Questions tagged [british-english]
This tag is for questions related to English as spoken in Great Britain, and sometimes Ireland.
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0answers
18 views
Is “Fall in love” idiom or phrase? any crystal-clear definition of idioms vs. phrases? [duplicate]
I'm very keen on the little peculiar differences and distinctions, so I always love to dig till the very end.. sometimes this brings up an anxiety. Please, before voting down, read this question ...
-1
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1answer
54 views
What does “numbers” mean here?
I see this paragraph in The life of Samuel Johnson
About this time he made one other effort to emancipate himself from the drudgery of authourship. He applied to Dr. Adams, to consult Dr. ...
0
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1answer
58 views
Is “really” in the sense of “very”, American English, or British English?
Or is it both? If it is American English, what would be the British English equivalent, or vice versa.
"I really like this dress" as in "I very much like this dress"
0
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2answers
97 views
What is the district police called?
I was chatting with a course mate in the morning and we talked about alcohol, then he mentioned ''in Poland you can't drink publicly, as the 'civic guard' may talk to you.''
Neither of us knew what ...
0
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0answers
44 views
Why is a private school called “public school” in the UK? [on hold]
Public school seems to have contradictory meanings, depending on the region you use the term:
(in the UK) a private fee-paying secondary school, especially one for boarders.
(chiefly in North America)...
3
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1answer
59 views
I see this paragraph in “The life of Samuel Johnson”
I see this paragraph in "The life of Samuel Johnson"
"Pope, who then filled the poetical throne without a rival, it may reasonably be presumed, must have been particularly struck by the sudden ...
0
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0answers
43 views
Do you stick to the original spelling of a name regardless of British or American spelling?
For example, NATO stands for "North Atlantic Treaty Organization", which is an intergovernmental military alliance between 29 North American and European countries, hence the American spelling of "...
1
vote
2answers
88 views
What does 'give the wall' mean?
I read in a book and see this paragraph:
'In the last age, when my mother lived in London, there were two sets of people, those who gave the wall, and those who took it; the peaceable and the ...
0
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2answers
43 views
Clearer title in American English for Liaison? What is a good verb to use for the action?
I've found using the word Liaison in general (especially as a title) in American English conversations is problematic. As many people seem to use it synonymously with manager or advocate. Is there a ...
-1
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0answers
32 views
function name, “onButtonClick” or “onClickButton” [on hold]
I am a Japanese Web developer.
I want to be better at English.
What is the proper name of a function that means, "when button is(was) clicked" ?
"onButtonClick"?
"onClickButton"?
"onButtonClicked"...
-2
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0answers
27 views
Redundancy errors
I have got a query on the differences between the usage of describe and tell about.
To the best of my knowledge, normally describe and about won’t come together as describe itself means tell about. ...
1
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0answers
39 views
Are email salutations regional?
Best wishes is very popular ending for emails and replaces best regards in almost all emails I've received from academics in Cambridge (UK).
At the same time I've never seen this used by American ...
1
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1answer
44 views
Why does British English use “Collective are” and others use “Collective is”?
Since Indian English uses "Collective is" I feel British English has adopted it after the colonial days. When did countries diverge on is/are and which countries use the British system?
3
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4answers
125 views
When do British people use the word “cookie”?
I have noticed that British people usually say "biscuit" to describe what an American would call a "cookie".
However, I just heard a sports broadcaster in the UK using the metaphor "I wonder when he ...
1
vote
1answer
65 views
Why can't we say that “Horses are a useful animal.” treats horses as a class or set of objects?
（1）Computers are important research tools.
（2）Computers are an important research tool.
We can say that the first sentence treats computers as discrete objects.
The second sentence treats ...
4
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1answer
75 views
In British English, which is more common — the em dash or the en dash?
I'm reasonably certain the em dash is more common than the en dash in American English. But which of the two is more common in British English?
3
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2answers
53 views
When was the term “reality” first used referring to a TV show?
According to Etymonline the expression is from the early ‘90, but they add no details:
Reality television from 1991.
Reality television as a genre appears to date back at least to the ‘40s as ...
1
vote
1answer
41 views
drop out vs dropout vs drop-out [closed]
If I understand correctly, I have to use one of these 3 forms depending on the case:
verb: drop out
noun: dropout
modifer: drop-out
Are the following 7 examples spelled correctly in British ...
0
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0answers
20 views
What does “break out the gavel ”mean?
In hopeless by coleen hoover sky says she will eventually "break out the gavel " any guesses what she means?
1
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3answers
44 views
is “Lighting the spark for XYZ” a meaningful phrase in english? [closed]
I am trying to translate or rather come up with an English expression for the German "den Funken überspringen lassen" for a title of an academic paper. My best solution so far is "Lighting the spark ...
0
votes
2answers
49 views
Is it deodoriser/deodorizer/deodouriser/deodourizer? In British English as well as American [closed]
British English would usually use "-our" and "-ser" and American English would use "-or" and "-zer".
I don't seem to find an appropriate answer to this. Which combination is actually correct for ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
Why do we put subject and auxiliary verbs at the end of the sentence?
Why do we put subject and auxiliary verbs e.g., have, be, do at the end of the sentence?
I found this kind of sentences from a fantasy book named The last apprentice by Joseph Delany.
Examples:
...
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0answers
20 views
Usage with conjunctions
She bought one for her, one for him.
She bought one for her, and one for him
The horse ran out of the gate, across the field.
The horse ran out of the gate and across the field.
Are the ...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
“Facing the resignation” meaning [closed]
What does it mean: "You'll just be spending your day working to overcome strains, trying to live your life and at various points facing the resignation that if you can't get your *** of this wheel ...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
How would you describe the movement of a lever?
