All Questions
12 questions
0
votes
1
answer
62
views
What does it mean for something to be "so-called"? [closed]
What does it mean if someone says,
This is the so-called [noun]
or
This is the so-called "[noun]"
What is the purpose of the addition of so-called? Are these sentences neutral or has ...
- 189
0
votes
0
answers
59
views
What is the Difference Between a Mood and Tone?
The two literary devices "mood" and "tone" seem to be the same no matter where I read about them. I cannot seem to differ them.
Example: "the dark and gloomy night"
The ...
- 19
0
votes
1
answer
451
views
Is there a difference between "I am male" and "I am a male"?
Both versions seem grammatically correct to me, since the word "male" can be either a noun or an adjective, so it can be used with and without an article.
But I wonder, is there any difference in ...
- 9
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Is "groundbreaking" a positive word, a negative word, or a neutral word? [closed]
I recently encountered the following sentence:
The women's movement of the 1970's spawned the groundbreaking and influential works of socialists and historians.
I was asked to analyze whether this ...
- 113
2
votes
4
answers
8k
views
Sardonic or sarcastic tone?
Is this sentence sarcastic or sardonic?
"But that, as far as I can tell, is not my point." (from Dave Barry's "Lost in the Kitchen")
- 29
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Word for making an implication with tone
Sometimes when people use the name of the person they're talking to in a statement it's used to dismiss the discussion at hand. For example, "Because the sky is blue, Alice" or "If you have two two's, ...
- 155
0
votes
1
answer
7k
views
How to be both polite and persuasive?
Context: I have to persuade the recipient to close the billing cycle by today and I have to be polite, since the recipient holds a very high position.
I urge you to expedite the billing of ModuleXYZ ...
- 13.5k
15
votes
1
answer
245k
views
Difference in tone between Regards, Best regards, Kind regards and Sincerely in emails [duplicate]
I often end my emails just with "Regards, FirstName".
But I also often see "Best regards", "Kind regards" and "Sincerely".
What is the difference in tone and meaning? Is one more formal than the ...
- 255
0
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Meaning and tone of "Offhand I do not know..."
Two days ago I sent a mail to a university I am interested in, asking for the ratio of Early-Decision–accepted students to Regular-Decision–accepted ones. I received this answer part of larger mail.
...
- 119
3
votes
1
answer
395
views
Connotation of "to expatiate"
Only the online Cambridge dictionary marks the verb “to expatiate” as ‘formal disapproving’. Nowhere else could I find the reference to a ‘disapproving’ connotation, although all the online ...
- 1,112
26
votes
4
answers
256k
views
Does "renege" have any racial overtones, or is it otherwise offensive?
I used the word "renege" in a meeting the other day (something like, "the vendor decided to renege on their offer of shipping replacement SAN disks"), and got a few wide eyes.
My supervisor sat me ...
- 371
9
votes
2
answers
130k
views
What is the difference between "inflection" and "intonation"?
And which is utilized when turning this...
The monkey is fat.
...into a question:
The monkey is fat?
- 1,040