Questions tagged [phrase-meaning]
The meaning of phrases.
1,276
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Where is a verb in “a troll out cold with a bloody lump on its head”
a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a
bloody lump on its head
This is a quote from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter (emphasis mine). I wonder whether the two words "out ...
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0answers
31 views
What does ‘beyond in’ mean?
What does ‘beyond in’ mean?
For example, ‘I served my time in the sixties as a block-layer beyond in Liverpool’.
Does it stand for ‘near Liverpool’? Or does the speaker just emphasize on the fact that ...
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1answer
37 views
Got it and I got it
If a boss says to an employee: I need you to get this project done by today. Then, the employee replies: 'Got it.' or 'I got it.', some youtuber expresses these two answers mean differently. The ...
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2answers
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“get along” er “git along” or “go along” (does vehicular usage matter?)?
Why is that individual (quote attached as screenshot for evidence, servant turned their back to face away before issuing the command, to/for the conductor to drive) saying "get along" and ...
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Exact Meaning: An appalled silence
Appalled by the Cambridge dictionary means: "having strong feelings of
shock or disapproval". On the other hand, it also means: "horrified".
There exists some ambiguity for me ...
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1answer
42 views
“Thou doth protest too much”: changed usage? [closed]
I remember reading somewhere that the original meaning “thou doth protest too much, methinks” is often used nowadays to take “protest” literally, but this changes its original meaning. I can’t seem ...
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What does the phrase ‘back the road’ mean?
Could someone explain to me the meaning of the phrase ‘back the road’ in the following sentence: “My father still lives back the road past the weir in the cottage I was reared in”?
Does it mean ‘next ...
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2answers
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About the meaning of the phrase '''At one end of the continuum'
''At one end of the continuum, some notions of computation are so loose that they encompass virtually everything''
I came across this sentence and tried to check the phrase on the internet but I could ...
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1answer
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Meaning of “a siren calling attention to a fog that it does nothing to dispel!”
From the given sentence:
a siren calling attention to a fog without doing anything to dispel it!
What I understand is that, there is someone who discusses complex things, but does nothing to ...
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1answer
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What is the meaning of “studied a favorite philosopher” in this text? [closed]
In the silence of his tent, as he studied a favorite philosopher during the dead of night, he thought he saw the Genius of the State, with veiled head and cornucopia, stealing away through the ...
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0answers
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What means share the feelings of another? [closed]
I understand it like having the same feelings (experience the same feelings of another), that's right?
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1answer
24 views
Understanding these two phrases [closed]
Was recently reading and came across two phrases where I am a bit unsure about their meaning.
They are:
Imperiously unsparing
and
Densely forbidding
As individual words I kind of have a sense of ...
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1answer
44 views
“do [something] now”. How to interpret this?
I am not a native English speaker, and for some reason, when my superior at work tells me to "stop what you are doing, and do this now" through internal channels online, I feel it has a ...
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0answers
23 views
What is the overall meaning of the sentence?
I came across the following sentence and could not understand the gist of it:
To the extent that it foresaw the effect the Internet would have on society, what makes the Frankfurt School—an early ...
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1answer
23 views
Using word ( stuffing) to refer to information, speech
Just a question if you can help me with please: can I use the word ( stuffing ) to refer to information e.g ( would you agree to stuffing this information into chapter one ? ) is this question ...
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0answers
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the usage of “affect” and “depend on” [closed]
COVID-19 pandemic will end someday, but how much it affects the
humanity depends on preventive measures like wearing masks, washing
hands frequently, keeping a safe distance from others, etc.
Let's ...
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1answer
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Help with the difference in the meaning of the phrases [closed]
What difference is between these phrases?
be going to do something
be out to do something
intend to do something
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0answers
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One word for “to make someone addicted to something”
I need to know if there's a one word to get the meaning "to make someone addicted to something". Be it bad or good, something like, gaming, photography, reading, playing a musical instrument,...
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1answer
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What is the difference between “counterintuitive” and “contradiction”?
According to the Cambridge dictionary,
Counterintuitive: Something that is counter-intuitive does not happen in the way you would expect it to
and
Contradiction: a fact or statement that is the ...
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1answer
31 views
What “the ceiling was too high to make out,” means [closed]
I was reading Harry Potter and the Philopher Stone when I came across this sentence
"the ceiling was too high to make out,"
What does "make out" stood for in this context? (In this ...
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1answer
27 views
what does “taken refuge in wilful imposture” mean?
what does "taken refuge in wilful imposture" mean?
If Slade ever really did this, it may
probably be accounted for by a burst of ill-timed levity on his part in
seeking to fool a certain ...
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1answer
22 views
What is the meaning of “unqualified gain”?
What is the meaning of "an unqualified gain" in context of the following sentence?
For environmental advocates, the increased focus on ecoefficiency (measures to reduce negative ...
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1answer
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What comes to mind when you think of the phrase “Deaf Bum's Bow”? [closed]
That's the name I have in my head for a music project thing. What do bum and bow mean in this context?
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2answers
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it was best not considered
Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
Soon they were high enough so that looking down was best not
considered. There was nothing below but yawning blackness, nothing
above but moon and stars.
The ...
