6
votes
2answers
869 views
How to punctuate an answer to a question when the answer is also a question?
The title to this question is sort of long-winded but the example here should clarify it.
Which of these is correct?
Who should be baby-sitting your children, your neighborhood teenagers or ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
When to use “have” and “have got”
When do I use have and have got?
Are "I have the answer" and "I've got the answer" both correct?
0
votes
2answers
194 views
Coinage of phrase “history sniffing”
"History sniffing" is an attack in which a malicious website can figure out what other websites you have visited by taking advantage of the way browsers draw visited and unvisited hyperlinks ...
13
votes
9answers
2k views
Is there an English word that means “out of place”?
I am looking for a word or short phrase that best describes a scenario in which an author seems to have copiously placed uncommon or higher educated vocabulary in a lower reading level book. Meaning ...
1
vote
4answers
272 views
Conflict of interest
What's the difference between a "conflict of interest" and the "appearance of a conflict of interest"?
2
votes
2answers
252 views
What is the etymology of “the”?
I was just having this conversation with a friend. Where does the word "the" come from?
-1
votes
3answers
229 views
Can I call me Anti-Anti-SpamBot or how?
Will it be comprehensible to take a nickname calling me Anti-Anti-SpamBot
to convey the idea that communication on internet (like commenting in blogs, registration and posting in forums, etc.) became ...
1
vote
1answer
489 views
Which is the correct idiom: “Force of habit” or “course of habit”?
Which is correct, "course of habit" or "force of habit"? (This question is inspired by this post on the woot forums.)
1
vote
4answers
2k views
Which one is correct? “Look here” or “Look at here”?
Between the following two phrases:
"Look here"
"Look at here"
which one is correct?
Is it advisable to use "at" in this case?
2
votes
3answers
2k views
“Archivable” or “archiveable”
I have an entity and I would like to describe it as being able to be archived.
Is it archivable, archiveable (which seem OK for me but no wiktionary.org results) or something else?
12
votes
5answers
3k views
Equivalent of “former” and “latter” for more than 2 items
Former and latter are valid only when there are two choices.
If I have a list of more than two items, is there an elegant way to say the first one or the last one?
6
votes
4answers
4k views
Should I capitalize the starting sentence after a greeting that ends in a comma (e.g. “Hello,”)?
Should I open the starting sentence after comma in adressing "Hi," ("Hello,") with capital letter?
Hi, Xxxl, Dear Xxx L,
let me ...
vs.
Dear Xxx L,
Let me ...
In Russian it ...
12
votes
7answers
1k views
How long does it take to mull something over?
I used the phrase we'll mull it over in an e-mail. My intent was to let the readers know that we (the team) needed to give it due consideration and come up with a considered response to their ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
What is a good convention for expressing different currencies?
Using a currency amount such as $1,000 in writing that has an international audience may be confusing (as may £1,000). This amount might represent US, Canadian, Australian or some other currency. I ...
1
vote
1answer
143 views
Why is physics pluralised? Why do some countries use 's' and others 'z' in some words? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicates:
**zation vs **sation?
What is the difference between a “singular noun” and a “plural noun treated as singular”?
My question came from looking ...
1
vote
3answers
284 views
Is it “that's the same story, know?” or “that's the same story, no?”
I am getting quite confused by:
That's also the same story, know? or
That's also the same story, no?
IN the above two which is correct formation? This is very confusing to me.
2
votes
5answers
567 views
Use of ! to convey sarcasm vs. emphasis
One, two or even three exclamation marks are often added, especially in e-mail, to convey emphasis to phrases such as Thanks!, or No problem!. My problem is that in British English, you could also ...
6
votes
4answers
1k views
Differences between “price point” and “price”
Apart from its use among the bean-counters who talk about maximising company profits, I can't understand why price point has spread so widely in popular American parlance. As far as I can tell, the ...
10
votes
2answers
8k views
“Legend” or “key”?
What is the difference between a legend or a key? Is it still called a legend if it is located at the top, rather than the bottom of results?
4
votes
6answers
923 views
Word to describe an object in continuous cycle that is eventually ejected when it matures
I'm trying to find a word or phrase that best describes the process of an object or entity that enters a continuous cycle until it grows large enough or matures to a point of self-sustainability.
...
25
votes
6answers
11k views
“Oriented” vs. “orientated”
What are the origins of the word orientated?
As far as I know, the correct spelling is oriented and orientated is not an alternative spelling but an error that is in common use.
Is it for example ...
8
votes
3answers
3k views
How to deal with quoting a grammatical error?
What should you do if you’re quoting someone, and that quote has a grammatical error?
Say for example that I’m quoting this line from the American Pregnancy Association:
The term used for a ...
6
votes
2answers
212 views
“Nikki's and Alice's X” vs. “Nikki and Alice's X”
Which option is grammatical?
There will be readings from Nikki Giovanni’s and Alice Walker’s writings.
There will be readings from Nikki Giovanni and Alice Walker's writings.
Saying it ...
2
votes
5answers
236 views
Is there one word that clearly describes the difference in kind for these four types?
I am stuck on a word choice problem. I have a large amount of response related data, which were previously stored such that each datum lay within one of the following realms:
law enforcement
...
9
votes
2answers
312 views
Is it ever appropriate to mix up “I” and “one” in the same sentence?
In my last question on English L & U SE, I was strongly tempted to write the following:
Every so often I've thought I've chanced across most of them [literary Biblical phrases], but as one ...
