Questions tagged [meaning]
This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.
16,082
questions
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12 views
What does "absolute merit" mean in the sentence?
The following part is quoted from Byways in Bookland by W. H. Davenport Adams in the 19th century, and I can’t understand the “absolute merits” here in the sentence. In addition, the last sentence of ...
0
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1answer
31 views
Meaning of “show out”
In a video about undercover police work, the expression to “show out” comes back twice:
No wonder he got shot, to be honest. Mind you he showed out, didn’t he? Golden rule.
[3:46]
You never break ...
0
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1answer
25 views
What is the meaning of elliptical in this context? [closed]
...and it is this possibility, which is clearly provided for in language, that has encouraged a rival idea (8), namely that needing is always by its nature needing for a purpose - any purpose at all ...
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0answers
23 views
Need help with the language of this philosophy paper explained [closed]
What form must a theory of epistemic injustice take in order to successfully illuminate the epistemic dimensions of struggles that are primarily political? How can such struggles be understood as ...
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0answers
39 views
How to interpret this instruction I found in a card game? [closed]
The instruction "Trade any two completed cards between players" ...
Does it mean (1) or (2)?
Trade one completed card of yours with one completed card of another player
Trade two completed ...
-1
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0answers
23 views
Clarification of ambigious meaning of "stay away from...as much as possible" in a sentence [closed]
In the following sentence:
Well, he couldn‘t be much of a papa: he to stay away from his daughter
as much as possible.
From my knowledge the English language, I think it might imply distance: "...
2
votes
2answers
70 views
What is the meaning of "take-haver"?
There's an interesting article in Mother Jones on how to pronounce "omicron". (Apparently, both short and long Oh versions are correct.) This sentence appeared near the end
And while we ...
-1
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0answers
29 views
Do you think these four sentences are acceptable? [closed]
I'm writing my graduation essay and need some research about it.
The title of my paper is 'A contrastive study on English verb and Japanese verb from the aspect of cognitive typology.'
I'm especially ...
0
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1answer
17 views
What is a word for "services not provided" or "Goods paid for not delivered"?
What is a word for "services not provided" or "Goods paid for not delivered"?
For example: The "scam" is a word for a dishonest scheme. The word "fraud" is a ...
0
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0answers
17 views
Meaning of "Mindtrap" by Blank Banshee [closed]
Musixmatch lyrics page
Song on YouTube
Song on Spotify
Hello, I'm not the best at interpreting writing and I was wondering if there was an underlying theme/meaning behind the lyrics to Blank Banshee's ...
2
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0answers
47 views
Why does "I'm sure" used in a sentence sometimes reduce apparent certainty?
Take these two sentences as example:
This road is closed during football games.
I'm sure this road is closed during football games.
Why does the first sentence convey more certainty, when the second ...
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0answers
28 views
Is this poem grammatically correct and does it suit English poetry structure? [closed]
Anida
You haven't heard my reply,
coming out from it, a single lie.
Hence, deserves it do not I,
who you are accusing in sinful tie.
Shall my soul be cleaned when I die?
Or gods have turned a blind ...
1
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1answer
41 views
About the definition of the word “study”
I and some friends were debating about whether the following question is correctly formed or not. Are the multiple choices are accurate and suitable for the question? We all agree that answer number “...
0
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1answer
45 views
‘Two people have a baby’ interpretation [closed]
Why do some people say ‘Two people have a baby’ can mean ‘two people have a baby each’ but others say it can’t mean ‘two people have a baby each’ if there’s no ‘each’?
Two people have a baby.
A: It ...
2
votes
2answers
212 views
Was the word "inoculation" regularly used for introducing a disease for purposes other than inducing immunity?
While researching the history/historiography of the British potentially spreading smallpox via blankets at the siege of Fort Pitt during Pontiac's War, I came across General Amherst's letters. These ...
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0answers
15 views
I'm trying to find useful definitions of Lethargic [closed]
I haven't been able to find credible dictionaries online, and I have yet to find a definition of lethargic that makes sense. Does anyone know what I could do?
