Questions tagged [nicknames]
The nicknames tag has no usage guidance.
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Commodore Blimp [closed]
I am reading Martin Booth's Gweilo. Booth mentions several times that his inflexible father was called "Commodore Blimp" behind his back by his colleagues in the navy. I do not understand this ...
0
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1answer
19 views
Usage of “[Name] of [Company]”
I believe I've heard a phrase such as
Steven Stevenson of Microsoft
or
Kylie Kyleson of StackExchange
How frequent is it to refer to someone in this way, or in other words, does it sound too ...
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1answer
49 views
Why did James Harrington nickname Oliver Cromwell “Lord Achon” [closed]
Going back a year or two, was foreaware of the Cromwell nick "His Noseship" but not "Lord Achon" itself said to be from a character in James Harrington's writings Oceana. Haps heedful all the online ...
2
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1answer
66 views
Punctuating an Initialized/Abbreviated Last Name
What is the proper method, in American English, to punctuate a name that's been abbreviated to an initial? I.e., "Dr. S," if the full last name was something like, say, "Syzlowski," or someone named, ...
4
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2answers
90 views
What is the history of using “Jersey” for “New Jersey”?
I have long wondered the origin of calling New Jersey by the nickname "Jersey". To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever shortened New York or New Hampshire to "York" or "Hampshire", or ...
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0answers
444 views
Proper Usage of Nicknames?
I’m already aware that nicknames are usually incorporated into the larger name between the first and last names — John “Jack” Doe, for example — and that this is essentially standard usage.
When you ...
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1answer
2k views
Quotation marks for nicknames
E.g. "I get called Hitler in school." or "I get called 'Hitler' in school."?
Would quotation marks be needed for 'Hitler'?
What if it was an uncommon or nonsensical word like 'A123' or 'Gaylord'. ...
0
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1answer
474 views
articles before nicknames [closed]
Why in some cases there is "the" before nicknames and in some there is no?I also have a question if it's appropriate to use an article "a" before nicknames.For instance:
Erwin "The Desert Fox" Rommel
...
6
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1answer
282 views
Looking for origins of “craney-crow”
I'm looking for the origin of the term or nick-name "Craney-Crow." There are other spellings, but this turns up as the name of a character in the "Uncle Remus" stories. I'm wondering if it originated ...
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0answers
44 views
Nickname in quotations? [duplicate]
A married lady's proper name is Mrs. Rutledge Dingle. Her first name is Frances. When addressed by her nickname, Miss Fran, should "Miss Fran" be set off in quotation marks?
"Miss Fran" was my ...
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1answer
160 views
term for a nickname composed of an auto-antonym
What is the term for a contradictory nickname such as "Tiny" for a very large person?
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1answer
133 views
suffix -ems (in slangy/hip-hop context): what special meaning (if any) does it convey and how commonplace is it?
One of Shaquille O'Neal's numerous nicknames is "Extra-Tallems".
It's mentioned in a text I've been asked to translate and I'm trying to be somewhat creative.
Any sort of informative background ...
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0answers
73 views
What is the proper term for global nicknames such as “Dude”, “Slick”, “Jack”, etc? [duplicate]
Some people have the tendency to use words in a context similar to a pronoun, despite the word in question being an adjective, verb, whatever. Examples would be someone like Agent K in the film "Men ...
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2answers
2k views
Why do some nicknames have no apparent relation with their original counterparts? [duplicate]
I find it unusual and rather contrary to common sense and logic that some nicknames should have no apparent relation to their original names, such as "Jack" for "John(eg. JFK)" or "Jonathan", "Patsy" ...
4
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1answer
5k views
Why is Hugh called 'Shuggy' in Scottish?
Different english-speaking cultures have different conventions for names.
In Australia - your name is shortened or lengthened as a term of endearment. Rose becomes Rosie, Mitchell becomes Mitch and ...
2
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1answer
139 views
Is there a reason that “Righty” isn't a good nickname? [closed]
I'm not sure if it's just the fact that most people are right handed. I have a jumping spider that's missing its left front leg, so I thought about nicknaming it "Righty", but then I realized that ...
4
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3answers
745 views
Is there a synonym for nickname including '-onym'?
