Tagged Questions
2
votes
2answers
71 views
'too dangerous to let live' or 'too dangerous to be let live'?
I was writing something down that came to me in a passing while I was watching TV, and I found myself discombobulated with the way one should phrase the notion of letting someone do something in the ...
1
vote
3answers
70 views
What is the origin/meaning of “wheelbarrow full of frogs”
What is the origin/meaning of "wheelbarrow full of frogs"
I've heard this phrase many times but am unsure as to exactly what it means.
8
votes
3answers
689 views
What does “suck a salt grain off a beach” mean?
In association with my question of the usage of “blood-dimmed (flood /tragedy) in Maureen Dowd’s article in New York Times- ...
-1
votes
1answer
49 views
What is the meaning of “pull in the channel”? [closed]
Could you tell me the meaning of "pull in the channel" or "bring in the channel"?
I looked up these words in some dictionaries, but I found no suitable meaning.
Do these mean "change the channel"?
0
votes
1answer
44 views
“The above technique is a double-edged sword” [duplicate]
In our native language, we say this "The above technique is a double-edged sword".
Is it appropriate to say it in English? If not, what is the nice way to express the same meaning?
4
votes
1answer
104 views
Meaning of “watch your six”
What does "watch your six" mean?
Does it mean "watch your back", like in a dangerous area?
7
votes
2answers
512 views
Meaning of “excited much”, “stalker much”
What does 'excited much' or 'stalker much' mean exactly, and which context are they used in? I don't get the usage of much after a noun or adjective. I often see this construction in comments, for ...
3
votes
2answers
84 views
usage of “Made for”
eg. I would've made for a bad lawyer.
conveying the meaning that if I had been a lawyed, I would have been a bad one.
is it correct usage?
2
votes
1answer
154 views
What does ‘play the pill’ mean?
There was the following sentence in Maureen Dowd’s article titled “Taxing Times for Obama” in the New York Times May 18 issue. - ...
2
votes
1answer
140 views
What does 'trout-shouldered' mean?
In an episode of the television show Archer one character refers to another as being "trout-shouldered."
“This pathetic, trout-shouldered excuse for a boom operator is Chet Manly."
What might this ...
0
votes
1answer
110 views
What does 'What kind of mischief are you up to?' mean?
One of my US users asked the following questions when she got information about my resignation from my manager.
What is this rumor I hear? What kind of mischief are you up to?
I am not sure ...
-1
votes
1answer
98 views
Meaning of 'take it to the hoes'
I came across the following sentence:
You can just take it to the hoes on Broadway if you need to get your freak on.
And not only can I not understand the phrase 'take it to the hoes' but I also ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
Beating them “with my gloves on”
This is a comment made on a discussion on a roadrage incident,
Anyone attacks me in traffic while I'm on my bike, I'm beating the f-ck out of them with my gloves on.
What does he mean by "with ...
2
votes
1answer
51 views
What are “shrewd turns”?
In John Webster's play, The Duchess of Malfi, Antonio says of the Duke:
He never pays debts unless they be shrewd turns,
And those he will confess that he doth owe.
I really don't understand ...
2
votes
2answers
321 views
What does Pope Francis “called out him (Pope Emeritus Benedict) on it” mean?
There was the following sentence in the article titled “Pope Francis tells Pope Benedict to stop rolling his eyes in meetings” in May 2nd New Yorker magazine - ...
0
votes
1answer
61 views
Is “ill at ease” perfectly interchangeable with “uncomfortable”?
There was the following sentence in a series about the art and craft of writing in New York Times (April 29) written by Tim Kreider under the title, “The Power of ‘I Don’t Know’”:
I’m always ill ...
-4
votes
1answer
147 views
Why is the noun 'sex' uncountable? [closed]
According to the definition of the noun 'sex' in dictionaries, it means 'the PHYSICAL ACTIVITY that two people do together in order to produce babies or for pleasure.' If so, why isn't it countable?
...
20
votes
6answers
2k views
Does “salt mines” have any specific meaning?
In the movie Easy A, the character Todd said "See you at salt mines" to Olive when they met at Melody's party. What does salt mines mean? Does it really mean "a mine for salt"?
0
votes
3answers
183 views
“It's all academic”
What exactly does 'It's all academic' mean when referring to the closing moments of a sports game? You'll often hear 'This one's academic!' or 'It's all academic from this point forward' or 'It's all ...
-3
votes
1answer
85 views
Meaning of “with a steel ride that sends chills up her back”
I would like to know the meaning of the following phrase: "with a steel ride that sends chills up her back".
0
votes
1answer
80 views
Applying the concept of 'trolling' to tall poppy syndrome
In Australia we have a concept of 'tall poppy syndrome' — which comes from a cultural assumption of egalitarianism. If someone puts on airs, or considers themselves more important than others, then it ...
-1
votes
1answer
93 views
Do you feel any subtle changes in meaning with the addition or omission of article(s) in this sentence? [closed]
I'm translating a short story that is a parody of Kafka's 'Report to an Academy.' A chimp is called to present a report to an academy about the time when he was a chimp. I'm to translate into English ...
-1
votes
1answer
147 views
Is “wear collar and tie” an idiom?
I found this in this sentence:
He wears collar and tie for work.
If I don't think of this as an idiom, I presume that he wears something that has a collar and a tie separately from it.
-1
votes
1answer
65 views
Meaning of “through all right”
What does the phrase through all right mean?
He'll see me through all right
1
vote
2answers
389 views
What is the meaning of 'in the ether'?
In the following sentence, what is the meaning of 'in the ether'?
Rather than calling some function in the ether and passing arguments,
we call a method on one particular object providing ...
