Questions tagged [phrases]
This tag is for questions about phrases in the linguistic sense. In linguistics a “phrase” is a group of words that make a unit of syntax with a single grammatical function. Use [phrase-requests] if you are searching for a phrase.
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Are there synonyms for "love marriage"?
I was fascinated by an answer to a comment question I asked under Is the term “would-be” just an Indian usage or universal? about a term for a non-arranged marriage in India. Love marriage was the ...
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What type of cat do you swing?
I've heard that the cat which there may not be enough room to swing actually refers to a type of whip. Is that true? What is the actual origin of the phrase not/barely enough room to swing a cat?
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Which is correct: "So far as I know" or "As far as I know"?
Which is more appropriate: "So" or "As"?
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Phrase which describes falsely improving something
Is there an aphorism or proverb in English which describes attempting to improve something fundamentally flawed by dressing it with a lot of ornament?
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"xxxx it is then!", what does it really mean?
Every now and then, I hear others say "xxxx it is then", e.g. "10:30am it is then", "$200 it is then", I myself sometimes say this too, as a means to confirm some arrangement I suspect I did not hear ...
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"The proverbial wedding ring"?
In old books, I keep coming accross the saying,
...is so transparent it could pass through the proverbial wedding ring.
What does this mean?
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Is 'Single Sitting' a proper phrase?
Being an Indian, I don't like the way we Indians use the English. Of course I also make mistakes, but I will try to learn from time to time.
I see and hear some phrases like, Please do the needful, ...
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'Third wheel' or 'fifth wheel'?
If you are the "extra" person in a situation, are you the "third wheel" or the "fifth wheel"?
Some books—like Film Noir Guide—say "third":
O'Keefe plays an ...
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"came up short 100 dollars" - what usage of "short" is that?
..but I came up short 100 dollars.
In this sentence, I cannot figure out the meaning of "came up" and "short". The closest meaning I found with "come up" was "to occur unexpectedly" but no example ...
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Meaning and origin of "Get someone's shirt out"
I was wondering to myself about the word "shirty". It seemed so curious a word. After all, what did its meaning have to do with shirts. "Were the two words even related?", I wondered.
So I looked up "...
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What does this archaic use of "fear never but you" mean exactly?
In Emerson's famous essay Self-Reliance there's this sentence:
Fear never but you shall be consistent in whatever variety of actions, so they be each honest and natural in their hour.
I guess ...
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When did "by way of" start meaning "originally from"
Some years ago, after returning to New York from some years living abroad, I began to notice New Yorkers of a certain generation (in their 20s and early 30s) describing themselves or others as "...
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What do you call a circular paved protuberance added to a paved street?
I used to own a house located in a modern suburban street with a circular protuberance, a circular paved (tarred) surface appended to the paved street it was part of. Four houses with their gardens ...
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Intonation in the phrase "How are you?"
From native English speakers I often hear the phrase "How are you?" intonated differently. Sometimes the word "are" is stressed, and sometimes the word "you" is. What is the difference between these ...
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Word or Phrase for the many minor things adding up to something major and not noticing until it's too late? [duplicate]
I need a word, phrase, expression, metaphor etc for when lots of "insignificant" incidents or mistakes etc add up to make something major but by the time you realize it's major it's too late.
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What is the origin of the phrase "stand on your head and spit wooden nickels?"
Where does this phrase come from? Was there a time in which it was in popular use? Is it an American English phrase?
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What does the expression "With a twist" means?
I would like to know the meaning of the expression "With a twist" and the context in which it can be used - examples are welcome.
I have an understanding of it in the lines of "Traveling with a ...
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Is ‘toss a bone to somebody’ a popular English idiom?
I came across the phrase ‘toss a bone’ in the headline of the New York Times article (July 15) in its Business section that reads “As a Watchdog Starves, Wall Street Is Tossed a Bone.”
I checked ...
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Phrase for asking the obvious
In my language when a question is asking something really obvious we are using a phrase that if translated means:
What is making a "meow meow" sound on the roof/rooftop?
Is there an equivalent ...
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Is ‘just’ an adjective in ‘just anyone’?
Given this sentence:
Nina wouldn’t give her phone number to just anyone.
I’ve checked several dictionaries (Oxford, Longman, Cambridge, Macmillan)
for the word just from the example above. It looks ...
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What does the title "Man Friday" mean? [closed]
I was reading this book Gujarat files and suddenly I came across this word Narendra Modi’s Man Friday (describing Amit Shah) What does this title mean? And also is the word 'title' I used correct word ...
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Where did "doggy dog world" come from?
This Ngram shows that people were happily saying "dog eat dog world" until the 1980s, when "doggy dog world" abruptly came into use.
What might have accounted for this? (It was well before Snoop ...
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"Take/Consider ... as an example" vs "Take/Consider ... for example"
For more than a decade, I have always seen/used the phrase "Take/Consider ... as an example" followed by a comma. Then, my recent visit on this page got me confused and raised more questions in me.
...
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What does 'two-bit paper pusher' mean?
I often find a joke titled, ‘When a grandma goes to court’ followed by the line, ‘Lawyers should never ask a question if they aren’t prepared for the answer.’
I don’t know if it’s a popular joke or ...
