All Questions
128,088
questions
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some other ways to express the fact that I have been learning something for a certain period of time but still haven't mastered the ABCs of it?
I wonder if there are some other ways to express the fact that I have been learning something for a certain period of time but still haven't mastered the ABCs of it?
The following is what I am not ...
8
votes
6
answers
4k
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First-rate, second-rate, and third-rate
I’d like some clarification on the use of these three words. First-rate has positive connotations and its meaning is manifest, but the meanings of second-rate and third-rate are relatively muddy in ...
- 195
8
votes
6
answers
1k
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Hypernym for "clients", "members" and "partners"
We're building a feature for a website and trying to think of a hypernym for clients, partners and members so that the feature remains generic enough for re-use later on other websites.
- 183
8
votes
3
answers
114k
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"Hello" or "hi" — what's best? [closed]
I must send a professional email but I'm not sure what is best to start it with, hi or hello.
The question may seem to be simple, but unfortunately I am not too good in English.
- 255
8
votes
4
answers
28k
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What is the name for a person who raises turkeys?
Some agricultural professions have specific names assigned to them. For example, a person who raises sheep is a shepherd and a person who raises cattle is a rancher. What would a person who raises ...
- 191
8
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5
answers
7k
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Does "neath" have any standalone meaning?
Beneath and underneath both indicate similar concepts, and since under- is a free morpheme in many contexts, is neath a bound morpheme or does it derive from a standalone root?
I bring this up since ...
- 856
8
votes
2
answers
365
views
"Style Cream": what is it? [closed]
On this matter I have read other questions: “Sour cream” versus “soured cream”, “shaving cream” vs. “shave cream”. But, can someone explain what is the "Style Cream" to which this potato chips are ...
user19148
8
votes
7
answers
32k
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"Conception" vs. "inception"
A friend of mine just stated:
I'm unimpressed by iOS6, most of the "features" they are introducing have been there since Android's conception.
I was about to correct him, believing inception to be ...
- 183
8
votes
2
answers
3k
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What does "pike hoses" mean?
I'm reading James Joyce's Ulysses, and while there are enough things I don't understand in it I keep crossing the phrase "pike hoses," or "met him pike hoses." Can anyone enlighten me as to the ...
- 259
8
votes
4
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25k
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What does "gig" stand for in "It's your gig"?
I have heard people say, "It's your gig" when they intend to say, "It's your choice after all." For example:
I have said all I wanted to say. Now it's your gig.
The intention is that the listener ...
- 15.9k
8
votes
4
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33k
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Should I use "damn" or "darn"? [closed]
How unseemly these days is it to use the word damn in educated or elderly circles? I have heard that there is a modified and supposedly less intense darn. Should I be careful to avoid the former and ...
- 15.9k
8
votes
2
answers
3k
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Does appending a question mark to a declarative sentence result in a valid sentence?
Suppose I have the sentence:
"All apples are green."
Although it is not a true statement, clearly it is a declarative sentence. Can any declarative sentence like this be made into an interrogative ...
- 639
8
votes
6
answers
4k
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Difference between "drop on by" and "drop by"
I first learned of “drop on by” in this news article, 2012, by Spectrum News, Texas.
“Armstrong hits pool for Longhorn Aquatics event. Longhorn Aquatics was hosting its New Year's Classic, and ...
- 9,807
8
votes
3
answers
20k
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Use of comma separating two adjectives
If I had the phrase
two blond haired, blue eyed people
would the comma be out of place?
should I hyphenate "blond haired" and "blue eyed"?
- 193
8
votes
3
answers
9k
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“Permission” vs “privilege” [closed]
I'm confused about permission and privilege. What is the difference between them? I know both mean “the rights to do something”.
- 5,635
8
votes
4
answers
18k
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Appropriate use of "app" vs "application"
Can app serve as an accepted abbreviation for application in formal contexts? Is there some context where app is more accepted (for example, when talking about mobile applications)?
- 3,348
8
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4
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2k
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Killer Queen. The usage of noun sequences of length two and more. Ambiguity of nouns phrases in English
I have a question about nouns triplets like "sofa box container" and I'll formulate it at the end. I have some reasoning and I want to make sure I'm correct.
First of all consider the following ...
- 191
8
votes
4
answers
18k
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"Awfully" or "awful"?
Awfully is a word, as noted in Merriam-Webster's definition of awful. I recently said this:
Your snoring is awfully bad.
I was in a group, and the majority agreed that awful was correct:
Your ...
user11550
8
votes
8
answers
5k
views
Word for "order doesn't matter"
You have some data and some code that operates on it. The order in which you process each data element doesn't matter, and hence the task is parallelizable.
The order of computation on each element ...
- 1,737
8
votes
3
answers
3k
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What type of cat do you swing?
I've heard that the cat which there may not be enough room to swing actually refers to a type of whip. Is that true? What is the actual origin of the phrase not/barely enough room to swing a cat?
- 6,373
8
votes
2
answers
9k
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Word for person who eats insects
I was reading this article about eating insects. What is a word for a person who does it?
