Questions tagged [meaning]
This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.
15,663
questions
4
votes
1answer
306 views
What does “betrun-cheoned” [betruncheoned] mean in Suttree by Cormac McCarthy
McCarthy's works are filled with obscure words, but this one is particularly strange, and prior to me posting this question, almost constitutes a Googlewhack.
I'm reading the Kindle edition and so it ...
1
vote
1answer
30 views
What does “with matters in this recumbent posture" mean?
I've never seen this phrase? Who wrote this? Did the authors just make it up? Google shows just one result, and it's from this same book.
Tailor the level of formality to your client and maintain ...
0
votes
1answer
37 views
Two consecutive sentences starting with the same word. The words have different meaning. How to make an emphasis on the correct meaning?
I work on a technical manual where each separate rule is followed by an example. (Actually, each rule is followed by two examples, a correct one and a wrong one. The wrong ones are skipped for brevity....
0
votes
1answer
57 views
What does the word “than” mean in the idiom “more often than not”?
What does the word "than" mean in the idiom "more often than not"?
It's not sensible for me.
Thanks a lot 🌹
0
votes
0answers
46 views
What is the meaning of “I would do for a candy bar”?
I am reading Diary of Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Book 2 - Rodrick Rules). But when I read to this page. I get stuck about like that
What is the meaning of "What I would do for a candy bar&...
1
vote
0answers
69 views
A word for someone who wrongly belittles others for using a larger vocabulary?
EDIT:
Some people can wrongly accuse others of being pretentious, verbose, or wordy JUST for having larger vocabularies (even slightly).
Is there a definition for people like this?
Thanks kindly for ...
-1
votes
1answer
42 views
Meaning and usage of “rife with uncertainty” [closed]
What is the meaning of "rife with uncertainty" and where it can be used?
I search the meaning but I cannot find desirable answers. Moreover, is it possible to use the "rife with" + ...
0
votes
1answer
347 views
What do missing an Oxford comma and having it mean respectively here? [duplicate]
A tweet in trending says
The highlights of his waning administration include encounters with Rudy Giuliani, a healthcare disaster and a dildo collector.
A response says
People keep telling me this ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
Meaning of the phrase “rhetorical flab”
I have just read the following sentence, and It was difficult for me to understand what the author aimed to convey when she has used "rhetorical flab" in the sentence. I would be grateful if ...
0
votes
1answer
64 views
Is plausible positive or negative?
When plausible means "appear to be correct" or "superficially pleasing", I want to know if it is positive or negative because this decides which of the following is correct.
...
1
vote
2answers
42 views
Hours or the hours?
I would like to ask a question. Which sentence is correct?
Yes, we can change hours
Or
Yes, we can change the hours
Is only one answer correct or both are depending on the context?
1
vote
1answer
29 views
“We merely skimmed the surface of the cities.” Does this make sense?
Does that make sense to describe how our travel was rushed therefore couldn't fully enjoy what the cities have to offer?
0
votes
0answers
22 views
it seems we'll get the paper over the line
My supervisor wrote an email:
''We've got feedback on how our journal paper went. It seems quite helpful feedback, in that it seems we'll get the paper over the line.''
Could anyone tell me what he ...
1
vote
0answers
75 views
What does the noun “rosy” mean in these lyrics?
What does the noun "rosy" mean in the first line of this song ?
Well there's a ring around the moon a ring around the rosy
A ring around my socks that keep my feet so cozy
Well I'm a single ...
0
votes
1answer
45 views
How to express my attitude towards a thing? treat, view, see, regard [closed]
If I want to express my attitude towards something, what is the right way of saying it?
I treat the delivery fee as a cost of saved time.
I view the delivery fee as a cost of saved time.
I see the ...
0
votes
0answers
17 views
Is “images of somebody” the same as “somebody's images”?
I was surfing the Internet the other day when I came across this line:
The more I thought about it, the more her images came to my mind.
In that sentence, is "her images" the same as "...
4
votes
2answers
160 views
Regional meanings of the word “Yankee”
I saw this in an upvoted YouTube comment:
To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.