1
vote
2answers
141 views
Meaning of 'I don't swing at soft balls'
In an episode of Cougar Town, I noticed one of the characters told her friend 'I don't swing at soft balls'. First I thought it was an idiom, but I couldn't find it anywhere when I started looking it ...
1
vote
4answers
131 views
What's the meaning of “I put the chic in freak”?
I am a non-native speaker of English (Polish) and I teach English as a Foreign Language in Poland. A few months ago I came across this phrase / sentence printed on the student's notebook and got ...
1
vote
1answer
112 views
What does “it’s no game” mean?
I’ve recently heard David Bowie’s song where he sings
To be insulted by these fascists
Is so degrading and it’s no game.
Is it’s no game some kind of a metaphor or a widely used idiom, or ...
1
vote
3answers
774 views
What is the meaning of “six ways from Sunday”? [closed]
This is a line from the book Test Driven Development by Kent Beck:
Fortunately, we are well rested and relaxed and unlikely to make
mistakes, which is why we will go in teeny-tiny steps, ...
-1
votes
3answers
531 views
My Thoughts Exactly [closed]
Let's say someone said something I agree with. To express approval, dictionaries say this is standard English:
My sentiments exactly.
Could I use the following as well?
My feelings ...
1
vote
2answers
120 views
Meaning and usage of “stuck in the craw” [closed]
Can you please explain the meaning and give some usage examples for "stuck in the craw" expression?
Just come across this expression in following sentence (a bit lengthy):
But what stuck in the ...
0
votes
1answer
61 views
Urge Her Against Him [closed]
For this:
google book
"With one hand on the small of her back, and another just a bit lower, he urged her against him again. The woman was melting his resolve and calling into question his ...
0
votes
2answers
89 views
What is the meaning of “gather way” in “The idea gathered way”?
As far as I know "gather way" means "to attain headway" in navigation. So I believe this is a kind of idiom or something like that.
I just found this sentence with no context, so I don't know if you ...
2
votes
2answers
636 views
Whispering “sweet nothings”
Where does the term sweet nothings come from? What is an example of a "sweet nothing"? Does the term connote sincerity or has it been hijacked to represent deceit and seduction? After all, the devil ...
2
votes
2answers
148 views
What is the meaning of “greasing the pan”?
In a tutorial, the instructor says:
We've greased the pan, now it's time to pour in the batter.
The tutorial is technical (IT), and has nothing to do with cooking, so what is the meaning of the ...
2
votes
3answers
60 views
What are the uses for 'quick'?
Is the word quick ever used in reference to candles eg the quick of the candle? I know about the quick of the nail and obviously about the wick of a candle but I have a memory of the quick too being ...
2
votes
1answer
93 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 ...
1
vote
2answers
180 views
What is the origin of the idiom “have been had”?
I know the meaning of "have been had" is "been cheated". What is the origin of this idiom? It is really special in the sense that none of the individual words in this idiom convey the meaning of ...
1
vote
2answers
220 views
What does it mean to “walk the wall?”
From the same people who brought us "ask" as a noun comes a new idiom that I haven't heard of before: to "walk the wall."
I haven't heard this myself, but my sister (who is an IT consultant) asked me ...
0
votes
0answers
86 views
Loose And Tight [closed]
In one dictionary, the definition (5) for the adjective "loose" reads:
5 : not stiff or tense : flexible or relaxed
▪ He walked with a loose stride. ▪ loose muscles ▪ I never relaxed that day; ...
0
votes
2answers
251 views
To Be Used Of/For
Does "to be used OF" mean "to be used FOR":
wikipedia
The English term "empiric" derives from the Greek word ἐμπειρία, which is cognate with and translates to the Latin experientia, from which ...
4
votes
3answers
154 views
“Loosen up”, “tighten up”
"To loosen up" means "to become not nervous". Could the phrase "to tighten up" be a good opposite and mean "to become nervous"?
-1
votes
1answer
61 views
0
votes
1answer
58 views
On His Post, At His Post
I have this:
link
On 21-22 April 1914, while leading three picket launches admist heavy enemy fire, McCloy was wounded but remained on his post, enabling cruisers to save American lives. For ...
5
votes
4answers
146 views
What does “new to the beat” mean?
“Today’s Quote” of Washington Times (February 1) picked up the answer of White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney to a reporter when he was asked by the reporter whether the White House was planning a ...
-2
votes
1answer
271 views
silver lining explained [closed]
What is, in the physical sense, the silver lining of a cloud? Is it something that exists? (I know it has some poetic origin, but maybe back then, silver lining was something, like rays shining ...
2
votes
2answers
339 views
Why do we say “I might add” when we are definitely adding something?
Often when a piece of rhetoric is being added for emphasis, we put "I might add" before or after or sometimes inside of it.
Martin Brice - my old and good friend who promised me we would not get ...
0
votes
1answer
238 views
Meaning of “as close as you can get with safe sex”
What does "as close as you can get with safe sex" mean? I read this sentence in "Hannibal" from Thomas Harris, the original is
Our informant's close to the family situation, like, he's very ...
0
votes
1answer
98 views
What does the idiom, 'bolt from the fold', mean?
While reading a novel I've found this expression:
bolt from the fold
Does anyone know what it means?
Here is the whole sentence to provide some context:
It is possible that Godfrey found ...
11
votes
1answer
209 views
Meaning of “match Greek with Greek”
From Christmas Storms and Sunshine by Elizabeth Gaskell (4th paragraph):
Jenkins had his wife too. Wives were wanting to finish the
completeness of the quarrel, which existed one memorable ...
