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 ...
4
votes
1answer
98 views

What does “bite” and “quarter-backing” mean in this context?

It's from the first few lines of the foreword to Karl Llewellyn's "The Bramble Bush": These lectures grew out of an attempt in 1929 and 1930 to introduce the students at Columbia Law School to ...
2
votes
2answers
97 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 ...
-1
votes
3answers
137 views

What's the meaning of “root” in “you root for the favorite”? [closed]

What's the meaning of root in this context? You root for the favorite. You cry when they go away.
0
votes
1answer
116 views

What's the proper synonym for purchase when used in real-estate context?

How to say Buying Price Purchase Price You name it Note, I need the 'buying' term, as opposed to Sale Price. It's for a form where the user should fill in how much he paid for the apartment and ...
3
votes
3answers
1k views

“And to you” or “you too”?

I really like to chat with English folks, so I have wished them Merry Christmas. To my surprise I have noticed the following pattern — the British answered "and to you", but Americans "you too". 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
2answers
321 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
4answers
241 views

What does this mean: “Avoid oral calcium, dairy products, shark cartilage & exercise during the medication.”

I found this behind a medicine. At first thought, the sentence looks like it suggests avoiding exercise during the medication. However, I remember reading somewhere that in US English, when there is a ...
3
votes
1answer
213 views

Is this letter censuring or just being sarcastic?

This is a letter by physicist Richard Feynman to his university's student newspaper. I am a non-native english speaker and I have trouble understanding in what spirit this letter was written them, is ...
23
votes
7answers
2k views

Does “gay” still include the meaning “merry”?

Dictionary.com lists eight meanings of gay, with “merry, lively” as the first entry. Microsoft banned an Xbox user for listing Fort Gay (a real place) as his hometown: Xbox Live considered the ...
9
votes
1answer
707 views

What is the meaning of 'That about covers it'?

I am reading a book titled Struts 2 in action, and there is this sentence: That about covers it for aspects of OGNL that are commonly used in Struts 2. What I am confused by it is the structure ...