The story is that I was describing an action happens in the car park in class, and I got stuck, I said something like: "after putting a coin in the slot of the parking meter, then the lever would be ...
1
vote
3answers
51 views
Why do U.S. Americans say “a good value” (using indefinite article “a”)
Take this example from the Airbnb website: "What would have made this listing a better value?"
This souds absolutely horrible and incorrect to my Australian ears (I would omit the "a"). I've also ...
1
vote
0answers
11 views
Using “went” in a statement [closed]
I would like to know if the below statement is grammatically correct. The context is that someone recently suggested us a solution that we already applied.
"That's the solution we went with."
Thanks....
0
votes
1answer
43 views
Thinking in English
I have been learning English for 10 years at the school, now I am at the last grade, I have passed an exam for B2 Level, but I still have problems with thinking in English. Sometimes my speech is ...
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2answers
68 views
Is it correct to say ‘I will go there in my own way’? [closed]
To express that I will use my own transportation means and route to get there rather than going with a group following the proposed route, can I say, ‘I will go (or get) there in my own way’? Does it ...
4
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2answers
82 views
“Class, open your books TO/AT page 13!”—Is it a matter of dialectal difference?
My original notion was,
A) If there's a movement and a destination (as in the case of thumbing a book to reach a certain page), it should be to:
Class, open your books to page 13!
B) If there's ...
2
votes
1answer
47 views
What are British English alternatives for “jack sh*t”
If you want to say e.g. "He does jack sh*t (nothing) at work", what British English idioms would you use (apart from just 'nothing')?
0
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0answers
16 views
-ic vs. -ical adjective forms when talking about categories/fields [duplicate]
I will bring forward examples coming from my field of studies.
For long time I have been wondering whether there are rationales or regional variances applied to the usage of dichotomies like:
...
0
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2answers
27 views
Is there another way to say, “drive the point in further?” or belabor the point?"
In a work I am writing, two characters are having a discussion that becomes quite heated. The man makes an observation about the woman that is less than flattering and then while she's still ...
0
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1answer
37 views
I am working for (company name) or i am working under (company name) [closed]
I am working for (company name) or i am working under (company name) which is correct?
1
vote
3answers
47 views
“However” as a conjunction [closed]
I know that the word "however" can serve as a conjunction meaning "in whatever manners". But may I confirm if this is only a practice of American English, or it is also commonly used this way in ...
0
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1answer
38 views
Past tense and future tense can be used together? [closed]
For example, They told me that they will support our next event.
Can these 2 tenses be together?
10
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1answer
631 views
When “be it” is at the beginning of a sentence, what kind of structure do you call it?
I think it is kind of inversion and I'd found some info on Wikipedia, but I cannot recall what term this structure is, I even remember some examples from Wiki, say, "be it ever so humble, there's no ...
2
votes
1answer
37 views
can “naughty” be used to describe a child who didn't behave?
my opinion is "YES". The reason why I even asked is that this American friend strongly suggested never use it since it carries sexual suggestiveness. I, however, believe the usage heavily depends on ...
0
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1answer
40 views
What does “barely perceptibly” mean? [closed]
Barely perceptibly, he starts to cry.
Does barely perceptibly mean losing control?
0
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1answer
38 views
Department or department? [closed]
I have been asked to review a document but I have a dilemma:
"D" in below phrase should be capital?
"It can flourish collaboration among the members of the Department"?
Or job title:
"The ...
2
votes
1answer
101 views
How do you pronounce the word Shaman?
I found 2 American pronunciation samples on Forvo, and they said /ˈʃæmən/ (audio), I wonder if British people say /ˈʃeɪmən/ (audio), or not? Could you please tell me something about that?
0
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1answer
44 views
Phrase meaning of equal parts
IN THE CUT-THROAT realm of reality TV, “Wanted Down Under” is a survivor. A daytime fixture that has just finished its 13th season, the BBC documentary follows Britons contemplating relocating to ...
0
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1answer
79 views
What to call a mass of meat in English? [closed]
I'm not talking about the meat itself. Could be a corpse or something lifeless.
I think I've heard of the term "lamb" (British English). Is that the case though? (as lamb is sheep's meat).
EDIT:
...
2
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1answer
44 views
What is the difference between to pollute and to contaminate? [closed]
I think they might be synonym, but I'm just not sure.
3
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1answer
144 views
spatio or spatial
Searching the Google scholar,
"spatio-temporal" returnn 778,000 hits,
"spatial-temporal" returns 798,000 hits,
"spatial-temporal scales" returns 3,620 hits,
"spatio-temporal scales" returns 13,...
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votes
2answers
52 views
A word means “move one's hand across hair till it is flat and even” [closed]
I basically just forgot the word, I've got really vague recollection of it, I think it's SMOOTH, like I smooth my hair back
But I only remember one of the example sentences in my app, I don't really ...
0
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1answer
75 views
Please translate to American English from the British the following: OH **UK!
The cover of the most recent Economist (March 16 - 22nd 2019) has in large type
OH **UK! Whatever next?
From the context, this is clearly a comment on the current Brexit mess.
Is ** UK related ...
1
vote
4answers
46 views
How to express that a piece of information is the knowledge from a certain date?
I would like to express that a piece of information corresponds to my knowledge at a given date without implying anything on the past or future validity of the information.
Example:
The house down ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
Usage of “to double down” in British and American English
The idiom "to double to on sth" in the sense of "continuing to do something in an even more determined way than before" is mentioned in the Cambridge Dictionary. However, personally, I've heard this ...
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votes
2answers
61 views
What kind of TV show is an “asshole match” in British English? [closed]
You can see in this clip the "Right Honorable Gentleman" and speaker Bercow makes mention that there is an "Asshole Match on television very soon." I've never heard an Asshole Match, and the closest ...
