Questions tagged [phrase-requests]
This tag is for questions seeking a phrase or an expression that fits a meaning. If you're specifically seeking only a single word, see the "single word requests" tag too.
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How to say that something is not a matter of order?
In its attempts agains depopulation, the government issues new
rules to encourage people to have more child. But childbearing is
not —————— .
I want to say that childbearing is not a matter of order, ...
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What is another way to say "the problems that led to it"?
What is another way to say "the problems that led to it"? As in,
Provides overview of the case, participants, background, and problems
that led to it. Arguments for the plaintiff and ...
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3
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58
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Is there a term describing an arrest made for an alternative motivation?
Suppose Bob is a news reporter who honestly reports bad things about the police chief. The police chief doesn't like it, and he wants to arrest Bob for it, but he knows he can't legally do so because ...
Truth
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Can I use 'You felt stressful'? Can I use this expression in some situations? [closed]
I know I have to use "I am stressed" not "stressful" but I have some confusing expressions.
In many stressful situations, can I use "I felt stressful to something"?
If ...
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A word for untrue innovation/invention/discovery
This company publicized ————— as inventions and discoveries.
What they propose as an invention is just a —————.
I am looking for a word/phrase meaning unfounded view/idea/claim or untrue innovation/...
- 3,334
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79
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Describing the feeling of being aware of the truth of a situation yet not liking it
I've been attempting to summarise the emotion of knowing the truth about something and disliking it yet pretending it's not the case and not wanting to ask/clarify it, even though it's in the back of ...
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1
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What is an expression that defines a complex whereby you think you are being treated unfairly, even if you are not?
I am looking for an expression akin to "persecution complex" but for when someone is convinced not that they are being persecuted, but that they are constantly getting the short end of the ...
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What is the apt word for an ironically brief/vulgar description of an entity by a highly educated, accomplished individual? [closed]
For example, a neurosurgeon describing an arterio-venous malformation as a “screwed-up circulation”, or a psychologist telling his patient “that’s your stuff...deal with it”.
Because the professionals ...
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Verb for forcing a situation in which you get more pain in order to avoid being stuck in lesser pain over a longer period of time
Is there a verb for forcing a situation in which you get more pain in order to avoid being stuck in lesser pain over a longer period of time?
Examples:
When one forces himself/herself to vomit, for ...
- 1,036
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221
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What terms describe humorous acceptance of a compliment?
My wife complimented a chef on his delicate fish cookery last night.
Reply: "They're great, these boil-in-the-bag dishes."
I complimented a violinist on his performance recently and ...
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Word/phrase to describe something bringing about a contrary result [duplicate]
In this sentence, what could be added to say that the result was contrary to the person's intent/expectation?
The meeting was planned to show that the board value employees’
opinions, but (it) ...
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4
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What is the name for someone who never stays in one place? [duplicate]
Im trying to name a spacecraft for a novel, and am looking for the term for someone (or a group of someones) who never settles in one place, and it always traveling and exploring, something that might ...
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Word choice - When you use a too generic term to describe something specific
Suppose I have a taxonomy, which describes animals, that looks like this
+ Animal
+ Mammal
+ Cat
+ Dog
And I want people to use this taxonomy to label a set of 100 images of cats and ...
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What's another way to say 'you can take whatever from what I said and interpret it however you want'?
I've heard this saying before but I'm blanking out. It sounds like 'take whatever you can from that' but it sounds wrong even after a couple of Google searches. I'm looking for the right way to say it—...
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Is there a term for fake celebrity-altercation news (e.g. presenting banter as an actual argument)?
Nearly every day, the top story on my phone is some alleged altercation that happened on a daytime talk show. It's not just a clickbait headline; the story misrepresents the talk show hosts as ...
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81
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Word or two-word string to represent a number of times an action is done
I am looking for a word that means "the number of times an action is done".
For example, I am going to express "Number of times that this report has been printed" but I want it to ...
