Tagged Questions
1
vote
2answers
162 views
What's the meaning of “brutal” here?
What's the meaning of brutal in this comment?
I just had some mild food poisoning on Tuesday into Wednesday, sh-t was brutal but it was pretty much cleared up after I slept.
According to most ...
-1
votes
2answers
219 views
Usage of “no more” in a sentence
I would need help with the following sentence:
It may be no more difficult to claim in words a feeling not felt than one that is.
The “no more” is related to the whole sentence or just to the ...
3
votes
2answers
184 views
Meaning of “Irish true”
This is a sign from a pub. I would expect it to read “Irish truth” or “true Irish”. Why is “Irish true” used?
3
votes
3answers
214 views
What does “vampiric” mean in this context? [closed]
In Sam Harris's blog he writes
Most of us have been around this block often enough to know that many
“former atheists”—like Francis Collins—spent so long on the brink of
faith, and yearned for ...
2
votes
2answers
98 views
US English — “primary grains being produced” vs. “major cereals being produced”
I am correcting a Spanish-to-English translation that states,
The primary grains being produced in the world are maize, wheat, rice, barley, sorghum and oats.
I would prefer to use cereals ...
0
votes
1answer
68 views
Meaning of “this is a routine chapter” [closed]
Does "this is a routine chapter" mean that there is no creativity in this chapter?
Context:
This is a routine chapter. There is almost nothing creative here. I just
generalize theorems about ...
3
votes
4answers
11k views
What does 'abstract ideas' mean? [closed]
In the sentence for example:
This book would also interest intelligent students with a taste for abstract ideas and theoretical arguments.
What does the phrase "abstract ideas" mean? I looked up ...
5
votes
4answers
230 views
Meaning of “sterile perfection”
I came across the following lines:
Make no mistake: the setting matters. There are many ways to listen to
Indian classical music-in the private, somewhat sterile perfection
of the CDs and DVDs ...
2
votes
2answers
209 views
Usage of “certain” in these newspaper articles
Is the usage of "certain" in these newspaper articles correct?
Excerpt from Mutual funds for P1,000 a month (Inquirer.net) (emphasis mine):
"Because remember, you're acquiring shares. So it's ...
3
votes
2answers
283 views
Is “put together” an adjectival phrase?
When someone says "He is smarter than I and she put together," what is the function of the phrase "put together"? Is it considered an adjective?
3
votes
1answer
210 views
Calling Method or Called Method? [closed]
I was reading something on MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) and I saw this and made me confused:
Although variables passed as an out arguments need not be initialized
prior to being passed, ...
13
votes
7answers
2k views
In what occasion could the word “precious” be taken disapprovingly, or sarcastically?
I understand that the word “precious” in the following quote of Maureen Dowd’s article “Heart of Darkness” (NYT, March 20) literally means “2. valuable or important and not to be wasted” as defined in ...
9
votes
3answers
709 views
What does “ingenuous” mean?
As well as the standard oratorio repertory, she sang solo recitals, her dazzling smile and enchantingly ingenuous personality creating an instant bond with audiences. TELEGRAPH
I am a little bit ...
0
votes
2answers
379 views
What are “faded eyes” like?
Does that mean pale eyes (color) or glazed eyes (energy) or sight-dimmed eyes(ability)? I have no idea. Just for your information, the wandmaker in the following citation is a very old man with pale ...
3
votes
2answers
274 views
Original use of kosher in the English lanuage
Recently I saw a post on the meta.rpg.se site that asked When is editing your answer not kosher?, and it got me thinking. Why is the word Kosher used, instead of, for example, Halal, Permissible, or ...
8
votes
3answers
4k views
“An awful lot”: Any negative connotation?
Today was my first time I saw people use "an awful lot of" instead of "a lot of".
It reminded me of "terribly good", which obviously has little negative connotation. But how about "an awful lot"?
...
2
votes
2answers
323 views
Meaning of “mints”
Context (New York Times),
MINTS An organic fudge brownie awaits you in the room, along with a personalized welcome letter...
First, I'm not sure if I'm on the right track or not (I'm wondering ...
1
vote
2answers
129 views
Meaning of “sharp”
Context (New York Times):
Still, rooms were large by the city’s pint-size standards, service was sharp, and for the moment, they offer some of the best values around.
Does sharp here mean ...
1
vote
1answer
172 views
What is the meaning of ‘something blind’?
The phrase “Something ugly, slimy, and blind” is confusing me. Here are my questions.
What does the 'blind' part mean?
Is ‘something blind’ a special expression? (For I couldn’t find its example in ...
1
vote
1answer
144 views
Does ‘magnificent head’ sometimes mean ‘magnificent hair’?
While searching the Net, ‘magnificent head’ shows me a lot of lion’s heads, but I found ‘a woman with a magnificent head’ in a book.
“Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the ...
9
votes
5answers
3k views
What does “canonical” mean?
Sometimes I read a sentence containing the word canonical, but I cannot find appropriate meaning of the word.
For example, in this link:
Returns a canonical representation for the string object.
...
15
votes
3answers
5k views
What does “pneumatic” mean when applied to a person?
For example, in this review of the movie Unknown, Mark Kermode refers to Liam Neeson's character's wife as being played by "X-Men's pneumatic January Jones".
I'm never quite sure whether this refers ...
1
vote
3answers
407 views
What does “a slightly overblown cartoon figure” mean?
“Harry! Good-o!” said Bagman happily, looking around at him. “Come in, come in, make yourself at home!”
Bagman looked somehow like a slightly overblown cartoon figure, standing amid all the ...
0
votes
1answer
430 views
Meaning of “intriguing” in the following sentence
Reading comprehension is one of the most important parts of any management entrance examination and a bit intriguing as well.
Does it mean:
Challenging?
Interesting?
Provocative?
All these ...
51
votes
10answers
3k views
What's the difference between the adjectives “strategic” and “tactical”?
I recently read this sentence:
It was a strategic move rather than a tactical one.
I have trouble interpreting it. Can someone help?
2
votes
4answers
2k views
Does “intense” have a negative meaning?
I always thought that intense has a positive meaning, meaning something that has no tensions, therefore an intense activity is actually a fun activity. So, what does intense exactly mean? A few days ...
3
votes
1answer
194 views
What is the meaning and usage of the word “dense”?
I often come across people saying to each other:
I don't want to be too dense here, but…
What does the term dense imply in such contexts?
5
votes
3answers
4k views
What does “ad-hoc” mean?
I read some articles that used ad-hoc like an adjective.
Questions:
What exactly does it mean in this paragraph:
Needless to say, all of that is pretty painful and error prone. Sure, once ...