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Doubt about the subject in this phrase: I, me, or myself?
At the end of the evening, the bar was almost empty, with only [I/?] and a very cheerful and pleasant lady I met in the last minutes of the meeting.
What is the correct form in this case?
My ...
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Is “No offense meant (taken)” well-accepted English expression?
I’ve seen the phrase “No offense taken” in the answers to the comments in EL&U site.
None of online Cambridge, Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionary registers this usage, nor does Google Ngram.
...
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Is ‘Set one’s hair on fire’ a popular English idiom?
Yesterday’s (September8) New York Times carried an article titled ‘Setting Their Hair on Fire’ which was written by economist, Paul Krugman. It is followed by the following sentence:
“First things ...
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What is another way of saying "final solution?"
"Final Solution" is not the optimal phrase to use because it has a negative historical reference.
When working on a project, I'd like to find a phrase that describes the process of evolving solutions ...
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When a phrase ends with a period, do you put ... or .. after it?
I was just reading this question: When "etc." is at the end of a phrase, do you place a period after it?
And it brought to mind something similar. If a phrase ends with a . (such as e.g. or ...
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What does "Faustian bargain" mean?
In an article I see this phrase "Faustian bargain". Both I and my teacher were unable to translate or understand it. Can you help me and explain this phrase?
Context:
The reason for linking all ...
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What is the origin of the phrase "wind your neck in!"?
I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on the origin of the phrase in title.
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What does “We don’t do anything that’s not completely up and up” mean?
I found an amusing story titled “Lobster salad, but a key ingredient was missing” in today’s (August 11）New York Times NY/Region section.
The article reports that Zabar’s, the famous grocery in ...
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What's the meaning of the expression "Grab a hold"?
What does it mean to "grab a hold"? There is a song by Cyndi Lauper that says
If you wanna grab a hold, let it go...
user5320
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What is the origin of the phrase "What, me worry"? (It isn't Mad Magazine!)
In Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson discusses the early history of the submarine. According to Larson, the submarine was regarded as an "iron coffin" until the work of John ...
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Can I say "What you are saying is ‘pants on fire,’" when I don’t trust what my elderly friend says?
There was the following sentence in the article titled, “Romney says inaccurate attack ad is fair” on IowaPolitics.com (November 23), which was studded with several expressions I’ve not gotten used to:...
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“Battled-hardened,” Is this one of New Yorker's renowned idiosyncrasies?
There was a really entertaining short story describing customary exchanges of fierce words between a restaurant patron and waitress in New Yorker magazine (June 14.) under the title, “Lunch at Gitlitz’...
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Is "Less than perfect" always used in a sarcastic and negative way?
I always use the phrase less than perfect in a sarcastic way, meaning that something is not good at all. For example:
My date was obviously less than perfect. She was late and in a hurry, and she ...
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Can ‘nickel and dime’ be used for the object not related with money?
There was the following sentence in the pretty old article of Daily Finance titled “How to avoid getting nickel and dimed with fee:
“These days, it seems as if everyone's trying to squeeze every ...
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If ______ gets outlawed, only outlaws will ______
What is the common origin of these and similar phrases, and how are they used? I've seen them in both silly and serious contexts.
If guns get outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
If ...
user4727
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"Otherwise" after "where"
Here is a passage in a technical document I'm working on:
Simple vs. associative arrays
Where you need key-value pairs, use associative arrays.
Otherwise, use the simple ones.
As I felt, there was ...
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Meaning of "ask of"
What is the meaning of the phrase ask of in the following sentence?
Trust and security are important for any application; before we move on to the
meat of accessing data, let’s make sure the ...
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Can you buy things "for cheap"?
The first line of this news story says:
Call it space grave robbery for a cause: imagine scavenging defunct communication satellites for their valuable parts and recycling them to build brand new ...
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What is the etymology of "bugger-lugs"?
I have recently heard the phrase bugger-lugs used to refer to a person present, as in "How much do I owe you, bugger-lugs?". I have also heard it used to refer to a moderately mischievous child ("what ...
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What does “put a floor under the crash” mean?
There were the following lines in former President Bill Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention held on September 5th;
“In Tampa the Republican argument against the President’s re-...
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What does "shotgun" have to do with the front seat in the car?
What does "calling shotgun" have to do with reservation of a seat near the car driver?
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What's the correct term for potato chips?
In school I learned to say 'crisps' but I don't want to mix it with french fries. So what's the correct term for potato chips, and what synonyms are there?
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Are there any English idioms to describe “futile benevolence?”
We have a word, “宋襄の仁” meaning “futile benevolence.” The word comes from a historic episode from ancient China.
In Spring and Autumn era (BC 8C) in China, when Song Country fought Chu Country, Muyi, ...
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What does “be at it” mean? Is it an idiom?
In the talk show titled “How Dogs Evolved Into 'Our Best Friends'” on NPR’s “Fresh Air” aired on November 8, naturalist Mark Derr offered an intriguing story about how humans and wolves developed a ...
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Does the phrase "pull the chain" have some sort of significance in jails and prisons?
My question comes apropos a comment on an old question's of RegDwight's, "jail" vs. "prison". After many answers established that there was indeed a difference in usage between the two terms, JohnFx ...
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