0
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1answer
34 views
Meaning of the phrase “opining from the rafters, a movie’s overall rating”
Can anyone kindly explain the meaning of phrase "opining from the rafters, a movie’s overall rating" in the following sentence:
Very few veteran critics tend to be enamored of the recent ...
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2answers
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Does “I believe as strongly as anyone that” mean “as strongly as the most believing person”?
I've always been somewhat confused by this phrase because the tone of the context, which is often refuting someone else, is that they believe in it fully--to the extreme--but the actual words suggest ...
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2answers
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Meaning of a sentence in the book I'm reading :- How To Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan [closed]
I came across a sentence in this book that I'm not able to wrap my mind around. Here, it is:
Science has little interest in, and tolerance for, the testimony of the individual; in this it is, ...
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0answers
21 views
Help with the meaning of a sentence
I thank you in advance if you can help me with the meaning of the sentence:
"I favoured what motivates him above addressing the priorities of the company".
"Above addressing" means ...
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2answers
46 views
What does “I won't never” mean in this phrase?
I won't never regret these scars from trying to hold on to you.
I came across some poetry from America's Got Talent and was confused about what "I won't never" is actually intended to mean.
...
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1answer
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“(…) afford stuff for a good joke to anybody, (…)” - what does it mean?
I'm not sure what does Melville exactly mean by afford stuff for a good joke to anybody in chapter five of Moby-Dick.
However, a good laugh is a mighty good thing, and rather too scarce a good thing; ...
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1answer
43 views
the meaning of “how long do you think they will be” [closed]
i can't understand the meaning for this question "how long do you think they 'will be'"
is the meaning talk about how long"they" will arrive in the place ?
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The usage of “from” and “for” in “from the scarcity of other markets for the surplus…”
I read this sentence from Thomas De Qincey's Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (p. 10):
Here I might have stayed with great comfort for many weeks, for provisions were cheap at B---, from the ...
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1answer
65 views
Will definitely be Vs will be definitely
Why are we saying "There will definitely be some information", instead of "There will be definitely some information"?
Thanks,
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1answer
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Meaning of 'war was brewing in'
I am studying a book and there is a sentence: "By early fall, war was brewing in Iraq."
What does brew mean in this context? I thought 'brew' could only be associated with a beverage.
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use of “dedicated to”
I want to seek more clarification on the use of "dedicated to". Understand that dedicate means someone devoting time/effort to a project/research/work (i.e. dedicate his time to studying 18 ...
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1answer
81 views
'Authority of Incumbent ' what does this phrase mean in Job description analysis
'Authority of incumbent' in job description
Job description
A job description is a written statement of what the jobholder actually does, how he or she does it, and under what conditions the job is ...
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2answers
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Does “2 years into a person's employment” sound right?
I am trying to say a person would normally be considered for promotion at their second year of employment. Does the following sound correct?
Generally a person would be considered for promotion 2 ...
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1answer
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What is the difference between “demented” and “deranged”? [closed]
Criminals who trophy their victims are the most demented/deranged.
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1answer
27 views
Difference between “per” and “per given”
Is there a difference between the two sentences?
One apple per box of orange.
One apple per given box of orange.
Moreover, what I wish to say in one sentence is that there is an apple for a box of ...
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0answers
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What is a 'borrowed flesh"?
I've just stumbled upon this phrase and found no direct translation or definition, so it must be a metaphor. Can anyone try to explain it? The source is Naked Lunch by W.S. Burroughs.
I awoke from ...
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1answer
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1answer
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What is the meaning of “far to the east”? [closed]
What is the meaning of "far to the east"?
It was only ofter a day and a night's delay that the emperor, by detaching troops under Victor to make a long circuit, cross the canal far to the ...
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6answers
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Meaning of “I height Don Quixote”
What is the meaning/origins of a word "height" in this line of poetry (Written by Jack Parsons in 1943):
I height Don Quixote, I live on Peyote,
marihuana, morphine and cocaine.
I never ...
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2answers
34 views
what is the meaning of 'as recent history goes'
I heard some conversation about England football.
And one guy said "Manchester was red once again although not for long as recent history goes."
in this sentence, what is the meaning of the '...
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0answers
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To take the journey to the end
Is it grammatically correct to use a phrase ( to take the journey to the end ) as a synonym of ( to finish the journey) ?
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1answer
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Was 'offer' in “(…) that no way of reaching that place would offer, till (…)” used as an intransitive verb?
Is offer used as an intransitive verb in the following passage from Moby-Dick?
Much was I disappointed upon learning that the little packet for Nantucket had already sailed, and that no way of ...
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2answers
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Is this a dish or a metaphor ？
I read this sentence in a book：Baileys flavoured squirty cream licked from a makeshift serving platter of hot, naked flesh.
I was a little confused with hot naked flesh，is it referring to just some ...
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1answer
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Try to avoid it vs. Try not to use it
try not to use it:
From The New York Times:
Nowadays, Mr. Figueroa has two daughters and a stepson, and the potato incident is largely behind him. He lives in a small duplex in the Burg, a fading ...
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4answers
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meaning of “salted among the ranks of”
The Berrys had been blessed, their last owner, Lucius Berry, being one
of the rare true Christians salted among the ranks of the
so-called faithful. Lucius’s parents and siblings had died in the ...