To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.
To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.
To New Englanders, a Yankee is a ...
1
vote
2answers
62 views
What is “pursue an agenda” meaning?
I have read a "pursue" word meaning here https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/pursue?q=pursue, but I can't understand the second meaning, especially one of its ...
0
votes
2answers
35 views
What does “ready to grab life by the bread basket” mean?
Keep your hands where we can see em, ready to grab life by the bread
basket. (Source: https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-Classic-Trigger-Mug-Leak-Packable/dp/B08LFP8GRK)
According to dictionaries, a ...
0
votes
1answer
78 views
Meaning of “linguistic phenomenon” [closed]
A corpus (pl. corpora) is a collection of spoken or written texts to be used for linguistic analysis and based on a specific set of design criteria influenced by its purpose and scope. There are ...
0
votes
3answers
110 views
Meaning of “Great is the weapon that cuts on its own”
Great is the weapon that cuts on its own.
I recently came across this quote from a game, and as non-native English speaker I have some trouble fully understanding it.
First I thought that it means ...
3
votes
2answers
560 views
What does “goathawks” mean in this passage from All The Pretty Horses?
I'm currently on page 123 of All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, and came across this passage.
The mouths of the cans were lensed with tinted cellophane and they
cast upon the sheeting a ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Is the object necessary in “It teaches (all) to think”? [closed]
What are the differences between:
It teaches to think.
It teaches all to think.
I have found in a book that the 1st sentence isn’t correct. Is that right?
13
votes
1answer
2k views
What is the meaning of the word “connection” in: “Shortly after my marriage I had bought a connection in the Paddington district.”
I am quoting from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, "The Stockbroker's Clerk", by Arthur Conan Doyle. Does "a connection" mean "a clinic" or "a business" or ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
“I have almost cried to pieces…”
I saw this sentence from BBC Learning English.
I have almost cried to pieces.
What's the meaning of this sentence?
0
votes
0answers
23 views
Describing disparities in different levels
I am struggling to describe disparities in different levels.
Let's take an example, showing disparities in income between the different regions of UK.
Does the map show country-level disparities or ...
0
votes
2answers
360 views
What does “plaster everywhere” mean here? [closed]
Megyn Kelly tweeted in response to AOC's tweet:
What an awesome tweet for the Georgia GOP to plaster everywhere in their effort to ensure Republicans keep the Senate.
Quote Tweet
AOC: Is anyone ...
-1
votes
1answer
65 views
What does “has a laser on” mean? [closed]
https://twitter.com/NateSilver538/status/1324714715872972800 says
The Electoral College has a laser on Joe Biden.
They believed EC was bad especially four years ago, but praising EC because it ...
3
votes
2answers
229 views
How do I reply to “I'm Sorry?”
I've seen the usage of "I'm sorry", but now I saw those with "?" mark. Been googling it for a while and one of the results said it's the same as "Excuse me?", asking for ...
2
votes
1answer
102 views
Difference between War and Warfare
I'm reading The Little Prince and there is a phrase:
"Is this warfare between the sheep and the flowers not important?"
Is it correct to exchange warfare for war?
When to use war instead ...
1
vote
2answers
57 views
What or who does 'the rick-thatcher' refer to in Middlemarch by George Eliot?
Here is the full quotation:
No matter what a man is—I wouldn’t give twopence for him”—here Caleb’s mouth looked bitter, and he snapped his fingers—“whether he was the prime minister or the rick-...
0
votes
1answer
68 views
What is the exact meaning of “call” resounding in the US media [duplicate]
After the election, I hear, to me, new usages of 'call'.
AP called Arizona for Biden
The results are too close to call.
In first look, I rendered it as 'announce' something. But I see this is ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
What does “controversial” mean here? [closed]
i.e.,
"The new agricultural reforms gave way to controversy."
Does it mean that the public unanimously disagree with the reforms, or they disagree within themselves as to the subject matter?
2
votes
1answer
98 views
What does “skreeble”, “glurp”, and “grindlebloff” mean?