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0answers
22 views
What does the phrase "meaning up" means/states? [closed]
What does the phrase "meaning up" suggest?
I want to ask native English speakers how they sees "meaningup.com" at first glance.
I am a web developer and a friend of mine wants to ...
0
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3answers
53 views
What does "Stan" in "PHPStan" refer to/mean?
I found this the other day and have started using it: https://phpstan.org/ It's nice. But it really annoys me that nowhere does it explain/mention what "Stan" refers to.
It's not the name ...
2
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1answer
54 views
Ad hominem for non persons
An ad hominem argument is typically, according to Wikipedia, "a rhetorical strategy where the speaker attacks the character, motive, or some other attribute of the person making an argument ...
0
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0answers
44 views
What's the meaning of genre conventions? [closed]
Could you please tell me the meaning of "genre conventions" in the following sentence?
As this brief overview has shown, from the level of terms, to phraseology, register, genre ...
1
vote
1answer
58 views
"All green apples but 1" or "All but 1 green apples"
I would like to use phrase "all but one" in the sentence like "Except for the one green apple, all the other green apples are bad."
Which expression is not ambiguous? "All but ...
1
vote
1answer
54 views
Phrases or idioms which mean "I did not do my homework" [closed]
İs there any idom or phrase to say you did not prepare your homework?
For example, my teacher gives me homework. Let's assume that I did not do my homework, what should I say?
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0answers
28 views
Difference among sound, music and audio [closed]
From Differences between "audio" and "sound"?, I learned that sound is a generic term and can be caused by any source.
Audio refers to sound coming from a recording, transmission ...
3
votes
5answers
513 views
What can I call 2nd and 3rd place finishes in a competition?
There are many awards I received from the sport I did. I thought to compress everything and write as 'Inter university and All island winner' but I have placed only 2nd and 3rd places. What is the ...
0
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1answer
42 views
What does "won medal up" and "won medal down" mean? [closed]
Two phrases "won medal up" and "won medal down" is from the song "Come out ye black and tans" and I truly can't understand it :(
"Come out you black and tans,
Come ...
-1
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1answer
40 views
What is the meaning of 'bear' in this context? [closed]
"The year which has passed… has not, indeed, been marked by any of those striking discoveries which at once revolutionise, so to speak, the department of science on which they bear"
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0answers
34 views
What is the difference between a private reason and a personal reason? [closed]
I want to know what the difference is between a private reason and a personal reason.
An interview asked me questions about the difference between a private reason and a personal reason.
-3
votes
1answer
49 views
What is the meaning of ‘meaning’? [closed]
Doesn’t ‘meaning’ mean the thing a word indicates? Then, if a flower is pink and the meaning of ‘flower’ is the flower, can I say the meaning is pink? But why does ‘pink meaning’ which means a pink ...
1
vote
0answers
19 views
‘One egg was given to three people’ [closed]
Can ‘one egg was given to three people’ mean ‘one egg each was given to three people’? Or does it only mean the one egg was shared by three people?
0
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0answers
22 views
Prepostion at vs in, which is correct, "I am at my house" or "I am in my house"? [migrated]
Prepostion "at" vs "in", which is correct, "I am at my house" or "I am in my house"?
I tend to use "I am at my house" if for example I am calling a ...
-1
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0answers
50 views
When ordering from a restaurant, what exactly is "still water"?
For starters, I live in Canada and therefore speak Canadian/North American English. Today, I saw the expression "still water" when ordering in a restaurant, as opposed to "fizzy water&...
0
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1answer
36 views
What is the meaning of "music streets" here?
While watching the 2021 AMAs, I heard Billy Porter as a presenter saying, "It always feels good to be recognized by your peers whether in my hometown, your hometown, or up in these music streets. ...
1
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1answer
97 views
Could "jibe with" imply something racist? [closed]
In the latest episode of Succession, they are talking about potential candidates and we know there is a guy called Salgado (I don't remember a prior implication that Salgado is racist but he is not ...
