Questions tagged [meaning]
This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.
17,003
questions
2
votes
2
answers
298
views
Does "rh" or "rrh" mean "flow"?
A webpage states:
what do you think <rh> and <rrh> could possibly mean all by themselves? Hmm. What do diarrhea, hemorrhage and rhythm all have in common? Give up? They all have something ...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
5
answers
38k
views
What is the origin of the pejorative idiom "You Doughnut"?
American English (You Donut)
In informal speech the phrase is used to highlight stupidity.
E.g.
You Donut
An individual whom is extremely stupid. Lacks intelligence and common sense.
An ...
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What is the meaning of 'sad beauty'?
I'm just reading a story, whose title is 'Sad Beauty'. This is translated in our language as 'beauty of sadness'. The story is that an unhealthy woman gets sick and finally passes away. Actually this ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
37
views
Doesn't kibbutz also mean to build consensus?
Merriam-Webster only defines kibbutz as a settlement. I'm familiar with a usage that means to meet with a smaller group as part of a consensus building process, similar to Japanese nemawashi Am I ...
- 66.4k
0
votes
0
answers
39
views
Is there a phrase "a carry-and-top"?
I've encountered a phrase that I can't find out in spite of my attempts to look up in several dictionaries and browsing online. I've tried Ludwig too, but still can't find satisfying answer.
It's ...
0
votes
1
answer
37
views
Can something be a premonition?
Would it be correct to say that something "serves as a premonition" or "is a premonition"? According to Webster's dictionary, a premonition is
1: previous notice or warning : ...
- 135k
7
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Confusion between disparage, belittle, denigrate, deprecate and depreciate
I have been building my vocab for a month. I am pretty confused at the usage of these words; I have consulted many dictionaries like Cambridge, Merriam-Webster etc but they all seem to "prevaricate". ...
- 66.4k
1
vote
1
answer
71
views
Sharp sweet smell
What does "sharp" in sharp-sweet mean ? It's referred to a "smell of sweat" in my text. Does that mean more like "acrid" unpleasant irritating or "penetrating" &...
CommunityBot
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Definition of "Cross-Dimensional"?
From what I understood, it is something related to the word "Cross-Section", which is defined as a surface or shape that intersects with an three dimensional object with a plane.
but I wonder, with ...
3
votes
1
answer
769
views
Who are “Security moms”?
I came across the word, “Security mom” and “Wal-Mart mom” in the following statement in my newspaper clippings, originally in Time: Can Obama Win Back Wal-Mart Moms?
"The women that are different ...
0
votes
1
answer
88
views
What could expender mean in the following context? [closed]
I recently encountered the following text in a web page specification sheet:
Most tables have expenders in each line
and
There should be new tree named Item that is expended above type of
Items
...
- 13
7
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Tennis jargon: why are some matches "not before" a given time instead of just "after" that time?
I've recently started to follow Tennis matches and championships more closely. Now I often hear schedules mention that a match will occurr not before a given time of day. That sounds odd to me. Below ...
1
vote
2
answers
3k
views
What does expression "naked to the world" mean?
What does expression "naked to the world" mean? I've heard it in a series Suits, season 2, episode 4, at the 20th minute.
Full sentence:
"Give me the address and tell Donna to hurry up. I'm naked to ...
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
74
views
"Remember of Majesty" - is this title correct?
There is a game, called "Remember of Majesty", but using a verb without any pronoun looks unfamiliar to me. Is this a correct construction? What's the meaning of the title? Is it like "...
- 1,005
7
votes
3
answers
83k
views
What is difference between renter, tenant and rentee?
I am a bit confused about the meaning of these three words. Can someone explain to me the usage of these three words and their meaning? i.e. If I am renting a car to someone then who am I and who ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
540
views
What is the difference between 'share to' and 'share with'?
Should I use 'share with' or 'share to' when I want to share a great page I've seen on a social networking site with a friend?
- 5,953
1
vote
2
answers
128
views
Explain: "You never think you're as old as you're ever going to get."
Can somebody explain the meaning behind this comparison? :
You never think you're as old as you're ever going to get.