Words suffixed by '-onym' relate to different classifications of word, or more often, name.
They refer to myriad different names from endonym to theronym but I cannot find an appropriate term for a ...
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2answers
161 views
Given Names - Common Practices
Were the names Rebecca and Elizabeth ever used interchangeably, specifically in Ireland? I am doing some family research, and it seems that these two names may have been used to refer to the same ...
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1answer
836 views
Is it suitable to use my native name 'Dong' in English environment in account of its special meaning in English? [closed]
As an alien whose first language is not English, I sometimes am in a very strange situation, is it suitable to use my native language name, Dong? I by chance know Dong has a little bit negative ...
0
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3answers
375 views
What can be an affectionate name for a car? [closed]
People who drive for a living (taxi drivers, delivery workers, etc.) are often fond of their cars and give them affectionate names. These names can stem from the car brand or model (such as a Beetle ...
3
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1answer
506 views
Commas and nicknames
I want to know, do you have to use a comma after a nickname WITH a name? Like would it be "Rose darling, how are you?" or "Rose, darling, how are you?" I'm curious to know what is the correct way to ...
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2answers
92 views
Is there a term for someone who barely moves their arms whilst walking?
I know someone who barely moves his arms when he walks, a bit like Frankenstein's monster.
There is a Seinfeld episode ("The Summer of George") in which someone with the same behaviour is made fun of ...
3
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2answers
342 views
What are the application conditions of the phrase “the same name”? [closed]
Suppose my brother is named Bob, my father is named Robert, and my mother is named Roberta. Do these three people all have the same name? This is obviously not a question about their birth ...
0
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1answer
191 views
Is it common practice to shorten names with an “N” [duplicate]
Game of thrones : Eddard becomes Ned.
Wuthering heights : Ellen becomes Nelly.
It this common practice, or 2 isolated co-incidents? If it is common practice, is there a convention followed, stating ...
0
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0answers
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“Tab Tree” or “Tabs Tree” (-s at the end) [duplicate]
I created an extension for Firefox and named it "Tabs Tree". The extension is for managing browser tabs and representing them in the form of a tree structure. But now I think that I should have named ...
0
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1answer
1k views
What do you call a 'Nickname' that's longer than the actual name?
I'm pretty sure I used to know the term for a nickname that was longer or an expansion of a person's name.
EXAMPLE: My name is Sunny but friends sometimes call me Sunshine.
Though longer, Sunshine ...
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1answer
5k views
Why Anthony, Michael etc are called Tony, Mike etc? [duplicate]
It is a common practice, people calling and writing Tony for Anthony, Mike for
Michael, Max for Maxwell etc. It is correct to write or call ? I mean Anthony and tony can be two different names. Why ...
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1answer
4k views
Capitals for a city nickname?
Say we pick a city, NotLondon. Now assign a nickname, "NotLondon, the city of tears", tears being a metaphor for rain. Should these be capitalized? Should the word 'the' be capitalized? I think it ...
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1answer
1k views
If you called someone named “Shelly” “Shels” for short, would you spell it “Shels” or “Shells?” [closed]
Or Kelly -- "Kels" or "Kells?"
Is there a rule for this?
If it's just a judgement call, I'm inclined to go with one "l" as both "Shells" and "Kells" have potentially confusing homonyms.
I'm talking ...
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2answers
423 views
Historical probabilities that a person is referred to by his or her first or last name by friends [closed]
This is really an anthropology question, but since there's no SE anthro forum and I already am a member of this forum, I'll ask it here.
What is the probability that a male is (I don't use "man" ...
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4answers
317 views
What is a good translation of “crâne de piaf” as a nickname?
I'm looking for a translation of "Crâne de piaf", in English, in the context of a nickname given to some fictional character.
Also, take note that I am native from France. What I'm looking for, ...
2
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1answer
8k views
Parentheses or quotations for English name (foreigner)? [closed]
My English name is Michael (my name is Minh, so Michael and Minh have some similarity).
Should I put my name as: Minh "Michael" Nguyen or Minh (Michael) Nguyen (on a résumé, business card, email ...
