Questions tagged [word-usage]

This tag is for questions about correctly using a word. The word has to be provided within the question. The question should be limited to the usage of one word. For the usage of complete phrases there is the tag phrase-usage.

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0 answers
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What is the right way of asking someone [closed]

which one is the right way to ask someone, who did your nails? or do you say, who done your nails?
Missy Long's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
44 views

What's handdog air? [closed]

In a Robert galbraith book there is a phrase "a small man with a hand-dog air".. Is it some new slang or is it a typo? If typo what's that? Hair? Do small dogs have common hair style or what?...
Boppity Bop's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
28 views

'lead' or 'led' [closed]

I have seen this writing in Google searches: "this has lead governments" and "this has led governments" to me they both seem correct. But, I want to verify this properly with ...
Alix Blaine's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
86 views

Use of the verb ‘output’ [closed]

I need some advice on the use of output as a verb. To put it in context, I am working on a desktop app that uses some of the functionality of MS Word. In the app, there is an element called a binding ...
VlasovStanislav's user avatar
16 votes
12 answers
4k views

The usage of "can not" vs. "cannot" in mathematics

I saw the following passage in Professor West's homepage, and I hadn't noticed this point before. See https://dwest.web.illinois.edu/grammar.html#cannot "Can not" and "may be". ...
licheng's user avatar
  • 301
-4 votes
1 answer
66 views

Does jewel sometimes have a negative meaning? [closed]

In the lyrics of song Sorry by Halsey there's this line: I've missed your calls for months it seems Don't realise how mean I can be 'Cause I can sometimes treat the people that I love like jewelry ...
Snack Exchange's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
80 views

Our heart or our hearts

I just read a quote in which someone, on behalf of herself and her spouse, wrote "Our heart goes out for ....". I Googled to know if when it comes to speaking about heart not as a body organ,...
Eilia's user avatar
  • 5,469
-1 votes
3 answers
55 views

area or area size? [closed]

When talking about the growth of a production plant, which of the following is correct, and why? We are growing in area and number of employees. Or: We are growing in area size and number of ...
ramenjunkie's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
703 views

Can "stagnate" be used as a transitive verb?

I know that some verbs can be used either transitively or intransitively. Is it acceptable to use a verb transitively that is generally not used that way? As in: "I can't continue to stagnate ...
Catherine Bares's user avatar
17 votes
5 answers
2k views

Does "until now" always imply that the action is finished?

Neither my wife nor I have English as our mother tongue, but we use English to communicate to each other, which sometimes causes confusion. My wife often uses the expression "until now" to ...
Sembei Norimaki's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
1k views

Difference between "wave AT" and "wave TO"

What's the difference between "wave" used with "to" and "wave" used with "at"? Two sentences as examples: She's waving at the person behind me. and The ...
FBM's user avatar
  • 51
-1 votes
1 answer
47 views

Is this the proper use of imbued?

I am writing lyrics to a song, and the first two lines I have written read as follows: The spiral begins as these thoughts are imbued, "I'm hideous sin and I have no value." The idea I ...
User8994's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
36 views

Can parts "comprise" the whole? [duplicate]

A quick google search shows that you can use "comprise" in the following ways: The hotel comprises 58 rooms. or A car comprises an engine, a transmission, a body, a chassis, etc. I know that ...
guangming223's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
67 views

What does it mean to be “cashiered?”

I was reading up on the Dirlewanger Brigade (a scummy bunch of Nazis even by Nazi standards) and came across this line: “…cut-throats, renegades, sadistic morons, and cashiered rejects from other ...
Giacomo1968's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
115 views

Should the word "cousin" (without specifying which) be used to denote first cousins only or any "cousin"?

tl;dr If I'd introduce you to someone with "Say hi to my cousin Harry.", would you be surprised to later learn that it's my seventh second cousin twice removed because I used the word cousin ...
123's user avatar
  • 127
0 votes
1 answer
39 views

Give or gift? That is the question [duplicate]

Used be, one gave a gift. It was called gifting, the gift was given. When, why and how did "gift" replace "give" as in "I gifted her a bouquet"? "Gifted" used ...
Tady's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
2 answers
38 views

"Keep it unchanged" vs. "Keep it constant" vs. "Keep it unchanging"

Using Google search, I found that the phrase "keep it unchanged" is very common while "keep it unchanging" is very uncommon and "keep it constant" is not so common. ...
Tran Khanh's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
101 views

Can I use the phrase 'sororal twins' to describe a set of female twins?

