Questions tagged [meaning-in-context]
This tag is for questions about the meaning of a longer passage of English. A SPECIFIC CONCERN must be emphasized.
4,710
questions
1
vote
2answers
34 views
why doesn‘’t the word “but” mean the oppositional relationship in this sentence?
I've read a sentence from the economist,as follows:
THE LATEST monthly employment report, published on April 2nd, painted an impressive picture: over the previous month America created more than 900,...
0
votes
0answers
24 views
What is the meaning of 'as with that' in the following sentence?
'As with the stripping down of the former high building of the Hotel Ukrainia, Kiev was the testing bed for a new pared-down form of Metro decoration and, as with that, the first examples just look ...
0
votes
1answer
36 views
Word usage: Competitive
I feel competitive with other parents
This is a quote from a parent workshop. The parents are asked to indicate how well they relate to some statements, the quote being one of them.
I check https://...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
Does “retail” also mean something I don't understand?
The sale of goods directly to the consumer, encompassing the storefronts, mail-order, websites, etc., and the corporate mechanisms, branding, advertising, etc. that support them.
Retail price; full ...
0
votes
1answer
22 views
The meaning of “researching careers”
The author was offered to become a practitioner in the Organizational Behavior department at Harvard Business School to help to connect the faculty with the real world, he went to have an interview ...
-1
votes
0answers
24 views
What does this “daring” mean in this context? [closed]
Taken from an article,
"Democrats, for their part, are daring the 50-vote minority to block the modest legislation"
0
votes
1answer
34 views
What does “Bastion of righteousness” mean? [closed]
I heard someone use this to describe star wars Obi Wan Kenobi. I know it must mean the quality of being morally right or justifiable but can you define it more specifically.
-1
votes
0answers
36 views
I need to know whats the meaning of following sentence? [closed]
As nice as it is to hear a friendly voice, I cant help but feel a favor coming on.
especially what does "as nice as it is" mean here?
0
votes
0answers
34 views
What does “briefly noted” mean? [migrated]
I often see the expression "briefly noted" on weblog posts (and also New Yorker). In general, what does it mean to say "something is briefly noted".
Some Examples:
In New Yorker
...
0
votes
1answer
29 views
Contemplate - meaning and usage
Dictionary lists out the following meanings and usages of the word "contemplate"
Verb 1. If you contemplate an action, you think about whether to do it
or not. Verb 2: If you contemplate an ...
0
votes
2answers
84 views
Questions about Trump's speech in Long Island [closed]
Two questions about the passage below.
What does "Trump riffed" mean?
What does "take the hand away" mean in this context?
When you see these thugs being thrown into the back of ...
0
votes
1answer
36 views
Meaning of the word “any” in “ineligible for any exemption” [duplicate]
An important legal result hinges on the meaning of the word "any" in this sentence:
"If the effect of the domiciliary requirement under subparagraph (A) is to render the debtor ...
1
vote
1answer
66 views
What does the writer mean by “ocean foam” in this context and is it a common phrase and meaning?
I've never heard the phrase "ocean foam" used in this manner, so I'm not sure of it's meaning. I think I can gather a little from the context, but I'd like to know for sure. I can only find ...
0
votes
1answer
17 views
Need help with the sentence [closed]
I would like to ask which one of the following sentences are grammatically correct? And any suggestions for similar context would be greatly appreciated.
Without WikiLeaks or Julian Assange, the ...
1
vote
0answers
48 views
Are adverbial modifiers in decline?
Words such as rather and quite are characteristically used in English to modify meaning,
According to Paul Baker in Lancaster University:
complex and understated forms of speech are in decline.
...
0
votes
1answer
12 views
Meaning of “Milestones” in this sentence
and our sense of milestones for dealing with specific issues that might over time get us toward a more stable relationship.