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4answers
12k views
Just as there are a few nicknames for the U.S. (“Uncle Sam”, “Columbia”, “Yankee Land”), are there nicknames for England, or the U.K. for that matter?
This may look like General Reference, but I've googled "list of nicknames for England", "list of nicknames for the United Kingdom", and all I got was "list of city nicknames in the United Kingdom" or "...
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2answers
4k views
How do I quote a person with a nickname?
How would I set up the quotations for this sentence:
"The current governor of California is Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, a Democrat who was inaugurated January 3, 2011" (governors.library.ca.gov).
Do I ...
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2answers
10k views
South African Slang “Nu”
Any idea what Nu means when someone uses it as a nickname for someone else in South Africa?
2
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1answer
135 views
In what circumstances are people's names shortened and given an '-ers' ending?
The Test Match Special team are known variously as Jonners (Brian Johnson - deceased); Aggers (Jonathan Agnew), Blowers (Henry Blofeld), Tuffers (Phil Tuffnell) etc.
This laddish public-school ...
3
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3answers
161 views
Can the shortening of proper nouns, such as “The Nuge”, be considered a type of elision?
The earliest example that comes to mind is the shortening of the name Ted Nugent as The Nuge. To be clear, I'm less interested in the dropping of syllables at the end of his name, and more interested ...
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2answers
8k views
Middle initial placement
First question: My name is Anh D. Pham, but I go by “Andy”. If I want to include my nickname, where should I put the nickname portion?
Anh D. “Andy” Pham
Anh “Andy” D. Pham
Second question:...
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5answers
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What do you call a person who always has what you need?
For example I seem to always have what everybody needs/wants, from Advil to bobby pins to a deck of cards. What would you call me?
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1answer
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What would the name Rod be an abbreviation or shortening of?
Can anyone come up with more names than Rodney, Roderick or something quite different for "Rod"? I'm trying to track a Rod Anderson down and cannot find either of those or just Rod.
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3answers
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What do you call someone who finds everything?
I'm trying to define a character for a short story I'm writing, but I'm having a hard time defining him.
He has the ability to find everything.
What you do call someone who can find anything/...
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2answers
12k views
Single vs double quotation marks for nickname?
I am trying to conform to the British practice (specifically Oxford Style Guide) and I am a little confused which to use to mark a nickname:
Andrew 'Andy' Johnson
Andrew "Andy" Johnson
I know ...
5
votes
2answers
940 views
Usage, prevalence of “rooster sauce” and “cock sauce”
Sriracha sauce is a kind of chili sauce named for Si Racha, Thailand, but in the United States many people call it “rooster sauce” or “cock sauce” after the prominent rooster logo on a popular brand ...
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2answers
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Pseudonym of a graffiti artist
What do you call a pseudonym of a street art/graffiti artist?
Word 'pseudonym' is too general.
So I need exactly something like '[street] artist pseudonym', but also not 'tag' or 'nickname'.
To the ...
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1answer
612 views
Can anyone come up with two names whose pronunciations are respectively same as “who” and “how”? [closed]
I would like to find out occidental names whose pronunciation are close to my names in my native language. The first name and second name contain preferably only Latin alphabet. In order to state the ...
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4answers
696 views
what is the name or term for someone with a faulty way of arguing?
What would be the term for some one. for example , who starts an argument by suggesting something absurd, or exaggerated - then as soon as i begin to speak OR begin to point out how obvious the ...
5
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2answers
1k views
R is the dog’s letter
Wikipedia:
The letter R is sometimes referred to as the littera canina (canine letter). This phrase has Latin origins: the Latin R was trilled to sound like a growling dog. A good example of a ...
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1answer
712 views
Tricky Dick, only in reference to Nixon?
In the movie Watchmen Nixon is referred to as Tricky Dick. I'd like to know a bit more about the origin of the term and if it can be used in context other than just when talking of Nixon?
2
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1answer
235 views
Omission of initial “An-” in nickname
I often see that in nicknames, the initial An- is omitted.
Anthony → Tony
Android → Droid
Andrew → Drew
Annabelle → Bella
Is my understanding correct? Are there ...
2
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4answers
642 views
Special name for royal titles?
Is there a name for the title/nickname that some members of royalty get? For example, "King Larry the Kind".