Fraternal twins is what you call a set of twins who look different, but the word fraternal also has the meaning 'of or relating to brothers', and comes from a Latin root meaning 'brother'. The ...
Geremia's user avatar
  • 704
1 vote
0 answers
34 views

Verbs that go with a specific noun -- name for this?

The verb for lying is "told","I told a lie." Occasionally I will hear, "I said a lie." The latter usage really is cringey to me although perhaps "said" is a ...
releseabe's user avatar
  • 523
0 votes
1 answer
31 views

Which is better: "On first reading" vs. "At first reading"?

In the context of a section in a technical document that describes several topics, one of which is essential and others can be skipped, which of the following is better? You can skip the others on ...
Alexander's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
24 views

She came home exhausted [closed]

Is it correct to say "She came home exhausted"? Is it necessary to use the verb "to arrive" here?
waterlily99's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
12 views

Use of the word settle [migrated]

Is is grammatically okay to use ‘settle’ for causative purpose ? Is this sentence okay “ I settle whom I will at my home” ?
Adnan Borhan's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
113 views

Origin of "home and dry"

Cambridge says that the idiom home and dry is British English, which explains why I hear it used around me. It means: to have successfully finished something but I have heard it used also literally. ...
fev's user avatar
  • 32k
12 votes
4 answers
3k views

What disrespectful connotations does "redline" have?

I was reading the article "Respectful code" on the JavaScript engine V8's website and found it surprising that the term "redline" is an example of terminology to be avoided. Why is ...
Newbyte's user avatar
  • 233
-1 votes
1 answer
91 views

Has the usage of "screenshare" increased in recent years?

Every time I offer to "get on a screenshare" with colleagues, Microsoft Teams marks "screenshare" with the dreaded red squiggly underline. I note that (as of August 31, 2023) the ...
Jeromy French's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
57 views

"Teams members" or "Team members" (considering we are talking about 2 teams)?

In the context of we having 2 Teams: team 1, and team 2. I want to refer to the members of all the teams we have. Should I say "Teams members" or do I still have to use the singular of "...
jgomo3's user avatar
  • 119
0 votes
0 answers
20 views

My exams have been preponed [duplicate]

In India, most educated People say that " my exams have been preponed" As an English teacher I know that Americans say moved up and Britishers say that advanced in the context. One of the ...
Jvlnarasimharao's user avatar
18 votes
6 answers
7k views

Why do people say 'topless' but not 'topful'?

Say you want to wear a shirt: it would be odd to say, "I'm going topful". Is the reason due to topless being more out of the norm, and thus requiring a term? Maybe in places where not ...
user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
29 views

What is the difference between "a memoir" and "a biography"? [closed]

What is the difference between "a memoir" and "a biography"? According to my study, "a biography of a person A" is normally written by someone else not A and "a ...
Tom's user avatar
  • 4,587
0 votes
0 answers
37 views

Is "such" ever used instead of "this/that" or "the said" in legal English?

"Such" has many meanings, one of them being to refer to something of a particular kind/type (see "of this or that kind"). However, in many legal documents and laws in Malta, "...
Al-cameleer's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
38 views

When do we use "an analogy", "a metaphor" and "a figure of speech"? [closed]

I have difficulty understanding when we use "an analogy", "a metaphor" and "a figure of speech". I feel like in a casual conversation, people just use any of these words ...
Tom's user avatar
  • 4,587
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Is "abreast a" something ever correct?

Quick question about the correct use of "abreast". I have noticed most of the example sentences online only use "abreast of" and I am wondering if using "abreast a" ...
FrontEnd's user avatar
  • 1,071
2 votes
1 answer
116 views

How did the verb "take" come to mean "to undertake and make, do, or perform"?

One of the senses of the verb take is: to undertake and make, do, or perform. take a walk take aim take legal action take a test take a look [sense 17a, Merriam-Webster] It is an idiomatic usage. ...
user avatar
19 votes
5 answers
6k views

Why do people say a dog is 'harmless' but not 'harmful'?

