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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Inanimate object equivalent of “victim”
I am writing an article about a machine, that for a long time, was blamed for causing multiple fatalities as it was wrongfully believed that it had something mechanically/electrically wrong with it ...
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1
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"Ink" as a term for coffee?
I've stumbled upon a thesaurus entry for the word "ink" that connects it to various words to describe coffee or caffeine, none of which I have -ever- heard in my life! I'm a coffee-drinker, ...
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"Devalued" vs "Devaluated"?
I have just come across the use of the word "devaluated" in a published book and am wondering if this is a legitimate word as I can't find this past participle in any dictionary. I would ...
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Does "aide" always refer to a person?
According to Grammarist,
An aide is an assistant or helper. The word always refers to a person.
So is for example the following use of aide wrong/non-standard?
Clarity and simplicity as aides to ...
user466721
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4
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Is "deliberate choice" a pleonasm?
Google reports about 2.130.000 results for "deliberate choice", so I am going to go ahead and use it, but in the mean time, I thought I should ask for an opinion from a strictly linguistic ...
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Why do South Indians call restaurants 'hotels'?
In South India, it's common to use the word 'hotel' when referring to what North Indians (and most of the rest of the world) know as a 'restaurant.' It's not just a phenomenon seen among small, micro-...
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Are "keep standing" and "keep sitting" the correct imperatives to order somebody to be in the same position?
"Keep writing" and "keep smiling", as a usage of keep, make sense but like this, can one use "keep standing" or "keep sitting"? Like if a teacher scolds a ...
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Semantic shift of worrywart!
The informal AmE term worrywart refers to:
a person who tends to dwell unduly on difficulty or troubles.
but according to a few sources the original meaning of the word was actually its opposite:
...
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What is the opposite of must-have?
I am looking to write a sentence trying to describe the opposite of must-have. The sentence is to be used in a professional setting.
For example, my sentence should look like:
My must-have for work is ...
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What preposition I should use with the word "application"?
Which one of the following three sentences is correct? I am not sure what preposition I should use with the word "application". Thanks.
My job is to facilitate the application of this new ...
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What does “fresno” from Caro’s “The Path to Power” mean?
In Robert Caro’s book The Path to Power is the following passage (emphasis mine):
Road-building - fresno and mule-team road-building - was a rough business in Texas then[.]
Later on the page is this ...
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Was cleavage first used for Jane Russell?
While trying to understand when and why the term cleavage was first used to refer to a woman neckline I’ve found that:
The sense of "cleft between a woman's breasts in low-cut clothing" is ...
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'Capital' vs 'funding' vs 'money' (for producing TV/movies) [closed]
Is the term 'capital' appropriate to describe the money a production company provides to TV show producers to produce a movie or series?
Or are the terms 'money' or 'funding' have a better fit?
For ...
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Examples of 'Antonymous' in publication?
It occurred to me a few years ago that Antonymous ought be a legitimate English word, built just as is Synonymous, and was pleased to find it listed in Unabridged Editions of several dictionaries, ...
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Name of phobia for fear/dislike of locals?
Here in South Africa there are about 30 million documented foreigners, from mainly Zimbabwe. Some restaurants have only foreigners as managers and only foreigners as staff, with no room for locals to ...
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Redeem - different meanings - related?
I'm flummoxed by the various meanings on 'redeem' involving improvement or rescue (of a person) and also involving satisfaction of a debt/obligation and other financial uses. The connection between ...
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What is the difference between using a double had vs one had in this sentence? [duplicate]
Getting confused on the differences between a double had vs one had in this sentence. Also, I’m having difficulty understanding the nuance and/or correctness of one over the other, so any explanation ...
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Specific usage of "more"
I was reading E.M. Forster's A Room With A View and came across this dialogue:
“Up to now I have never kissed you.” She was as scarlet as if he had put the thing most indelicately. “No—more you have,”...
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"Vital aspect" or "vital goal" - which is correct in this context?
Which sentence below makes the most sense?
Showing care for those in need is a vital aspect of our organization's programs.
Showing care for those in need is a vital goal of our organization's ...
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3
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"than it's worth" adjective or noun
It's more headache than it's worth. It's more trouble than it's worth.
Is this "worth" adjective or noun?
I think the adjective "worth" needs an object after it.
However, there is ...
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"Tranche" as synonym for "collection"
Recently there have been a tranche (:/) of news articles referring to a "tranche of documents" found in Donald Trump's possession. Most dictionaries, e.g., Merriam-Webster
a division or ...
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What does "to put it up to the favourite" mean?
The sentence is "Ground permitting, he is going to put it up to the favourite."
I looked this up and found that it is mostly used in horse racing contexts. Does it mean to challenge the most ...
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How to Read Picture/Image Index in Book
Often when I read a book and see an image or picture, there's always something like "picture 1-a" or "1.a". Sometimes it's also written in the following form "Picture 1.10&...
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Can a statement be sarcastic without mocking someone?
As the title suggests, does a statement have to mock someone or convey contempt in order to be considered sarcastic? I thought the main criteria was that the statement should mean the opposite of what ...
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Use of adjective "slack" in academic writing
(Note. I deleted the previous question as the discussion was focusing too much on the math.)
I am writing a research paper in mathematical analysis and I have a situation in which I want to give a ...