0
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0answers
19 views
What does "among other houses" mean in the following sentence? [migrated]
What does "among other houses" mean in "A burglar broke into my house, among other houses?" Does it mean that a burglar picked out my house of all the houses or that a burglar ...
0
votes
2answers
55 views
Difference between 'specify' and 'select'
What's the precise difference between specify and select? Can either be used in this example, or does one work better than the other?
I can instinctively feel that there is a subtle difference between ...
2
votes
1answer
66 views
Meaning of “this food has a bite to it”
If I say “I prefer my steak/burger to have a bite to it”, I’m referring to it having enough thickness or density. Is this a proper usage of the word “bite”? My wife says she’s always heard the word ...
0
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0answers
34 views
Can “deserve it” be used alone?
Can a phrase “deserve it” be used alone?
Let’s say there’s a phrase “open it, deserve it” written on a package or a pizza box, would it make sense?
0
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1answer
48 views
Is "I would request you to" totally wrong in both American and British English when I want to want to request something from someone? [closed]
I wrote an email to someone like-
Thanks! I would request you to [do this] so that I can [do that].
They replied making fun of English by saying "okay I will thank you for that" so I thought ...
0
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0answers
26 views
What's a word that describes the type of person that unintentionally answers a question with related info without answering the question specifically? [duplicate]
Imagine you are talking to an older person and you ask, "What is the sun made of?" To which they reply, "It was a cold day today, but I was sitting on the park bench earlier and felt ...
0
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0answers
32 views
What is the difference between impure and un-pure?
In Algernon Blackwood’s the Damned, he describes Frances’ sketches from the POV of her brother:
And the word that rose in my mind was not the gross description of "impure," but the more ...
-1
votes
2answers
38 views
What does 'conver' means
[![enter image description here][1]][1]
I saw the word on Remarks by President Biden and President Xi of the People’s Republic of China Before Virtual Meeting
[1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/vAdJr.png
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1answer
39 views
Is "Closing the loop" generally understood?
I am currently looking for a slogan on the topic of recycling.
Therefore, I found also this ELU topic:
Meaning of phrase "to close the loop on this"?
I want to ask, if it is common or at ...
0
votes
1answer
37 views
Further away from .... than [closed]
A is 50 miles further away from B than C.
Does this mean distance between A and B is 50 miles Or between A and C is 50 miles.
I am really confused. please help.
0
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1answer
27 views
What is "several means by which this can be achieved" in this sentence mean?
The solution then is to change the materials system; several means by which this can be achieved without changing the parent materials are described in Chapter 4, section 4.1.
I have tried to ...
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0answers
39 views
It struck from me a sudden, springing dislike?
I'm reading The Song of Achilles and don't understand what 'struck from' means here (chapter three):
It struck from me a sudden, springing dislike.
Who is feeling the dislike here? I only know of ...
3
votes
1answer
147 views
What are ATS in Betjeman's Henley-upon-Thames poem (beefy ATS without their hats)
From the Betjeman poem 'Henley-upon-Thames':
When(*) shall I see the Thames again?
The prow-promoted gems again,
As beefy ATS
Without their hats
Come shooting through the bridge?
(*) sometimes ...
0
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0answers
55 views
Can 'classical' be used only for sophisticated cultures?
I have read some arcicles about the difference between 'classic' and 'classical'. I understand that 'classical' things are much older than 'classic' things, and relate to qualified cultures.
To make ...
0
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1answer
35 views
What is the meaning of "eve"? [closed]
What is the meaning for "eve" in the phrase "Merry Christmas Eve".
Thanks.
0
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0answers
31 views
What's the meaning of the phrase "we are not above" in what follows? What exactly does this phrase mean in this sentence? [duplicate]
But we're not above letting you know that some sections are by far more optional than others.
0
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2answers
72 views
What's the word when you're saying that the fault is from both parties. Like yours and someone else's fault and so you're both kinda sharing it
What's the word when you're saying that the fault is from both parties. Like yours and someone else's fault and so you're both kinda sharing it?
I forgot the word
