Questions tagged [meaning]
This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.
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Etymology of "attendance" [closed]
I was writing a meeting confirmation email and thought I would write something of the sort:
please, confirm your attendance at the meeting by...
However, I found on the internet that some people ...
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The meaning of ‘Pony boy’ in the context of Disney film ‘Finding Nemo’ [closed]
Could anyone please explain to me what does ‘Pony boy’ when used by Marlin to Martin in Disney film Finding Nemo
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Interpreting "Begin at the beginning, the King said, very gravely, and go on till you come to the end: then stop."
I've come across the following quote by Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:
Begin at the beginning, the King said, very gravely, and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
The &...
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Meaning of “Recall” [closed]
What does “Recall” mean here?
I even shunned physical therapy sessions after undergoing knee and hip replacements while working at the Persian Restaurant (one of my hip prosthetics was recalled, ...
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How come Mush Mouth gets shotgun? - Meaning [migrated]
How come Mush Mouth gets shotgun?
What does this phrase from the sitcom "Two and a Half Men" mean? (season 1, ep.15)
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What's the meaning of ‘pull through‘ in this sentence? [migrated]
Please, I'd like to know the meaning of pull through in the sentence below:
The new model is one in which products "pull through" profitable services that offer predictable recurring ...
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0
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What’s the meaning of “rebill” in the enclosed sentence?
The tote in question was a “rebilled” narcotic, where there was a problem filling the tote inside the vault where they are staged due to lack of supply.
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What's an example of traduction?
The second definition of "traduction" given by Merriam Webster's website is
The repetition of a word or one of its derivatives or a term with a change in sense for rhetorical or ...
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English grammar "the something for something" [migrated]
I found on a bean can the phrase "the italian for healthy taste". I'm wondering if it's an English way to say or it's just a wrong sentence?
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Meaning of "Cut my thumb up"? [closed]
What is the meaning of "Cut my thumb up"? I heard it in Post Malone's song Reputation and I'm unable to find the meaning of this idiom/phrase on the internet.
Take my own life just to save ...
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What is the meaning of "campaigner" in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes?
I am quoting from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Final Problem by Arthur Conan Doyle:
"Because you will find me a dangerous companion now. This man's occupation is gone. He is lost if he ...
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1
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Is the engineering definition of redundancy commonly understood
In writing for non-technical people (C-suite, Board of Directors etc.), is it more likely this audience would understand redundancy to mean additional components to take over for failed components or ...
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Usage of the word "or" [closed]
The word "or" is commonly used to link alternatives. For example, in the sentence "You should use a pencil or a pen", the meaning is you can choose which one you want to use.
...
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What does "rule" mean in "the rule of law"?
What does rule mean in the rule of law? I understand the concept of it, but not the grammar. Does "rule" mean "control"/"domination"? Or does it mean "rule" as ...
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What’s the meaning of “Substance” [closed]
What’s the meaning of Substance in this phrase:
James had never served in the medical community, and his strength was substance rather than management of a large organization.
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Question About Confusing Wording [closed]
I was working on a problem for math homework and I got confused by the wording of what the question was asking. The problem is shown below.
A customer who intends to purchase an appliance has three ...
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What does “watermarked the moon” mean? [migrated]
The lyrics say
“Watermarked the moon, cast the hex”
I really don’t know what it means.
Even “cast the hex”, is it like “throw the witch” or “cast upon the witch a curse”?
This is more of the lyrics ...
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30
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Meaning of "it will take for granted that you always took it for granted"
I am reading William Empson's "Seven Types of Ambiguity", and I have difficulty with the following passage, especially with the part in bold and the preceding sentences.
A single word,
...
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What does the word "snare" mean in the following sentence? [closed]
Do you seek to snare that poor chap in your machinations again?
3
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1
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458
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What are searchers called?
Today my teacher taught me about using the prefix "re" to mean that you are doing something again. So for the word "Research" it means that you are doing some "search" ...
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What is the meaning of the idiom, "limbing forth to the life"?
I've come across what appears to be an idiom that I'm at a loss as to the meaning, and searched online to no avail. The text is Dæmonologie and Theologie by Nathanael Homes, published in 1650.
…a ...
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Meaning of "engineer" as a hotel employee
During a short stay at a hotel in Manhattan, I had a problem with the sink drain getting clogged. I rang the reception and described the problem. They replied: "I will send an engineer up right ...
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442
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Can repertoire be used with respect to a library's books?
Instead of saying
The library had a massive collection of books to choose from.
could I use repertoire to make it
The library had a massive repertoire to choose from.
Although the synonyms of the ...
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What does this mean or what this is mean? [migrated]
I'm learning English and generally used "what this is mean", but I see many using "what does this mean".
Is the way I speak incorrect or informal?
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Can someone arrange this very sentences with a grammatical diagram? [closed]
The posts you share here on your timeline have good articles with better experiences and wonderful pictures, I feel ecstatic in going through your page worth disseminating, this is my first time ...
