Tagged Questions
2
votes
1answer
29 views
In real estate, what is a split plan? [closed]
I'm looking through house listings and keep coming across "split plan." This is not a synonym of "split level," because the houses are pretty flat. What is a "split plan" house?
0
votes
2answers
57 views
“Concision” vs. “conciseness”
Is there any difference in the meaning between concision and conciseness? Is one preferred over the other?
My friend claims that concision is more correct.
0
votes
0answers
47 views
Connotation of the word “sprezzatura ”
According to Wikipedia, sprezzatura means
a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.
...
3
votes
3answers
74 views
Is a ship's biscuit a biscuit or a cake?
Cakes go hard when they are stale. Biscuits go soft when they are stale.
So, what about a ship's biscuit?
24
votes
3answers
1k views
What kind of noun is a picture?
I'm not sure of the right place to ask this, but I got confused trying to understand how the computer will interpret the sentence:
This is my picture.
In actual sense, the real owner of the ...
-1
votes
4answers
131 views
Does “neighbor” really mean “he who lives close”?
I thought that's what it means, but Dictionary.com says that it can also mean
One's fellow human being: to be generous toward one's less fortunate neighbors.
A person who shows kindliness or ...
3
votes
5answers
182 views
Difference between “jargon” and “technical terms”
Each subject matter has its own set of terms called jargon which is expressed in its particular grammatical rules. Technical terminology or Term of Art is the specialized vocabulary of any specialized ...
0
votes
2answers
101 views
Difference between ‘“folder” and “directory”
What is the difference between folder and directory in the context of computer science?
1
vote
2answers
59 views
Meaning of the word “findings”? [closed]
I need to find a word to define the products you see in the capture.
The best match I've found is findings.
Is this word the correct one? Is there a better word for these products?
-4
votes
1answer
72 views
What's a jagger in the song Moves Like Jagger? [closed]
What's jagger/a jagger in the title of the song Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5?
I've looked up the word on Urbandictionary and there are all sorts of different definitions on it. I've also found out ...
0
votes
0answers
50 views
What's the difference between “review” and “overview”? [closed]
What's the difference between "review" and "overview"?
I've been thinking about these two words as synonyms. But recently I came across an article where author said he was going to make a review and ...
0
votes
1answer
61 views
What are metal pans and covers of a staircase?
What are metal pans and its covers of a staircase and what do they look like as mentioned in the following account?
My boss and I were carrying 160lb sliding glass doors up an unfinished staircase ...
1
vote
4answers
85 views
“Cyclicity” vs. “cyclicality”
I can't find the difference between these two words. I want to describe the property of something that is repeating at a fixed period (don't ask me to use periodicity, that would be for another ...
0
votes
2answers
183 views
Can I use the terms “CEO” and “Managing Director” synonymously? [closed]
Can you please clarify if it's acceptable to use these terms interchangebly and if not point out to significant differences between these titles. It seems to me that it may be something with scale of ...
0
votes
3answers
85 views
What is more common “table booking” or “table reservation”?
What is more common and natural, "table booking" or "table reservation"?
Is there a big difference between these two?
0
votes
1answer
72 views
What does “unit” mean in “storage unit”?
What does unit mean in storage unit? From OALD I looked up, is it:
a single thing, person or group that is complete by itself but can also form part of something larger
or 2. a single ...
11
votes
1answer
347 views
Meaning of “candle” in “I now call to mind that there was a letter in the candle three days ago”
In the book The Trumpet Major, by Thomas Hardy, there is the following paragraph:
That was Budmouth postmaster, and he says there's a letter for me. Ah, I now call to mind that there was a letter ...
2
votes
1answer
110 views
Does a truism need to be true to be a truism?
I frequently hear people quoting widely-used idioms or proverbs as if they are fact, simply because they are used frequently by many people. For example, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
Can ...
-2
votes
1answer
32 views
Meaning of “lead conversions”
In the context of enterprises developing software what is the meaning of the phrase "lead conversions"?
1
vote
1answer
101 views
“Choices” vs. “options”
Are the two words synonyms? Is it grammatically correct to say "you have two choices, this or that?" Isn't that one choice? Should it not be "you have one choice, this or that" or "you have two ...
1
vote
2answers
171 views
Difference between “meaning of life” and “purpose of life”
I have seen and heard both, but I cannot tell the difference between "meaning of life" and "purpose of life".
Could anybody explain it to me? When to use which?
3
votes
1answer
107 views
What's the difference betwen a jacket and a coat?
The words "jacket" and "coat" are generally used interchangeably, to mean a garment that's heavier than a sweatshirt or a sweater and goes over them and other "tops," principally to keep the wearer ...
1
vote
1answer
90 views
Is an “acronoun” a real concept?
In discussing pronunciation of difference kinds of acronyms and initialisms, I recalled the term "acronoun." However, I can't find any reference to this term on the Wikipedia Acronym page, nor in ...
-1
votes
1answer
347 views
“Job title” vs. “job role”
What is the difference between job title and job role?
For example, from the Google documentation on rich snippets:
title — The person's title (for example, Financial Manager)
role — The ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
“Serenity” vs. “sereneness” [closed]
Are these interchangeable, or is there a semantic difference between them? When should I use serenity vs. sereneness?