I end up here:
you're as old = your current age
as you're ever going to get = ...
0
votes
0
answers
39
views
What is the glass circle in a door called? [duplicate]
Some doors have a glass circle near eye level that you can look through to see what's outside. They have a fisheye effect when you look through them, with the image being most accurate in the center ...
CommunityBot
- 1
8
votes
5
answers
2k
views
In H. P. Lovecraft's work - how is "The Prolonged of Life" understood when it comes to meaning?
I'm translating one of the stories into my mother tongue and I'm struggling with the name of one of the elder gods - "The Prolonged of Life". I do not really understand how this is meant to ...
- 5,992
1
vote
2
answers
103
views
Are there any differences between ‘evolutionary’ and ‘evolutional’? [closed]
I heard the word evolutional quite recently and I’d
like to know whether this word has the same meaning as
evolutionary has. Do they have different
connotations?
My gut says that evolutionary is like ...
- 224
12
votes
11
answers
4k
views
What is the word for the resentful feeling you experience when being accused of something you intentionally avoided doing?
For example, I always put conscious effort into only asking questions that I can't find the answer to for myself and not wasting people's time. In light of this, say I ask person a question, and the ...
- 12.8k
1
vote
2
answers
18k
views
Meaning of “crossing someone”
What’s the meaning of cross in this sentence:
She had a very stern face and Harry’s first thought was that this was not someone to cross.
- 6,241
1
vote
4
answers
150
views
"and has as one of its Healthy People 2020 goals to “create social and physical environments that promote good health for all.”"
I would like to ask you about the bold-faced part in the following sentence:
(1) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines social determinants of health as “conditions in the places ...
CommunityBot
- 1
4
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Etymology and meaning of the word "pizzled"
I heard of a term today called "pizzled" and am confused about it as there is a plethora of different definitions for the word.
I first heard it in a speech by David Shing TNW Europe Conference. He ...
10
votes
3
answers
16k
views
What's the difference between an "aphorism" and a "maxim"?
Quotes, sayings, aphorisms, maxims. What's the difference between all these, especially aphorism vs. maxim?
- 163k
4
votes
2
answers
76
views
Inure: are there degrees of inurement? [duplicate]
Is it correct to write that someone is MORE inured to something? The question is, are there degrees of inure - can you be more, or less inured?
- 21.1k
16
votes
8
answers
28k
views
Why there are two different meanings for "triweekly"?
Context: I am looking for a term to indicate a time period of 3 weeks/21 days
For instance, a "fortnightly" event would occur every 2 weeks/14 days.
My Usage:
The "Read for the Visually ...
-1
votes
1
answer
188
views
What does inflate mean in women inflate?
"he’s likely never made eye contact with a woman he didn’t have to inflate."
Some people says this about me. What does it mean?
CommunityBot
- 1
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Difference between If I hadn't and If I didn't
Could I know what's the difference between these sentences?
If he hadn't believed in that, none of it would have happened.
If he didn't believe in that none of it would have happened.
I presume ...
CommunityBot
- 1
-3
votes
3
answers
432
views
Is a human amputee still a biped?
Does the term “biped” or “quadruped” refer to the incidental characteristics of a creature, or the paradigmatic characteristics of that kind of creature?
Would a human amputee be a biped because ...
- 1
3
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is calling someone 'didactic' risking offense?
As I understand it, 'didactic' is used to mean something that has the ulterior motive of teaching especially in a moral connotation and also to mean patronising, or appearing patronising.
So does ...
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
83
views
Does "breathe in the light" have any colloquial meaning?
I have noticed that the phrase "breathe in the light" is used in several seemingly unrelated pieces of music, for instance, it is the name of a "Stellardrone" track, and in the ...
- 6,767
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Distinguishing among classification, typology, taxonomy, and ontology?
I recently wrote a thesis applying archaeological typology to art attribution. In the process, it became clear that disparate disciplines share analogous debates regarding classification. I'd like to ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
3
answers
234
views
Can "even as" mean "because"?