I'm not asking if people consider dogs dangerous or not, I'm asking about how the words 'harmless' or 'harmful' are used. Did the distinction on how the words are used arise at some point? One could ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
41 views

Can somebody help me identify the grammatical rule at play in the sentence, "It was mandatory the each person wipe off equipment..." [duplicate]

I've been asked by a friend taking a TOEIC exam to get an explanation of why "wipe" should be used in the following sentence, as opposed to "wipes": It was mandatory that each ...
JasonGows's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
59 views

"They say that our uniform looks cool and easy to move."

I'm not sure if the use of "easy to move" in this sentence is correct. They say that our uniform looks cool and easy to move. It sounds strange to me. I can use the word "comfortable&...
LearnerAniger's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
106 views

When people say "that's not a word", are they just saying it's not part of current standard English? [duplicate]

If something is said and people understand it, sounds like a word to me. If people didn't understand it, I would think they would rather say, "what do you mean?", than making it a word after ...
user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
46 views

Does "Damaged Goods" always refer to psychological or other intangible effects?

My sense is that it never means an actual physical defect as in, "The quarterback's knees were shot -- he could still throw, but he knew that to management he was damaged goods." Or can it ...
releseabe's user avatar
  • 523
2 votes
1 answer
60 views

Can I use "when" to replace "how often"?

Can I use when as a replacement for how often? Is it common to use when to ask about the frequency of an action? ex: Question: When do you do the dishes? Answer: Sometimes I do the dishes.
Fabiana Francisco's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
113 views

Effect of using an unidiomatic expression - "a tableau in happiness"

EDIT: Thank you everyone for the answers. The point about grammatical vs idiomatic is interesting. To clarify, I would like to know if an average reader would a) understand the meaning of the (...
thewritergirl's user avatar
11 votes
3 answers
1k views

"Unrelentless" to mean "relentless"?

A native speaker commended someone for investigating something thoroughly, so they said "for your relentless investigating efforts", then they corrected themselves and said "...
s.H.a.R.p.R.i.F.t's user avatar
2 votes
5 answers
309 views

Does a restaurant 'make' sushi or 'do' sushi?

In the following sentence, which is idiomatic: make or do? Is there any difference in register, meaning, or usage? There’s a little Japanese place near my office that makes/does great sushi! I've ...
Aynat's user avatar
  • 45
2 votes
2 answers
93 views

Which premodifier is correct: 'ethical' or 'ethics'?

The premodifiers 'ethics' and 'ethical' seem to be used interchangeably in the context of 'ethics review' / 'ethical review' 'ethics committee' / 'ethical committee' 'ethics approval' / 'ethical ...
Johanna's user avatar
  • 21
0 votes
1 answer
78 views

How to tell which is "port" and which is"interface" on electronic devices (e.g., PC)

I cannot simply know where to use "port" and "interface", because these two words translate into one same word in my native language. So, I wanna figure out the difference between &...
Dai_Lizhi86's user avatar
28 votes
5 answers
4k views

Understanding of -pants vs. "pants" in UK speakers

My wife, a native Spanish speaker, today asked me about why a youtuber would call themselves 'craftypants'. I explained that -pants was added to something as synecdoche, so for example an intelligent ...
Kirt's user avatar
  • 1,447
1 vote
1 answer
64 views

Could "Diagnostic" be used as a noun and in plural form?

I've noticed that "Diagnostic" can be used as a plural! Such as in some windows warning messages. What's the subtle difference between Diagnostic and Diagnosis? How do we use each of them in ...
Adam ph's user avatar
  • 13
1 vote
1 answer
38 views

Which one is correct? "many privileges" vs. "much privilege" [closed]

Which one is correct? Is it many privileges or much privilege? e.g. You have many privileges/much privilege as a child of a rich family.
user478837's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
32 views

Can ‘manage’ mean ‘achieve with difficulty’? [closed]

I often find myself using sentence constructions like: Although the train was full, she managed to squeeze on. I passed the chemistry exam, but never managed history. Everybody complained about the ...
Peter Bill's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
131 views

What is a "hand‑tooled mitre‑crozier applique"?

In Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code, a bishop, in an attempt not to stand out in the airport crowd or on the plane, wears a certain type of outfit. It's been quoted multiple times by critics, ...
Ricky's user avatar
  • 20.2k
0 votes
1 answer
27 views

Is "state" capitalized in lieu of the name? [duplicate]

When referring to the "politically organized body of people usually occupying a definite territory" in lieu of the proper name, should state be capitalized? Example: He will liaise with ...
Lumpenproletarier's user avatar

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