0
votes
2answers
81 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
409 views
“Register” vs. “registry”
What's the difference in meaning between “register” and “registry”? Can both be used interchangeably when talking about an official (public) list of items, records?
-2
votes
1answer
99 views
-1
votes
1answer
47 views
What is the difference between “Distribution Worker” and “Distributing Worker”?
I cannot differentiate when I should use a noun like "distribution" as an adjective to another noun, or when should I use an "-ing" participle as an adjective. Could you please clarify the differences ...
0
votes
2answers
596 views
Does the word “Vaccum” exist?
If yes, does it have the same meaning of vacuum?
Ref:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum
http://www.vaccum.org/
Both the sites define the same meaning, but the spelling differs.
Some ...
0
votes
0answers
105 views
Meaning of “flossie” in Australian English [closed]
For a translation I am doing, I need to know what the following term of endearment means in Australian English: flossie.
4
votes
3answers
97 views
Usage of “flavour” vs. “version”
Software systems undergo versioning when changes are made to them.
E.g.: "Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows RT etc. are some popular versions of the Windows Operating System."
Similarly, some software ...
1
vote
3answers
242 views
Using an adjective to describe something that is already intended
Is there a word that describes the case of using an adjective to describe a noun that already suggests as much?
Examples
the pretty model won all of the awards
the smart genius answered ...
1
vote
3answers
281 views
What does “popping bottle” symbolise?
I keep hearing the phrase "popping bottle" in contemporary music. Does it simply mean "opening an alcoholic drink"? Why do they keep using it?
I invented swag, poppin bottles, putting supermodels ...
13
votes
2answers
2k views
How does “pussy” come to mean “coward”?
The word pussy is often used to mean "coward".
This guy is a pussy.
and I am wondering why. How are woman's genitals related to being a "coward"?
2
votes
5answers
418 views
Can we call something a “word” if it doesn't have a vowel? [closed]
It seems self-evident to me, but in the heat of a Scrabble game (no surprise), my opponent claimed that "sh" was a word. I think it's a diphthong, but the printed dictionary definition of "word" ...
2
votes
2answers
164 views
Is there a difference between “ascendants” and “ancestors”?
Without noticing myself, I've mixed the use of "ascendants" and "ancestors" in some documentation I've written.
In an arbitrary hierarchy (of either people or things), what would be the most correct ...
-2
votes
4answers
145 views
“Music preference” or “music preferences”?
What is the difference between preference and preferences? Does it matter if one uses singular or plural in the following sentences:
The effect of music on test-taking ability greatly depends ...
0
votes
3answers
165 views
What is the difference between “clearance” and “sale”?
I want to understand the difference between clearance and sale. So are these words synonyms or not? E.g.
Receive 60–90% off CookiesKids Clearance from Cookie's Kids.
Receive 50–85% off After ...
2
votes
1answer
119 views
“Irony” vs. “happenstance”
If I were to leave my country because there is a high chance that I will get shot here, and then got shot in the country I immigrate to, would that be ironic or a happenstance?
0
votes
1answer
97 views
Exact meaning of “You are brand new”? [closed]
I run across a phrase of "You are brand new to GitHub" on the web.
What makes me confused is the word "brand"; is it a noun, an adjective or an adverb?
0
votes
1answer
68 views
Meaning of “pitches add up” [closed]
I would like to know the meaning of the phrase "pitch adds up" as it appears in this phrase from an article in Fast Company:
None of [the applications] fit the bill, and the pitches add up ...
0
votes
3answers
153 views
Can we use “liaison” casually?
Then there was the Mad Russian, who made her laugh and behaved
impossibly badly and proposed to her daily. Some other shorter-lived
liaisons, now forgotten. Then Henry.
— William Nicholson, ...
1
vote
1answer
235 views
“Reward” vs. “award” vs. “prize” [closed]
Got the following from this link.
Award (n): a recognition of a personal achievement, e.g. a scholarship for winning a science fair, a plaque for volunteering 100 hours of community service
...
-1
votes
2answers
170 views
What does “pre-delay” mean in this conversation?
This short piece of dialogue appears in the movie "Faces in the Crowd":
Bryce: Shouldn't you be handing out gold stars instead of earning yellow
ribbons on FarmVille?
Anna: I was just ...
5
votes
3answers
113 views
Usage of the word “genocide”
I am wondering whether the word genocide can also be used for the killing of a group of people based on their religion, for example: 'the Sikh genocide'. I have never seen it used that way, I have ...
2
votes
3answers
835 views
“Gain/acquire/gather/get experience”
According to my Longman dictionary, gain experience and get experience seem to mean the same:
gain/get experience: The programme enables pupils to gain some experience of the world of work.
But ...
6
votes
1answer
96 views
Difference between “mark” and “marker”
In a diagram, I added small visual elements to identify specific objects. Should I call these things (visual) marks or (visual) markers? What is the difference? Is there a better term?
According to ...
5
votes
4answers
356 views
Can “zealot” have a positive connotation?
A zealot is a person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals.
I have never seen this word used with positive connotation, but could it (without ...
3
votes
2answers
359 views
Usage of “matter” and “substance”
What is the difference between matter and substance?
For example, are ice and water "the same matter" or "the same substance"?
Dictionaries seem vague about the difference. For example, the Oxford ...