0
votes
1answer
64 views
Is this sentence construction wrong, where “going home” has other implied meaning, the origin and span of which isn't known? [closed]
I stumbled upon this article about the origins of some unusual idioms and phrases, as I have heard many of them being used popularly.
But I was bit shocked and frustrated when I read this sentence ...
14
votes
9answers
6k views
Is “Blitzkrieg” a word that average native speaker would understand?
The word "Blitzkrieg" (German: “lightning war”) comes from a method of warfare used during World War II.
Can the word "Blitzkrieg" be used in other contexts as well? For example: &...
0
votes
0answers
22 views
The present paper VS the current paper
I am writing an article. I wonder if the two following expressions are equivalent when I refer to the article and compare it with another article? or is there any semantic difference between them?
-...
0
votes
1answer
22 views
Contextual meaning of “any”
I came across the following paragraph,
When I first wrote the book in 1975 and 1976 the word and concept of Post-Modernism had only been used with any frequency in literary criticism. Most perturbing,...
0
votes
0answers
47 views
What is the precise meaning of this sentence? [closed]
What is the precise meaning of this sentence?
Almost every year since records began, our species has had more energy
at its disposal than it had the year before. For the past 50 years,
the growth ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
What is the meaning of “screen” in this context?
What is the meaning of “screen” in this contexts? And what is for an screen to be elementary? Screen has two main meanings: monitor and partition. None of them seems to fit in this context.
As ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
What is the exact difference between the meanings of “constitute” and “conduce towards” in this context?
What is the difference between the meanings of “constitute” and “conduce towards” in the following context? Based on the meaning of both, it seems to me that both mean something to the effect of “to ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
What is the meaning of “safeguarding of prospects” in this context? [closed]
What is the meaning of “safeguarding of prospects” in the following context (from Mark Everard, The Ecology of Everyday Things [2020])? Does it mean safeguarding or protection of the future prospects? ...
0
votes
0answers
19 views
Difference in meaning depending on context? [duplicate]
I’m not a native English speaker and I wonder if there is a difference in meaning between the following phrases (hunting lion/lion hunting/the hunt for), depending on the context. The context is: the ...
0
votes
2answers
32 views
When a substitute response is given, although it does not address the main issue, is called?
This is not done to evade the question, but rather offered perhaps in consolation. Such as when one is looking for the doctor, who is currently out of reach, and you say, "how about I give you a ...
1
vote
0answers
47 views
What does “the folds of every garment would have the inevitability and definitiveness of syllogisms carved in porphyry” mean? [migrated]
This is a paragraph in Huxley's novel Ape and Essence, talking about a painting by Piero Della Francesca:
For all their silken softness, the folds of every garment would have the inevitability and ...
-1
votes
1answer
83 views
What does the first sentence have to do with the topic?
The passage concerns sensory substitution, but I have no idea of why the author wrote the first sentence.
To be sure, one could try to interpret the unfiltered activity of another person’s brain. At ...
1
vote
1answer
35 views
What does 'underwriting' mean in this context?
In the following excerpt, how should I interpret underwriting, is the word synonymous with justifying? If so why is that word used outside of am insurance context?
Given to mystical preoccupations, ...
0
votes
0answers
31 views
What does the phrase “keep someone up to the mark” mean?
While I was reading George Orwell’s Letter On Why He Wrote ‘1984, I found below.
"Already history has in a sense ceased to exist, ie. there is no such thing as a history of our own times which ...
1
vote
1answer
54 views
Non-standard English to Standard English, in Milne's Ugly Duckling
The following is from Ugly Duckling written (a play, 1941) by A. A. Milne. I cannot understand Dulcibella's speech which seems to me non-standard. In this play Dulcibella is depicted as a very ...
0
votes
2answers
36 views
Usage of “jealous of”
Stephen Fry in his book Heroes describes how Gigantomachy started, by stating that Alcyoneus stole the cattle from Helios.
The passage goes as follows:
“The sun god Helios was jealous of his fine ...