3
votes
1answer
6k views
When should I use “guarantee” over “guaranty” and vice versa?
When would I use guarantee instead of guaranty? The dictionary definitions seem pretty much the same. Excepting maybe the noun form of the word.
I have a real world example. A website I'm working ...
21
votes
2answers
1k views
Why is “math” always pluralized in British English and singular in American English?
In the U.S. I would study math. In Britain, I would study maths. What gives?
5
votes
6answers
3k views
Why are people from Sunderland called “mackems”?
In the north-east of England, if nowhere else, people from Sunderland are called "mackems". Does anyone know why this should be? Wikipedia suggests a number of possibilities. Are any of these correct?
...
7
votes
7answers
699 views
What are some of the most influential or obscure phrases and literary constructions drawn from the Bible?
I was reading through some English L & U SE questions, and happened across one asking about the origin of the phrase "Through a Glass, Clearly / A Scanner Darkly / In a Mirror, Darkly / ...
3
votes
1answer
201 views
What does ‘achy old pros‘ mean , and what is an allegory of ‘Old pros returns to holy rituals of this game (Super Bowl)?,
I would like to thank many of answerers for giving detailed discourses about the gist and meaning of the sentence of the Washington Post’ article dealing with saturated TV commercial spree during ...
6
votes
3answers
4k views
What does the phrase “…it's like Groundhog Day every day” mean, and from whence does it originate?
Some background first: I was reading about the futility that has become the Cleveland Cavaliers' NBA season after Lebron James' departure in the newspaper of the Plains Dealer, when I came across this ...
36
votes
5answers
4k views
Is “guy” gender-neutral?
The plural "guys" definitely is, at least here in San Francisco — I'm often hearing all-girl companies here being greeted with 'Hi guys, how are you doing?'.
How about the singular guy? Is it ...
0
votes
2answers
176 views
Which is better: “Powered by X” vs. “X-powered”
We say "Powered by Microsoft"; can one also say "Microsoft powered" instead of this?
2
votes
2answers
481 views
Conjugating verbs for nouns referring to groups of people [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is staff plural?
Frequently when reading tech articles, I see sentences like "Microsoft have released ..." or "Apple have announced ...".
This seems wrong to me because ...
2
votes
2answers
3k views
Where does “Look yourself in the mirror” come from?
Where does "unable to look myself in the mirror" come from?
related example:
...I asked her what she does if after six months or so it becomes obvious that a salesperson is not bringing in ...
1
vote
4answers
715 views
Humorous synonyms for “lie” [closed]
What are some funny synonyms for to tell a lie?
E.g. fib, pull a Bill Clinton, etc.
7
votes
2answers
500 views
3
votes
2answers
563 views
“Hot Diggity …”
Ok, perhaps the last one was too easy :) Here's one that a friend of mine uses, and I'd love to know if it's something he coined, or is it a more common expression than I think:
Hot ...
3
votes
1answer
2k views
Virtualisation vs Virtualization [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
**zation vs **sation?
So, there seem to be some contradicting opinions on this matter. Can anyone shed some light on this case?
Might be similar to visualize vs ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
“Oh, for Pete's sake!”
Just curious as to where this expression came from and when it came into being. It's one that is commonly used (among other variations, e.g. "Oh for crying out loud!"), but where does it come from ...
2
votes
2answers
604 views
“One-Day Only Promotion” or “One-Day-Only Promotion”
A copywriter I'm working with wrote "One-Day Only Promotion" but my feeling is that "One-Day-Only Promotion" is correct. The first three words describe 'Promotion'. I know you don't hyphenate adverbs, ...
8
votes
4answers
10k views
What is the plural of “scenario”?
What is the plural of "scenario"? I have always used "scenarios", but have recently come across "scenaria" and "scenarii". Should I be treating it as an Italian or Latin word?
0
votes
3answers
416 views
0
votes
2answers
4k views
Meaning of “about to [do something]” when it refers to somebody's action
I am about to launch a start-up company.
Would the sentence be understood as I am intending to launch a start-up company, or I am close to launch a start-up company?
In a sentence like the ...
3
votes
4answers
458 views
In which dialect would “poll” mean “a person's head”?
I read that poll means also, in dialect, a person's head; that is the second meaning that NOAD gives to pool as noun.
Is there, nowadays, a dialect where the word as that meaning?
If such dialect ...
1
vote
2answers
98 views
Question that needs a selection
What do you call a question that needs a selection? For example:
Is an argument true until proven false or vice-versa?
14
votes
8answers
5k views
Is it proper to omit periods after honorifics (Mr, Mrs, Dr)?
I've been reading the Economist lately and they apparently don't punctuate honorifics like "Mr.", "Mrs.", e.g.
The popular rejection of Mr Mubarak offers the Middle East’s best chance for reform ...
15
votes
4answers
569 views
What do “The cheese is baked into crust” and “Tweet one’s delight …” mean in the context of an article about Super Bowl XLV?
For a non native English speaker, the introductory part of today’s Washington Post article commenting on the flood of TV commercials during the Super Bowl contains a bunch of unfamiliar phrases and is ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
What are appropriate words to describe trends in graphs (e.g. “increase”, “growth”)? [closed]
What is the difference between increase, growth, go up and rise? And what is the difference between decline, fall, go down and drop? I really don't know which is the best to describe parts of a graph. ...
8
votes
1answer
2k views
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 ...