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Can one use "since" and "that's why" in one sentence? [closed]
Is the following sentence gramatically correct? If 'no', please, give your reasons.
Since these two photos illustrate two different types of exercising that’s why I think they are good for our project....
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Usage of trunkline/trunk line to refer to a highway [closed]
Is anyone familiar with usage of the word trunkline/trunk line to refer generally to a highway, outside of the specific case of "Any road under the jurisdiction of the Michigan Department of ...
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"Performative" meaning "in name only"
Recently I'm seeing the word "performative" being used with the meaning "in name only". I'm seeing it only on Reddit, so it could be a local phenomenon.
Examples:
The separate ...
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What is the difference between a map legend and a map key? [closed]
What is the difference between a map legend and a map key? Please answer soon please.
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Usage of "filter in"
In mathematics and computing, we often use the verb "filter" to describe the process of selecting a collection of items from some bigger collection based on whether or not they match a given ...
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Can someone explain to me the meaning of the verse "in over your chest is way too deep"?
I was listening to the song "Wetsuit" by the band "The Vaccines" when I met with these weird lines:
"Submerged, your vision's just obscured
You're a lot like me
In up to our ...
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Is there a word / adjective to describe someone who’s set themselves entirely to cause problems to a person?
For example if a woman is so jealous of another woman and dedicates her life to cause problem after problem to ruin this woman’s life.
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Is a/the scion always the successor of the current family head?
Nothing I found online regarding the word seem to indicate that a noble family can only have one scion, but in media I always see the word as being singular and most important, usually regarded as the ...
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Use of "did" in a negative sentence [closed]
Mark Knopfler in one of his famous songs says something like
you never did have the intelligence to use (...).
I am a bit puzzled by the use of "did" here.
Is "did" emphasising ...
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“talk about something”and”explain something/discuss something”. How native speakers lead to answer if the object after verb is required or not
If "speaking" is one-way and "talking" is two-way, it is likely that "talk" needs an object like someone or something. But you say “talk as in talk about something” is ...
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Has the word "believer" always had the meaning of someone who believes in God or has it picked up that meaning somewhere along the line?
Has the word believer always had the meaning of believing in God or has it picked up that meaning somewhere along the line ?
When I say "I am a believer", without further context, does it ...
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Why do you drive a car on parkway, and park a car at driveway? [duplicate]
Why?
Usually, we always drive a car on the road, often the road's called "parkway". Which seems to be opposite of driving. On the other hand, we park a car at parking lot or "driveway&...
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What does the term "antisemitic" mean and how did it arrive at it's modern definition? [closed]
I ask this question for two reasons. One, it's being used a lot currently in western media and online spaces such as twitter, so maybe if I could fully grasp it's definition I could understand why it'...
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Where do I put the name of a noun, before or after? [closed]
Which one is better:
When function read returns an error, the program crashes.
When read function returns an error, the program crashes.
When read-function returns an error, the program crashes.
I'm ...
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What is meant when light is like a benediction?
I've recently undertaken to expand and enrich my vocabulary, but the word "benediction" has me stumped. I believe I have a good sense of the denotative meaning, but the connotative meaning ...
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What do you call part of a conference or summit for free time [closed]
WHat are some elegant ways to describe the ending of a summit or conference where participants can engage the time however they wish. They can go elsewhere, network, leave... etc. but in the program a ...
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A groups of reviews - „assessment“ vs „evaluation“
I'm looking for the nuanced difference in meaning of words: „assessment“, „evaluation“ and „review“ - in the specific context of „reviewing“ various products.
As far as I understand, the main ...
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Using respectively twice for sequences of 3-tuples
Describing the 2-tuple sequence [(A, first), (B, second), (C, third)] is easy enough:
A, B, and C are respectively the first, second, and third letters of the alphabet.
What shall be done about 3-...
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What’s the difference between blubbering and sobbing? [duplicate]
I see these words used interchangeably, but it seems there’s a difference. Is there a significant difference between these 2 words?
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Am I using the word "superbowls" incorrectly in this statement, even if the answer is singular?
The Eagles have won more superbowls this century than the Cowboys....one.
Is the first sentence grammatically correct or is it incorrect to use "superbowls" plurally here because the answer ...
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Encroach on/upon, encroach into
I was wondering if someone could explain the difference between "encroach on/upon" and "encroach into". I cannot figure out the clear difference between them. Here are two sample ...
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How common is the phrase: "Blessed be nothing"?
The phrase itself is found in one of Emerson's essays:
"Blessed be nothing," and "the worse things are, the better they are," are proverbs which express the transcendentalism of ...
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What are the two opposing sides of "versus" in this headline "Elon Musk manages free speech versus 'hellscape' at Twitter"?
In this headline...
Elon Musk manages free speech versus 'hellscape' at Twitter ----Reuters
What are the two opposing sides of the preposition "versus"?
Is it "free speech vs. ...
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Special usage of the word 'now'
The representation of Agamemnon in the epic as a whole is complex and
variable, emphasizing now his generic royal qualities, now his genuine
difficulties as commander of such a diverse and ...
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About usage of "yet" [closed]
I need help with the difference.
"Are you a member of the club yet?"
"Are you a member of the club ?"
What's the difference?
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