0
votes
0answers
16 views
Can “Free” be a noun? And what does it mean? [duplicate]
I saw this sentence when I was studying British Culture.
"William Shakespeare composed plays that broke FREE of England's past style of plays and theatre."
I was quite confused about the ...
-2
votes
1answer
26 views
What does “shown for scale of purchasing power” mean?
On this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millionaire
In the right part, there is a photo of a luxury house. The text underneath says:
A large suburban home valued at roughly $1,000,000 (2006) in ...
0
votes
0answers
38 views
Does the comma in my example sentence add clarity, or should I leave it out?
I quickly realized, homeless people listen to and trust other homeless
people.
I chose to include the comma to ensure readers understand it was the 'listen to' and 'trust' that I realized and not ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
meaning of “the impossible” in this context
Well, I see in the Empire Building something else – passionate skill,
arduous and fearless idealism. The tallest building is a victory of
imagination. Instead of crouching close to earth like a beast, ...
1
vote
1answer
28 views
“At somebody's bidding” vs. “at somebody's behest”?
Do the following two sentences have the same meaning? If not, what is the difference between them?
This briefing session is held at the Commander's bidding.
This briefing session is held at the ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
What is the meaning of 'successive dynasties'?
I know it means one after another, but dynasty means a series of rulers or leaders who are all from the same family.
how could one family have two dynasty?
I mean, it is same dynasty then why they ...
2
votes
1answer
216 views
What is a “flight wheel”?
At Planetary.org I read this:
Below is a photo of a flight wheel -- that is, one of the six that's sitting on Mars today.
Never heard flight wheel before and couldn't find anything when I searched ...
2
votes
4answers
59 views
Is the semantics of this sentence correct?
The speaker tries to say that I could have explained what I mean more accurately which would increase the chances of him solving my problem. He says the following:
"Your attempt at explaining ...
0
votes
0answers
47 views
What does “traversed” mean here?
I looked "beat" up in Merriam-Webster dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beat
Entry 2 Sense 7 b: one of the reaches (see REACH entry 2 sense 1) in the zigzag course so ...
-1
votes
2answers
49 views
As family name unambiguous defines surname versus last name what name should be used for social friendly name [closed]
In many parts of the world the sequence of first name and surname is not always the same and can cause misunderstanding what should be given.
As family name unambiguous defines surname or last name ...
0
votes
0answers
22 views
What is the difference between these responses? [duplicate]
Suppose I tell you that you can't understand what this means "fdhfshdgfjdsghskdrhgyc". You could reply "Yes, I can" or "No, I can". For the first phrase, it means that ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
“ Can you explain and give some examples of it's usage ” [closed]
Can you help me with learning this phrase
0
votes
1answer
43 views
What does “big dough shall be divisible with union dues for all” mean? [closed]
In George Carlin's book Last Words, he mentioned that his father had produced the following message during World War II.
I pledge allegiance to the people of the United States of America and all the ...
0
votes
1answer
50 views
Is the word “finicky” appropriate to describe fine, important, details, that may escape the inattentive eye?
In the sentence:
In case you learned the language, you may be interested in these finicky details, as they often go unnoticed by the untrained or inattentive eye.
Consider we're talking about fine-...
-2
votes
1answer
37 views
Learning new words via etymology [duplicate]
if I learned the “true meaning” of a word via etymology, would it help to get all its possible meaning in any context?
0
votes
1answer
24 views
What is the meaning of “otherwise” in this text? [closed]
The head on the obverse is archaic in type, and very much resembles that of Sapor I. The crown has attached to it, in many cases, that "cheek-piece" which is otherwise confined to the first ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
1
vote
1answer
41 views
Meaning of this piece of dialogue in The Call of the Wild?
Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of The Call of the Wild by Jack London:
Yet his time came, in the end, in the form of a little weazened man
who spat broken English and many strange and uncouth ...