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what is the meaning of " beyond question"? [closed]
How to read the yellow highlight line, plz make it in simple English
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10
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Happy about + ing [duplicate]
The other day I was watching a movie and I heard the sentence "(you are) happy about my killing you". I think "happy about me killing you" would make sense, but I don't understand ...
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What does "folly and fool" mean in this sentence
I am reading the Wikipedia entry for Clown, as for some reason I thought they would be close to Religion historically, and found this sentence
"It seems plausible that folly and fools, like ...
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1
answer
82
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"Lease" and "surrender" meaning. "They moved out and the lease was surrendered."
What does it mean:
They moved out and the lease was surrendered.
Does it mean that previous leasers gave back the landlord their lease document (their contract with landlord), or it means that as ...
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1
answer
29
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To catch the plate for a strike (baseball) [closed]
What is the general meaning of this sentence?
I believe I caught the corner of the plate for a strike.
Full text:
although I did get to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at a game at Yankee ...
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1
answer
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From whose perspective the author is saying in the following fragment
I am trying to translate the short story by J. M. Coetzee but can't understand how exactly to interpret the sentence in the second paragraph. The story narrates about a young boy who finds a strange ...
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1
answer
59
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What is meant by statistical inevitability?
What is meant by statistical inevitability? For e.g. in Editorial: summer accidents no statistical inevitability - Estonian news
inevitability means something that can't be avoided
EDIT: From your ...
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meaning of the word "Engagement" [closed]
whats the meaning of Engagements in this phrase?
While I enjoyed and benefited from working with many other services, notably those of the Russian and Chinese, it was during my many years living and ...
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What does it mean to "grab someone in the gut?"
Could anyone please help me know what is the meaning of "grabs people in the gut" in the following quote from Jim Collins’ Built to Last:
A BHAG is a huge and daunting goal—like a big ...
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Does "chagrin" mean embarrassment or annoyance?
I originally learned this word studying for the GRE:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/magoosh.resources/magoosh-gre-1000-words_oct01.pdf
chagrin (noun): strong feelings of embarrassment
Much to the the timid ...
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Do Q&A sites fit the definition of a forum? [migrated]
I've been in multiple debates on what a forum is and if a Q&A site like this one is a forum, so I'm trying to get a real world definition.
The below various actual definitions of "forum" ...
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Reversal of Meaning [duplicate]
I’m searching for the term whereby the intended use of a word is opposite to its established meaning.
‘Doublespeak’ is not quite it.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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What's the difference in meaning between 1888/90 and 1888-90?
When an art museum's wall text says "1888/90" does it mean that it took 2 years for the artist to make the work, or does it mean that the work was made at some point during that two-year ...
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What's the difference between using "both.. and" vs using just "and?"
What's the difference between using "both... and" and "and"?
For example in this sentence, "Its restriction comes as both a culture shock and a challenge." how does the ...
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What are "former" and "latter" in the following sentence?
The Following paragraph is from preface of this book :
" The identification of plants mentioned in the Natural History is a
difficult matter. Pliny was not a botanist, but derived his
...
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1
answer
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How to read "lunar orb" in the following sentence?
The following sentence is from the English translation of a 5th century Latin book, at point 863 it says:
The brightness of the sun encircles the lunar orb and bathes with light the entire part which ...
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2
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What's the meaning of "so in"?
I couldn't find anything about "so in" in my research on Google. I heard people say it. And today I saw that on a Facebook post. So here's the context-
You want long hair but short hair is ...
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Stack all the firewood today vs get all the firewood stacked today
1."Take a rest, Felicia, you don't need to get all the firewood stacked today."
2."Take a rest, Felicia, you don't need to stack all the firewood today."
What is the difference in ...
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2
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Is there a word for a somewhat misguided definition?
To clarify my question, a company I'm working at uses a term (ABC, for example) to describe one of their products (canned soup, for example). Based on knowledge of the term itself, there is no way you ...
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I need explanation for a meaning of "was on borrowed time"
I'm studying English and I know a lot of words and wanted to read a book for my first time in English but there is sentence in the beginning of it that I can't really understand the meaning:
And now, ...
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Meaning of "press the TV viewers' personal buttons"
In his book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Carl Sagan wrote the following item in a list of ideas about how to put more science on television:
Regular exposés of pernicious ...
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"Visual imperfection" and "cosmetic flaw" in description of an item for sale
Some online retailers sell "second quality" items at a discounted price. These items usually have some sort of defect that makes them unsuitable for sale at the normal price, but typically ...
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Differences in meaning between "effective upon no sooner than thirty days’" and "effective upon no less than thirty (30) days’" [duplicate]
What is the difference between the following 2 sentences? Please explain
effective upon no sooner than thirty (30) days’ following written notice.
and
effective upon no less than thirty (30) days’ ...
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Meaning of "twos and ones and ones and twos"
I'm trying to translate an episode of a TV series and one of the characters says the following, while moving pieces on a chessboard:
He taught us twos and ones and ones and twos when it comes to
...
