Expressions are words or phrases used to convey an idea, or else a particular term used conventionally to express something.
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The other norths
If 'true north' is as Mitch says (and I like his answer best) then what is the metaphorical equivalent of Grid North, and Magnetic North? john
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3answers
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An expression for very tightly secured/mounted/fastened
I am trying to find a way describe a product feature, this would be that once the product is mounted, it cannot be easily un-mounted by shock, movement.
The expression in German Hält Bombenfest which ...
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What are the short answers in sad situations? [closed]
I'm not a native English speaker, but I have many English friends. So in conversations I always short of quick but formal answers or exclamations in a sad situation. Like;
Yesterday a strong tornado ...
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2answers
44 views
Suit Yourself origins?
The young daughter of a friend of mine said, "I think 'suit yourself' comes from a lazy tailor," which cracked us up. It also got me wondering.
I did the obligatory google search and came up with ...
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2answers
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Usage of “I'm sorry” and “thank you very much” outside of obvious settings
Why do people say "I'm sorry" at the beginning of a sentence? For example: "I'm sorry, but I don't care for her one bit." On the same note, I would like to understand the meaning of "thank you very ...
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1answer
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Expressions in Tim Minchin's “Angry (Feet)”
I'm having a little trouble with matching some of the lyrics of Tim Minchin's "Angry (Feet)" to the reactions to them of the audience. This makes me suspect I'm missing some of the semantic layers. ...
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is there another way of saying: “shaky structures”? [duplicate]
What expression would an English teacher use to say that the handling of the language is a bit uncertain not with used with precision? In Swedish you can say (translated literally): your ...
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30 views
what sounds idiomatic [closed]
A Swedish teacher could write on an essay in Swedish (translated: Some of your structures, (the way you use the language) are"uncertain") meaning that it's a bit awkardly phrased and not very ...
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Difference between “ask” and “enquire” [closed]
Should I use ask or enquire, in the following sentence?
The young man enquired the direction to the hospital.
Is the following sentence better?
The young man asked the way to the hospital.
...
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1answer
48 views
Which is correct? “not to” or “to not” [duplicate]
I was writing a blog post just now and I couldn't help but hesitate at the following snippet: "...causing this to not work as expected"
And I couldn't decide if that's correct or if I should use ...
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1answer
60 views
Meaning of 'Edwardian geek' [closed]
I just read that a physicist Paul Dirac was called 'the Edwardian geek' by his biographer [See the quote below from Wiki]. What does this phrase mean (Who was that particular Edward)?
An anecdote ...
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3answers
192 views
How to express reduction from 10 or 100 billion to 1 billion
What word or phrase would correctly describe the reduction of 10 billion to 1 billion, and from 100 billion to 1 billion?
I need to have it sound scientific: Reduce an amount from 1010 to 109, and ...
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How to express this idea on formal occasions [closed]
everyone.
I was making an application for iPad.
It's a music game that you can record and play your tracks by touch the virtual piano keyboard on screen.But in the manage view,i want to remind the ...
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1answer
101 views
Why would you want to do that? [closed]
I recently shared with several coworkers that I wanted to go to a particular class. My coworker responded to me with the following question: "Why would you want to do that?" I responded with a ...
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2answers
76 views
Difference between “technically possible” and “physically possible”?
Do you think these expressions can be used interchangeably? I find little or no differene between the two meanings. Does this question need more context?
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64 views
Does “up to 10Kg” include 10Kg? [duplicate]
While researching shipping charges, I see a lot of companies are quoting e.g. £5 for up to 10Kg. Some then go on to quote a further price band for 10Kg-XKg and others 10.1Kg-XKg.
Which one is correct?
...
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1answer
82 views
What does it mean to “offer a plea for a caution”? [closed]
This is a sentence in a letter to request waiving a fine. The sentence is:
I offer the following plea for a caution in this instance.
Also, it seems to me that caution is more correct than a ...
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What's the meaning of the phrase “knock the handle”? [closed]
Don't really know if it's a phrase, just read it somewhere.
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1answer
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What does “Nine Below Zero” mean?
There is a Blues Standard "Nine Below Zero" and I wonder what the phrase means. The chorus is
Nine Below Zero, she put me down for another
And it would also be super interesting where this ...
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1answer
61 views
How to Reply That PASSPORT NUMBER is not in my remembrance at the moment [closed]
If somebody called me over phone and asked to give your Passport number / Pan card / Roll number something. If it is not in my remembrance , how can I apologies in best way for this ?
NOTE -Please do ...
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3answers
82 views
“It's me” Phrase [closed]
I have heard people saying It's me. "It" is generally used for other than humans. So, is there any specific reason to use this phrase?
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1answer
101 views
“Would have” and “would have no”
Could you describe about "would have ~ed & would have not ~ed".
I know "would" has the several meanings. But when I was talking with one of my friend who is a native speaker and in this following ...
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Social events with Dress code [closed]
Can you please give me the meaning of "white tie"? It is a classification for the required clothing at special events. I can't remember, what exactly is behind "white tie" and what are the other ...
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How to express concisely the circular concept of a beginning and future simultaneously? [migrated]
There are many movies/books which have an ending that is the foundation for the beginning of the story, an example is Terry Pratchett's book Pyramids. In a way these stories become trapped in a ...
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1answer
48 views
The correct word for adoption of a law by the National Assembly?
Since I am not a native English speaker I am not sure what word should I use for adoption of a law. The closest to my language is "adoption", but "promulgate", "enact" or some other word may be more ...