I'm trying to translate a computer algorithm book to Chinese (from English). But then I came across the following sentences. I know what the author is trying to say, but I have no idea what does "...
-1
votes
1answer
75 views
Meaning of “emanating” in the below paragraph
A friend asked me to read and edit a short story for fun. I was just wondering if he was correct when he wrote this.
Its dazzling rays of resplendent, golden sunshine spread far and wide, across the ...
-1
votes
1answer
48 views
Difficulty understanding a phrase
At 7:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the day after the 2020 presidential elections, the results of the presidential race, as well as control of the Senate, are very much in doubt and in chaos. Watched by ...
0
votes
2answers
40 views
Question about word order for emphasis
I am a student of the English language, and also Psychology. If I were to translate Rational Emotional Behavioral Therapy, should the emphasis (the first and most important word) be on Behavioral, ...
0
votes
0answers
31 views
Must have gone vs had to go
In this sentence which one is better; had to go or must have gone?
Last week Tina broke her arm and ..... to the hospital
I think must have gone is better but on the other hand the second one is ...
0
votes
3answers
64 views
Could you please explain the meaning of “retaining wall relation”?
"there is a retaining-wall relation between language and group.
"
I looked up the retaining wall (Retaining walls are relatively rigid walls used for supporting soil laterally so that it can ...
1
vote
4answers
1k views
Detailed explanation: what is “dayspring”?
I am looking for information about the beautiful english word dayspring.
Exact meaning, with a link to the meaning in a dictionary. I know dayspring means "dawn or first ray of light" but I ...
1
vote
0answers
49 views
I wish to know meaning of phrase / expression wacky duck
I am writing a story at the moment about one villain from a horror movie and I often need rhymes. English is not my mother tongue. I read on Urban Dictionary that "wacky duck" means a hit to ...
0
votes
0answers
32 views
Back in the days vs back in the day
I know that 'back in the day' can be used as a four-word temporal modifier:
Back in the day, we all used to meet down at the gym.
Whereas 'back in the days' is not used on its own and always has a ...
0
votes
0answers
44 views
What does “mechanical sympathy” & “transcend crude oversimplifications” mean?
Am going through a documentation.
In the below quote:
“You don’t have to be an engineer to be be a racing driver, but you do have to have Mechanical Sympathy.” – Jackie Stewart, racing driver
What ...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
meaning of “account” in this context
As an example of the risk of this pursuit of novelty, Waters told me a
story of working as a junior ad planner on the Milky Bar chocolate
account, which had for many years used the well-loved Milky ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
Please, can anyone help me understand the meaning of the word 'wrap' in this sentence:
Jerking time to full deceleration (after full wrap of ego vehicle and cut-in vehicle, road friction 1,0)
It is from a new UNECE Regulation, no 157, about automated driving systems.
0
votes
2answers
37 views
Can we replace 'of' with 'on' in the following construction?
Are the following two constructions substitutes? In other words, can they be used as an alternative to each other?
• The boy broke the knob of the door.
• The boy broke the knob on the door.
If ...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
What does “self-conscious echo” mean?
Seneca’s suicide began to falter. Blood did not ow fast enough from his aged body, even after he had cut the veins in his ankles and behind his knees. So in a self-conscious echo of the death in ...
0
votes
1answer
34 views
What's the meaning of the mentioned sentence?
What is the meaning of the last line in this paragraph. It would be helpful if someone would make me understand the last line simply in context of the whole paragraph.
0
votes
0answers
29 views
Whad does “sad eyes up glad eyes down” mean?
Out of the lawn, bland Mrs. Haze, complete with camera, grew up like a fakir’s fake tree and after some heliotropic fussing-sad eyes up, glad eyes down had the cheek of taking my picture as I sat on ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
Would writing “caring solicitudes of empathy” be redundant?
I am using the word solicitude in a sentence. I am wondering if I can say "For the girl, she started by expressing caring solicitudes of empathy"
The definition of solicitude is:
/səˈlisəˌt(...