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1k
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Alternative for "sorry" that doesn't imply guilt (ex. I'm sorry that's happened to you) [duplicate]
English uses "I'm sorry" to both mean "my apologies" (implying guilt, or that you've done something to cause it) and "that's unfortunate" (no guilt implied, like you'd ...
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What word indicates that someone has spoken well?
What's the phrase — and missing word — that can be used to indicate that someone has spoken well?
She _____ herself quite nicely.
It's a bit of an odd word — something like efface or escape. It ...
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Is there a term to describe when you reject someones forgiveness?
Let's say someone says they forgive you for something you did, but you don't believe you did anything wrong that needs forgiving. Is there a term to describe that? Rejecting someone's forgiveness? (...
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What is one word/phrase for pretending to like something while it’s not good? [closed]
For example, a guy shows his friend something he’s written, and she smiles awkwardly and praises him, and gives him positive comments, while the writing itself isn’t good anyway. How do you describe ...
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Word or phrase for a combination of an estimated and actual value
I'm looking for a word or phrase a for combined value of an estimate and actual value.
I work on an ecommerce platform and we calculate shipping prices. The calculated shipping price is billed ...
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Name for the category of complex tasks/process where the standard is perfection
I'm looking for an English adjective, idiom, phrase, or principle to describe complex tasks/jobs/processes/things where the baseline is "perfection". And where people only notice the ...
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Is the phrase "in place" a good synonym for "appropriate"? [closed]
Would it be appropriate to use "in place" as a synonym for the word "appropriate?"
In this sentence, for example:
"I thought it would be in place for us to erect a statue for ...
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10
answers
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Word for a choice that is not really a choice
A long time ago, I read an article about wearing or not wearing a hijab. In the article, there was a term that described the fact that while, on paper, there was a choice, that decision would be so ...
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268
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What is the phrase for a romantic relationship between two incompatible personality types?
What is the phrase for a romantic relationship between two incompatible personality types?
Example: nerd & party animal.
Often seen in movies, lots of examples e.g. "Hometown Cha Cha Cha"...
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39
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What kind of statements are “the best pie I’ve ever eaten” and “the most beautiful mountain I’ve seen in my life” [closed]
My partner always makes statements such as those in heading. They are always sensationalised to create emphasis and drive home his enthusiasm for the subject. For example we were discussing Florence ...
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5
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727
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What's an adjective/phrase for "as a matter of principle"?
Looking for a single-word adjective or phrase meaning "on principle" or "as a matter of principle", that can fit in:
I don't go on dates with people I just met. That's why I ...
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What are the digital versions of "clock/punch in" and "clock/punch out"?
I looked up the phrasal verbs clock in, clock out, punch in and punch out in various British advanced learner's dictionaries and they seem to imply that these verbs concern the analog way of recording ...
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What expression can I use to describe phones with irreparable faults that make them partially unusable? [closed]
I have several phones with various irreparable faults; although they are not fatal, they render the phones partially unusable and require specialized care.
Calling a phone "disabled" implies ...
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Is there a term for last name comma first name?
I'm designing a table in which names are stored. How to best call the columns that store full names in different order? The term "Full Name" seems ambiguous to me.
First Name
Last Name
...
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6
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198
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Looking for a word, phrase or expression that means "liking something which is generally considered bad for you"?
As per the title I am looking for a word, phrase, or expression which signifies liking something, taking pleasure, or being content with something generally considered negative.
For example, the media ...
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How do I express the quality of being alien as a noun? [duplicate]
Alien can be a noun and an adjective. In this case, I am using it as an adjective. I am wondering how to express the quality of being alien as a noun (for example, happy expressed as a noun is ...
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1
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82
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Idiom for modeling after the wrong thing?
Person A: "If X can do this, so can I."
Person B: "Well, [insert idiom]."
In this situation X is someone who should not be emulated or treated as a role model. For example, X may ...