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2answers
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How different is “he is a voice of reason awakening the public” from “he has a voice of reason awakening the public”?
In association with the question on Sarah Palin’s endorsement of Senator Rand Paul in the Time Magazine article “2013 Time 100” that I posted earlier today, I have an additional question about the ...
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2answers
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A better, more academic way of saying 'whether or not'
This is my sentence, and I was hoping to make it sound more academic:
The aim is to ascertain whether or not the actors from the two films analysed can be considered to be heroes
Is there a ...
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4answers
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What is the clearest way to describe two “kitty-corner” buildings?
How can I explain the relationship of building A to building B where building A is, e.g., on the NW corner of an intersection, and building B is on the SE corner?
Which of the following (if any) is ...
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1answer
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Meaning of “leave on a full basis”
When I was reading News of Real Madrid - Di Maria set to be released, I saw following sentence:
Real Madrid management seem to have decided to let Di Maria leave on a full basis.
What does this ...
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1answer
68 views
How would you say 'go round the houses' in a formal way?
I am writing a memo (quite formal) and I need to mention that the attitudes in the previous meeting were really offtopic, the team didn't focus on the important matters.
Were it informal writing I ...
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2answers
87 views
Lack of it / Lack thereof
I am aware of the usage of "lack thereof", but I was wondering whether it is valid to use "lack of it".
During a conversation with someone I used "lack of it" in a sentence, and she claimed that it is ...
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2answers
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An expression similar to “frame of reference”
I am trying to explain a mathematical point that is used for comparison such that all values are compared to it, like a "frame of reference". I've also thought of "pivot of comparison". Are any of ...
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Sherlock Holmes has nothing on you Henrique [closed]
A friend of mine from England wrote this to me. What does this expression mean?
He posted it after I found out who Billy-blue Hat was by googling his name.
Then he said:
"haha, Sherlock Holmes has ...
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1answer
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Is “duck and dive” only a British idiom?
I was interested in the phrase “duck and dive,” which is put in parentheses, in the following comment of a video ran by the Guardian with a caption, “Senator Marco Rubio's in-speech water break” - ...
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1answer
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What is meant by the action to ‘curl up your fingers’? Is “Curl up one’s fingers” an English idiom?
I came across the phrase “His cheeks reddened as he curled up his fingers” in the scene, a six-year-old Ruthenian boy, Lubji Hoch, who later becomes one of the world’s most powerful media moguls, ...
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1answer
101 views
“in ages” vs “for ages”
I've always thought I should use "for ages" when, for example, I meet a person who I haven't seen for a long time, but recently I came across another expression, "in ages," as in "I haven't seen you ...
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1answer
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Oh fudge knuckle!
What does this expression mean? I heard it in a video where the person said something like
This sounds right, but in fact, son of a gun, or as my younger son
would say, fudge knuckle, it goes ...
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1answer
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Is “hold-your-nose (or close –your-eyes) - and-do sth” an English idiom or just a coinage for one-off use?
I found a phrase, “a hold-your-nose-and-roll-the-camera” in the following statement of NPR’s article (April 2) titled “From pets to plates: Why more people rre eating guinea pigs?”
...
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1answer
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“Slept off”: correct or incorrect?
I have been using slept off to mean that I fell asleep. For example,
I slept off early yesterday.
Is that used correctly?
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2answers
102 views
“Dead on arrival”
I was listening to the song "I'll be there for you" by The Rembrandts and I realised that at the beginning they say: "Your love life's D.O.A."
I used Google to search the meaning of D.O.A. and ...
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4answers
288 views
What is the origin of the phrase “hate your guts”?
Where does the phrase "hate your guts" (for example "I hate your guts") come from?
I've heard the phrase used as a way to convey extreme and deep dislike of another individual. However, it seems ...
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1answer
90 views
Is there a term for a married couple who have the same christian and surname?
My wife and I share the abbreviated form of our name - Alex derived from Alexandra and Alexander respectively. As we are married, we have the same christian and surname when used in the short form.
...
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1answer
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meaning and usage of “mind you”
I often come across this expression and according to dictionaries I've looked up, it can be used in several ways such as to:
introduce something that should be taken into consideration
add something ...
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3answers
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Conventions for dates spoken without year
Today is April 4th, 2013. What is meant when someone says "May 1st"? I would assume its May 1, 2013. And "last May 1st" as May 1, 2012.
As for "next May 1st", I would assume "next" is a redundancy ...
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1answer
60 views
Meaning of “the crawling of the walls” [closed]
What is the meaning of "the crawling of the walls"?
I can practically feel the presence of disease: the crawling of the walls, the energy tension— like the nesting of a thousand insects.
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3answers
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A more succinct expression for “The day before yesterday” [closed]
Is there a more succinct expression for "the day before yesterday"?
In German for example, gestern = 'yesterday.' The prefix vor roughly means before, so logically, vorgestern means 'the day before ...
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2answers
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Which “one” should I use?
I'm having a hard time picking between
These are one of the foundations of....
and
These are ones of the foundations of..
Or is there a more idiomatic way to express it?
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3answers
100 views
What is the top of a pearl pendant called?
For example the top of the pendant in the link below:
top of a pearl pendant
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1answer
60 views
comes to think of it?
Which of the expressions, "come to think of it" or "comes to think of it", grammatically correct? Or are they grammatical at all?
If it is a short form of,
When one comes to think of it, I would ...
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2answers
218 views
“Sites to see” or “Sights to see”?
A google search turns up results for either. The two are seemingly interchangeable. Which is it? Does one see sights or see sites?
