Tagged Questions
4
votes
4answers
248 views
How do you refer to a hyponym that is the same word as the hypernym?
What word (or how do you phrase things) do you use when the ostensible word for the class is the same as the word for a subset of the class?
For example, in the United States, there are many brands ...
23
votes
4answers
1k views
“Bad with something” or “bad at something”?
In a question on Spanish.StackExchange, a question came up about expressing that you are bad at remembering or doing something. Is one "bad at something" or "bad with something" (nouns)? What about ...
4
votes
4answers
999 views
“Sour cream” versus “soured cream”
Does anyone besides my husband insist on adding an -ed to sour cream? Etymonline dates "sour cream" to 1855, but has no mention of "soured", so I don't think this is analogous to "iced tea" or "ice ...
7
votes
5answers
2k views
“Season” vs. “series”
TV shows, other than ones that have new episodes year-round (e.g. news, soaps), typically group episodes in batches — most often per year, although not necessarily calendar years, and sometimes there ...
5
votes
3answers
920 views
“Cleats” vs. “soccer shoes”
I used to say cleats but found it uncommon for some people, though I had no trouble with soccer shoes. I have always lived in a Spanish-speaking country (Nicaragua) so I find it hard to know why that ...
23
votes
7answers
21k views
“Lunch” vs. “dinner” vs. “supper” — times and meanings?
I've seen cases where a noon-time meal is referred to as dinner, and the evening meal is called supper. There's also lunch around noon followed by dinner in the evening. Is there a particular ...
7
votes
7answers
1k views
Incorrect grammar versus different dialects
My girlfriend, someone from southern New Jersey, constantly says phrases like "I'm done my homework" or "I'm done my dinner." I try to correct her and say, "I'm done with my homework" or "I'm done ...
20
votes
9answers
23k views
Using “dear”, “darling”, or “honey” to address a friend
As far as I know dear, darling, and honey are commonly used between lovers, but I suppose there are more words like that. What else is commonly used?
Which of these can be used to address a ...
4
votes
8answers
2k views
Which is correct: “soda” or “pop”?
Depending on where you go in the world, some people will refer to a carbonated beverage as "soda" while others choose to use the term "pop." For example, "Can I get you a soda" vs. "Can I get you a ...
13
votes
5answers
909 views
The place where the railroad crosses the road
What do you call those places where a railroad crosses an automobile road?:
Of course, I've heard what they are called in English, but I suspect that they are referred to differently depending on ...
1
vote
2answers
530 views
“same as” vs just “same”
Here are two variations of the same sentence:
He's not the same as he was yesterday.
He's not the same he was yesterday.
Both can be encountered in colloquial speech, but I would like to ...