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69
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What do you call widely-pursued but exclusive careers where people are high-paid? (Superstars) [closed]
I'm interested in finding writings on the subject of pursuing, "Superstar" or "wildest dreams" careers, but all my searches kept yielding writings about common careers and ...
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What concise words or sentence would be the response to somebody telling you how they feel about you and that you feel the same way about them?
Somebody told me they like me because of the way I have always treated them. My response was "I feel the same". They then said "Oh, you like the way you treat me and like yourself too ...
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Idiom or short phrase to describe something that you've made roughly but only by yourself
Is there an idiom or short phrase that describes the following idea: (eg code for Codegolf):
Maybe it’s rough and worse than the others, but I did it by myself and it works
Do-it-yourself feature is ...
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6
answers
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Is there an idiom to say "However hard we try/ teach, nothing goes in"?
He seems to learn nothing. However hard we teach, nothing goes in.
Is there a word equivalent, an idiom or expression to say "however hard we try/teach, nothing goes in"?
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What is the night between "tonight" and "tomorrow night" called?
According to my desk clock, it is now Monday, 1:00 a.m.
I wish to mention in an e-mail preparations for a storm which is expected to arrive Monday around 8:00 p.m., that is, 19 hours from now.
The ...
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Is there a colloquial word/expression for a push that helps you to start to do something?
To specify my request, I should say that I mean something I can use in a normal conversation, but not in the academic field.
There's such an expression in the Russian language, which sounds like "...
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What’s a pithy saying expressing that those more ready to find fault in others do so because they are more inclined to a self-serving viewpoint? [closed]
I am looking for a colorful folk saying or poetic aphorism which succinctly expresses the idea that when someone is unhesitantly ready to let you know how bad and in the wrong you are about something, ...
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What’s the right phrase for “someone narrating the experience of a community they do not belong to”? [closed]
I am trying to convey that despite the best intentions of gentiles in trying to depict the hardships of the Jewish people, they still aren't able to be true to life as they havent exactly experienced ...
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What did Trump actually mean by the word "****hole"? [closed]
President Donald Trump referred to African countries, Haiti and El Salvador as "shithole" nations during a meeting Thursday
What did Trump actually mean by the word "shithole"?
In ...
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Phrase like "in recent memory", but opposite of "recent", i.e. "since forever"?
I distinctly remember encountering a phrase of the form
in {???} memory
with meaning opposite to "in recent memory", i.e. "since forever", but I can't recall what adjective went ...
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1
answer
91
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Is there a single word or short-phrase for: Something ugly or horrific described perfectly
A colleague of mine said, "What if we don't want to listen?" It is such a perfect illustration of the violence of our culture because it's (1) passive aggressive; (2) It doesn't say "...
2
votes
1
answer
60
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What is a word that means a very important personal truth?
I am looking for a word for a personal belief that is revered for its intrinsic, universal truth, and moral nature/aspects. Below are words I have considered, along with their definition from Merriam-...
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votes
2
answers
640
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Is there a word or phrase that describes the retention of a result in a sport game?
Is there some phrase, expression or idiom for a sports team that's simply playing to attain the result of whatever the score is at the moment? In my language, it's "dry the game up"
Let's ...
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Term for the national systems that establish the rules
I am trying to find one term that describes the system that governs us, which includes both the economic system and political system. I want to find the right one term to talk about both democracy and ...
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Word or phrase for someone who perpetually finds themselves witnessing bizarre situations
I am looking for an expression to decribe a person who perpetually finds themselves witnessing bizarre situations. For instance, maybe their classmates or professors are always doing something ...
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What's a saying for "talking bad in someone's ear"
There's a saying I'm thinking of. Let's say I worked on your car and you were happy with it. Then your friend told you that the work was dissatisfactory and making up things to change your opinion, as ...
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Word or phrase for the act of making statements for the purpose of invoking reaction or response? [duplicate]
It seems to be this passive form of communication. These people will often have the tendency to be quite passive/passive aggressive personality-wise.
For example, this person may walk into a room and ...
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