I'm having trouble understanding the bolded sentence in the following paragraph.
The use of enslaved laborers was affirmed — and its continual growth was promoted — through the creation of a Virginia ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
What is the origin of the idiom "get your shorts in a knot"? [duplicate]
I got this idiom from my English homework and still can't wrap my head around why this means "to become over upset over something, especially something unimportant."
Does anyone know where ...
- 6,241
3
votes
2
answers
632
views
Is "crib bag" the Australian equivalent of "carryall" in AmE?
I have seen bags labeled "crib bags" on Australian websites. I never really understand what they are precisely or whether "crib" refers to the material or the shape of the bag.
It ...
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Meaning of "our eares are converted into cates"
In Archie Armstrong's Banquet of Jests (1641 edition), there's an account of a punning clergyman:
A DIVINE willing to play more with words than to be serious in the expounding of his Text, made his ...
- 1
9
votes
4
answers
26k
views
What's the meaning of the expression "[something] much?"
I think I encountered the expression or so, some number of times. I don't understand what it means. Just a noun followed by "much?". I don't understand the meaning of the expression, I'm ...
- 289
-1
votes
1
answer
150
views
Minus vs less (in math)
We used to talk about subtractions employing the word minus as a preposition like "10 minus 5 is 5... "what is 5 minus 3?" ....
Is it OK to replace the word minus by "less" ...
- 16.4k
5
votes
0
answers
120
views
Geographic Reasons for Phatic Expression "What's new?"
Quite a while back I had a language instructor tell me that the English phatic expression "What's new?" could be traced back in America to the fact that people lived very far apart from each ...
- 51
6
votes
6
answers
10k
views
"Jump" - "How High?" - mental image and meaning [closed]
Non-native speaker here. I have come across this metaphor quite often: Person X complains / admires that if A told B to jump, B would just ask 'how high?'. What is the mental image behind that?
As far ...
- 217
1
vote
1
answer
111
views
Drinking vs drinkable
Knowing that drinkable refers to safe to drink, why do we often say drinking water in stead of drinkable water?
I find potable water (i.e.water fit/ safe to drink) synonymous with drinking water. So, ...
- 83.4k
3
votes
4
answers
562
views
Definition of 'uncle-in-law'
I've been reading an old will and testament (Tudor era) and have encountered the usage of the term 'uncle-in-law'. My suspicion is that it would be rather odd (albeit not completely unreasonable) for ...
- 17.1k
2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is the difference between the singular and plural forms, "varieties of choice" and "variety of choices"?
What is the difference between (i) "varieties of choice" and (ii) "variety of choices"? Does the location of singular or plural in a sentence affect the entire meaning of a ...
CommunityBot
- 1
1
vote
2
answers
66
views
interlock vs intersect, which one is precise?
I would like to use word interlock for FIG.A
and not sure I could use it for FIG.B, is insert or slide better for FIG.B,
anyone could help with this?
- 21.1k
5
votes
1
answer
35k
views
Why is "the ball of the foot" called as it is?
I understand the ball of a foot is where the toes join with the rest of the foot. But I don't think it looks like a ball. Why is it called a "ball"?
0
votes
3
answers
119
views
What is a one-word (probably verb) synonym for "thinking back to" with a sort of paying homage connotation?
I'm looking for a certain synonym for "thinking back to" or "reminiscing from the past". It is used in a sentence like "This building was built with historical aspects in mind,...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
101
views
What's the difference between "I believe in God" and "I believe in a God"?
I've recently heard these two examples where I don't understand what "a" is supposed to emphasize:
Somebody asks: "Do you believe in God?" Then gets this reply: "I believe in ...
- 267
0
votes
1
answer
128
views
What is the difference between "academic" and "scholarly"?
I have heard the words "academic" and "scholarly" used interchangeably, like "academic journal" and "scholarly journal", but I was wondering if there is a ...
- 8,558
6
votes
11
answers
7k
views
Compound noun with completely different meaning
I am looking for a compound noun that has a meaning that is completely (or very) different from the words it is derived from. This because I want to give an example of how powerful the human brain is ...