
Q. Are we to understand
that Mo Yan wrote in Chinese,
that he was a ...
8
votes
4answers
543 views
Killer Queen. The usage of noun sequences of length two and more. Ambiguity of nouns phrases in English
I have a question about nouns triplets like "sofa box container" and I'll formulate it at the end. I have some reasoning and I want to make sure I'm correct.
First of all consider the following ...
8
votes
3answers
803 views
How are pronouns resolved?
Are pronouns in English resolved syntactically or semantically? Do they always refer to the closest matching noun?
A wikipedia article has these examples:
We gave the bananas to the monkeys because ...
8
votes
2answers
4k views
“All but” idiom has two meanings?
Here's two ways I've seen the "all, but" idiom used:
"Close all tabs but this one" (Any modern application with a number of tabs might have this as an option.) It means "close all the tabs, but not ...
8
votes
3answers
6k views
What is the meaning of the expression “We can table this”?
This came up in an email discussion - we are arguing about the merits and demerits of a certain approach, and I mentioned what I thought was a drawback to a scheme. To that, my colleague replied : ...
8
votes
2answers
191 views
Drink 7 to 10 days after opening?
Is this label telling the consumer that it is best to consume the drink 7 to 10 days after opening it?
I know what they are getting at, but I feel like it should say "Best if consumed within 7 to ...
7
votes
2answers
454 views
Is “can't” a euphemism or is it ambiguous?
People often say can't to mean won't. I am not referring to lying, but in cases where it is very clear to the listener that the speaker intends to mean won't. For example: I can't continue in this ...
7
votes
4answers
640 views
“Connotation” vs. “Definition”
There seems to be some ambiguity between the connotation and definition of a word / word group / phrase.
The dictionary entry seems to be that a definition is more of a primary description of a word ...
7
votes
5answers
318 views
“Gadhafi forces retreat” - how do you understand that?
Our local newspaper had the headline today "Gadhafi forces retreat" and I read it with "retreat" as the verb instead of "forces" as the verb. I know it is a poorly written headline, but which way is ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
How much exactly is increased when it is “increased by 1.1”?
I saw it in a text book, and a similar problem that also appeared in the book is "3 times faster", which is already asked. Simply speaking, the book says:
Unfortunately, it increases the CPI by ...
7
votes
8answers
2k views
Is “Four times more” grammatically correct? And, if so, what precisely does it mean?
I have 10 beans. Jim has four times more.
Is this a valid sentence? And, if so, does it mean Jim has 40 or 50 beans?
7
votes
4answers
549 views
“No head injury is too trivial to ignore”
I was looking at the book Introduction to Mathematical Thinking by Keith Devlin, and came across a question where the reader is asked to reformulate this sentence to avoid the unintended second ...
7
votes
2answers
545 views
Use of “Or”, inclusive or exclusive?
My wife and I are playing a game where you roll dice and move so many spaces in a grid "vertically or horizontally".
In the use of English it is very common to say, this or the other when it comes ...
7
votes
2answers
258 views
“Suspect” versus “Suspicious” as Adjectives
A recent question on this site ("to suspect" vs "to be suspicious of") asks about the difference between "to suspect" and "to be suspicious of." An even more complicated situation ...
6
votes
5answers
240 views
Meaning of “more original computer science”
If I write
Knuth has written more original computer science than anybody else
does it mean computer science that is more original or more computer science that is original? It seems like it ...
6
votes
3answers
167 views
Interpreting ambiguous agreement
We're proud of our tortilla chips and we hope you'll agree.
It may seem trivial but I've seen similar remarks on other products and it just doesn't feel like a valid sentence because I can't ...
6
votes
4answers
715 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.
...
6
votes
3answers
335 views
Why does “I am in your debt” mean the opposite of what it suggests?
I don't understand why if someone says:
"I am in your debt"
It seems to mean the opposite of the literal meaning.
For example, the person saying this says that (s)he is in the "debt" of the ...
6
votes
5answers
782 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 ...
6
votes
1answer
163 views
Implication(s) of “Though you wouldn't think it”
(This question arose because on some other SE many of us tried to translate this expression. It turns out it was not so easy, and it would certainly help if we had a better grasp on it.)
I believe ...
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 ...
5
votes
1answer
685 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
4answers
344 views
What's the proper interpretation of: “I was kissed by a girl twice”?
The other day I experienced two distinct but similar events. I wanted to convey this to a friend and this is what came to mind:
"I was kissed by a girl twice."
My question is, does this sentence say, ...
5
votes
5answers
310 views
She was carrying twins and a bulky bag in her hands [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Using verbs with multiple meanings
I am not sure if this is Indian English but the verb carry is often used in India to speak of a pregnant woman and often without an ...
5
votes
1answer
273 views
What does “state” in “State University” refer to? [closed]
There are many universities and colleges in the United States with names such as "... State University".
The word state has many distinct meanings, but pertinent to this question are:
government, ...
5
votes
1answer
325 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 ...
5
votes
2answers
503 views
Is it wrong to say “The sun's rays are primarily responsible for skin damage.”
The sun's rays are primarily
responsible for skin damage.
To me this sounds like it means that the primary activity of the sun's rays is damaging skin. However the intention is obviously that ...
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?
5
votes
1answer
173 views
When is Christmas Eve Eve?
I have recently seen weather forecasters making predictions for Christmas Eve Day, Christmas Eve Night, and for Christmas Day. One also reads of Christmas Eve Eve, with two eves.
Are those all ...
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”, ...
5
votes
3answers
207 views
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 ...
5
votes
3answers
149 views
Is it safe to use “old” to mean “previous” for a person?
Is it safe to use "old" to mean "previous" or "former" for something like "my old teacher"? Or is it a bit risky, because "old" also has a meaning with respect to age (i.e., chronologically gifted)?
...
5
votes
1answer
209 views
How do you disambiguate phrases like “killing doctors” when you can't use an article? [closed]
In singular, indefinite articles help to disambiguate some phrases, like for example:
a killing doctor
Would be a doctor who kills people.
versus
killing a doctor
Would be an act of ...
4
votes
4answers
350 views
An ambiguity problem with “the first thing you remember”
I'm having an ambiguity problem with the following sentence:
What's the first thing you remember?
If I'm right, it may mean either:
1) What is the first thing you can recall, the furthest in ...
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 ...
