Tagged Questions
3
votes
5answers
359 views
Struggling to understand headlines that use ellipsis
I have trouble understanding headlines because they abuse ellipsis. Two examples:
"Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan To Awkwardly Hug, High Five For Next Three Months"
"Scores Dead as Fire Sweeps Through ...
4
votes
3answers
229 views
Is “Prewin” a well-received English word?
I find Maureen Dowd’s article in November 24 NY-Times titled “But can they eat 50 eggs?”amusing. She compares the leadership and charm of character between President Obama and Robert Griffin III, the ...
1
vote
1answer
669 views
What is the difference between “left/right side” and “left/right-hand side”?
This question arose in the context of referring to locations in a figure, e.g.:
A dot is added to the left(-hand) side of the diagram.
What is the difference in meaning (if there is one)? What ...
3
votes
1answer
880 views
Is “project in hand” correct?
I am writing my MSc project report in English and I want to use the phrase
"the project in hand"
as a title to a chapter where I will be introducing the project that was undertaken.
Is such an ...
1
vote
2answers
1k views
“Conformity” vs. “conformance”
I am curious about the differences in meaning, connotations, style, and correctness of using conformity vs conformance.
I haven't been able to find much using a simple web search, only a single ...
4
votes
2answers
8k views
“For the time being” vs. “for now”
Consider the following passages:
A litter made of two rifles and two field jackets would suffice for now. That was good news; another bit was that the EPW was a lieutenant, a regimental REMF ...
3
votes
2answers
450 views
“The likeliest problem” vs. “the most likely problem”
The likeliest problem vs. the most likely problem:
are they both correct?
do they mean the same thing?
is one preferable over another?
3
votes
7answers
8k views
Should we use “in terms of”?
I have came across this reference: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c3_p35.html
This phrase is virtually meaningless, but we often hear it on the news and in bloated speeches. “In ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
'To take something into account' vs. 'to take something into consideration'
OALD defines the expressions as follows:
to take something into account: to consider particular facts,
circumstances, etc. when making a decision about something
to take something into ...
14
votes
4answers
750 views
What is it called when words are deliberately written wrong but pronunciation is kept unchanged?
For example,
Night -> Nite
Nite even appears in some dictionaries as having the same meaning as night.
What is it called when words are deliberately written incorrectly but the pronunciation ...
2
votes
3answers
232 views
“action is told rather than given” - what does it mean?
Reading this amazon.co.uk book review...
The writing style itself isn't bad but overall, the story is flat and the action is often told rather than given.
"...told rather than given" - I ...
2
votes
2answers
7k views
“Prerequisite for” vs. “prerequisite to”
When is it appropriate to use "prerequisite for" instead of "prerequisite to"? Does it depend on context, or is it a matter of style?
I googled the two phrases and found 4.5 million hits for ...
3
votes
11answers
835 views
What is the term for accusing a person of mischief through invented, twisting and changeable terminology?
What is the term for accusing a person of invented wrongdoing in such a way that he cannot respond or even clearly understand the accusations? For example, frequently reversing the definitions of the ...
