Tagged Questions
0
votes
0answers
60 views
What does “though” mean in these sentences?
I knew these are American English sentences, and they are informal. However, I would like to know what exactly it means, or it simply means nothing, and people merely want to add something unnecessary ...
3
votes
4answers
387 views
Is it customary to call the former President George W. Bush “W.”, and Mrs. Bush “Bar”, in public?
Maureen Dowd deals with the comments of the former first lady, Barbara Bush in NBC’s the Today Show in her article titled ‘Silver Fox’s pink slip’ in New York Times (April 27):
“Asked on the ...
-4
votes
1answer
95 views
“Haven't” vs. “hadn't”
Are there any differences in meaning between the two sentences?
We hadn't left the place yet; we will be there in 10 minutes.
We haven't left the place yet; we will be there in 10 minutes.
...
2
votes
1answer
86 views
“On Tap” in the Sense of “Coming Up”
Starting with the Fifth Edition (1936), seven generations of the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary have included (under the entry for tap) three definitions of "on tap," currently worded as ...
0
votes
3answers
140 views
“I went to bed hungry” vs. “I went to bed hungrily” [closed]
What is the exact difference between "I went to bed hungry" and "I went to bed hungrily"?
0
votes
2answers
322 views
“Do you have” vs “Have you got”
I am studying English and I want to know the main difference between “Have you got?” and “Do you have?” questions. Are they the same? Is one more formal than the other?
-4
votes
1answer
398 views
What does “Take it further” mean? [closed]
I googled a lot and I didn't find a answer.
What does "Gonna take it further" mean?
6
votes
2answers
207 views
Meaning of “Y-o-u-u Tom!”
In the opening chapter of Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom's aunt Polly calls out to him in a rather peculiar fashion:
She went to the open door and stood in it, and looked out among the ...
1
vote
1answer
69 views
Is “august public official” considered an idiom, and has august always been used to refer to public officials? [closed]
Reading this article they referred to Justice Scalia as an "august public official." The phrase is also used in the book "Parade's End" by Ford Madox Ford on page 423. I can't seem to find the ...
1
vote
1answer
158 views
What does “Blast” mean? [closed]
I'm having trouble understanding this word's meaning. On Google Translate, it means explosion or something like that.
But when I see that word in a sentence, there's no relation, at least for me at ...
2
votes
3answers
472 views
What does the idiom “to sound a little off” mean?
What does the idiom "to sound a little off" mean in American English?
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, ...
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 ...
0
votes
2answers
628 views
Is this sentence correct in grammar and does it even make sense [closed]
This sentence:
You have the right to ask for someone in the United States of America.
Does it have any grammatical errors?
Does it even make sense? I think it is usually ...to ask for ...
1
vote
1answer
580 views
What are the differences between litigator, counsel, and attorney?
I'm watching a law and court related TV show and the following terms are being used. What are the differences between them? I'm interested in the differences in connotation if there are any. Or are ...
6
votes
1answer
268 views
What is an 'Iron Ring Event'
In a recent podcast of .Net rocks (at 45 minutes 29 seconds), regarding the future of software craftsmanship, it is postulated that there will be an 'Iron Ring Event' (if I heard it correctly). From ...
5
votes
2answers
231 views
Meaning of the verb “to pooch”?
I'm familiar with the word pooch as a cute synonym of doggy, but here is pooch used as a verb:
It was just a poorly done deal and it just so happens to be the biggest deal ever for Nasdaq and they ...
13
votes
3answers
8k views
What does the sentence “Butter my butt, call me a biscuit” mean?
What does this sentence mean? How do I use it?
Butter my butt, call me a biscuit.
13
votes
1answer
2k views
Trapezium/trapezoid — why are the US/UK definitions swapped around?
These are the US definitions...
Trapezoid — a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides that has a pair of opposite sides parallel.
Trapezium — a 4-sided flat shape with straight sides and NO parallel ...
3
votes
3answers
290 views
Is “Most of the world does not distinguish captions from subtitles” true?
In the wikipedia article about closed captioning one reads
Most of the world does not distinguish captions from subtitles. In the United States and Canada, these terms do have different meanings, ...
3
votes
2answers
769 views
What is a “cracker-barrel sage”?
What is a cracker-barrel sage?
Context:
The influence of many years spent in America talking to (and often down to) Americans also gave his performance a kind of Barnum quality: Hitchens the ...
3
votes
1answer
87 views
Meaning of “float a deadpoint”
In a book about climbing technique (written by an American) I found the following expression:
...: floating a deadpoint from any one of a million different body positions.
While the meaning of ...
2
votes
1answer
188 views
What is the origin of using the term “lease” to signify a financing agreement with option to buy out an asset, as opposed to simple rent?
A formal definition of the word "lease" makes a lease out to be very similar to "rent" in meaning:
noun \ˈlēs\
Definition of LEASE
a contract by which one conveys real estate, ...
3
votes
2answers
311 views
“cold cash” vs. “hard cash”
Context (New York Times):
Besides piling into Treasuries, institutional investors are also
seeking out the safety of cold, hard cash, pouring billions
into commercial bank accounts backed up ...
3
votes
3answers
156 views
“Transitioning” vs. “transitional” phase
I am wondering if it is correct to say:
This is a transitioning phase.
Personally, I would say
This is a transitional phase.
but my friend insists that the above is just as correct as my ...
4
votes
3answers
421 views
“Never mind” in AmE and BrE
Reading some forum pages about the meaning of this phrase, I realized that there's a difference in usage of it, between American and British English. What's the difference in meaning of "never mind" ...
4
votes
2answers
709 views
Does this ‘be going to’ have an emotional meaning?
Here is a skit from a radio English conversation program, dealing with American English.
A: guest B: front desk clerk C: A's wife
(at the front desk of a hotel)
A: I have a reservation ...
5
votes
4answers
513 views
What does “interstitial effect” mean?
Googled, but still do not understand what "interstitial effect" means. Can someone please explain?
7
votes
5answers
668 views
When and how did “momentarily” come to mean “in a moment”, rather than “for a moment”?
"Momentarily" used to mean "for a moment" only, and not "in a moment". Thus, newscasters could be divided into two clear groups: those who would say "we'll be back momentarily," and those who would ...
11
votes
5answers
2k views
How many of the “Top 10 favorite British words” are understood by Americans?
Merriam-Webster Dictionary online shows “Top 10 Favorite British Words”. I’m interested in knowing how many of the listed words are understood or accepted by Americans as English, whichever British ...
8
votes
4answers
881 views
What does “it takes a tough man to make a tender chicken” mean?
I read it here.
The New Jersey guy said that the Unix solution was right because the design philosophy of Unix was simplicity and that the right thing was too complex. Besides, programmers could ...
7
votes
4answers
2k views
Difference between “garbage” and “trash”?
What's the difference between garbage and trash? Is the difference significant?
2
votes
3answers
261 views
What is the meaning of the business jargon “big hitter”?
I want the meaning of the business jargon that says "big hitter".
0
votes
3answers
657 views
2
votes
1answer
453 views
What does “suite your self” mean?
I have heard from some of TV series. They are saying "suite your self", what does it mean?
6
votes
6answers
4k views
Non-sexual meaning of “to have a hard-on for someone”
What does it mean to "have a hard-on for someone" in a non-sexual sense? I've heard it used in contexts that make it seem like the subject is acting aggressive or belligerent toward "someone". Is that ...
0
votes
1answer
1k views
“I'm unclear” versus “it's unclear to me that”
It sounds like your proposal would make a great feature request for the existing module. I'm unclear why you consider it was not a good idea.
Does replacing I'm unclear with it is unclear to me ...
9
votes
2answers
3k views
Origin of the meaning of “à la mode”
In American English, à la mode means:
in fashion, up to date.
with ice cream.
(of beef) braised in wine, typically with vegetables.
While the first meaning matches the French meaning, the other ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Use of the word “praxis”?
According to dictionary.reference.com the word praxis means:
practice, as distinguished from theory; application or use, as of knowledge or skills.
I recently saw another stackexchange post now ...
30
votes
15answers
3k views
Words with opposite meanings in different regions
I can't recall it, but there is a word in American English which now means the opposite of itself in British English. What words are there that have opposite (not just different) meanings in different ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Meaning of “boroughs of New York City”
What does borough mean?
Does the word have a different meaning when used in the five boroughs of New York City?