- 1,148
8
votes
4
answers
12k
views
Word for someone who prepares reports
The situation I am thinking of is where someone within a company runs queries on a database and formats the information (with or without commentary) into a report.
Is there a single word that ...
- 3,768
8
votes
3
answers
225k
views
What does "proverbial" mean?
This word proverbial has been bothering me a lot lately. I cannot understand it even after translating it into my native language. I would like to know its meaning as well as its origin.
- 1,109
8
votes
3
answers
231k
views
"Whole day" or "all day"?
Which phrase is more correct when I want to tell a client that I'm on Skype 24hrs?
I'm there all day.
I'm there whole day.
- 952
8
votes
4
answers
53k
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"How are" or "How is" the wife and kid?
How are the wife and kid?
How is the wife and kid?
Which is more correct?
- 189
8
votes
3
answers
18k
views
Origin of "scumbag"
A phrase I sometimes hear from one of my colleagues is scumbag or scumbags:
Where does this phrase come from?
How old is it?
Is its usage still a common occurrence?
- 931
8
votes
2
answers
13k
views
How does "each" change "are" to "is"?
Relevant: 'Each' with plural or singular verb and What should I use between “triple” vs. “all”?
The answers in the linked question don't quite help me. Specifically, what happens with this case:
My ...
- 35.4k
8
votes
8
answers
13k
views
A single word that describes the moment a person realizes they are dreaming?
Lucid dreams is a phrase to describe the state of someone knowing that they are dreaming. What I am looking for is a single word that describes that moment of realization. A friend suggested ...
- 191
8
votes
4
answers
1k
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When and why did the em-dash and the hyphen supplant the semicolon?
It seems to me that semicolons are rarely used today in ordinary English writing - even in newspapers and books. They appear to have been replaced, in many cases, by em-dashes and hyphens (the hyphen ...
- 551
8
votes
4
answers
51k
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What's the difference between 'addictive' and 'addicting'?
Some people use 'addicting game' and others use 'addictive drugs' - What's the proper usage?
- 201
8
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4
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Proper use of "out to lunch", "out for lunch" and "out at lunch"
Recently a co-worker and I debated the proper use of "out to lunch". The argument stemmed from conversation over the appropriate preposition to use, and became particularly heated when we tried to ...
- 8,726
8
votes
7
answers
524
views
Once a super computer, but now no longer?
Is there a word that specifically means or makes reference to a computer that was once considered a super computer in its time, but due to rapid technological advancements, is no longer considered one?...
- 735
8
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4
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5k
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Which native English speakers are linguistically the most "germanic"?
English is a Germanic language. Another significant Germanic language is of course German.
Which native English speakers are the closest to German basing on the following criteria?
accent-wise (...
- 3,605
8
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3
answers
3k
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You becoming 'CHU' and 'JU'
I know for over a fact that the word "YOU" when the word before its a T or a 'D' sound it can change to a CH sound or a J sound, but I've ALWAYS wonder why does that happen?
So, I want you= aɪ wɑnt ...
- 317
8
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4
answers
9k
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Insight into the pronunciation of the word algae?
Can anyone provide some insight into the pronunciation of the word algae? Various dictionaries give either the /g/ version as in gear or the /dʒ/ version as in jeep. For example:
https://dictionary....
- 491
8
votes
3
answers
753
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Etymology of the noun-form of gamy / gamey [closed]
I was watching Futurama and there was a scene where Fry tasted a steak and said it tasted gamy (or gamey). Now I've looked up on several dictionaries and they all state that in the context of meat it ...
- 91
8
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6
answers
2k
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How to communicate the idea of a "brown-noser" without the vulgar connotations?
What term would communicate something similar to "brown noser", without the vulgar connotation?
(Here's one citation of the term being used by WWII soldiers, but I'm guessing it was used before that. ...
- 89
8
votes
4
answers
13k
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Are pronouns nouns?
In the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Huddleston & Pullum 2002) and many other grammars, the English pronouns are viewed as a subcategory of the English nouns. In other grammars, such ...
8
votes
1
answer
1k
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the meaning of Sun-speak
Lindsay, with A Voyage to Arcturus, tests the same visionary and linguistic envelopes. In the Orwellian view of language, the reduction of vocabulary to a functional and brutal Sun-speak is seen as a ...
- 201
8
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2
answers
18k
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how can you say 'the person I'm talking with' with one word?
For example, instead of saying 'you have to listen to the person you are talking with', I want to say: 'You have to listen to your ___________'
- 189
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3
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3k
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What does ‘be one’s “buddy”’ mean aside 'be one’s “friend”'?
What does ‘be one’s “buddy”’ mean aside be one’s “friend”?
I was drawn to the phrase, “My short game’s always been my buddy” appearing in
the following quote of Tiger Woods in the Time magazine’s (...
- 69.9k
8
votes
6
answers
89k
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A word for someone who can notice things quickly? [closed]
Other than words like 'insightful', 'observant', and 'perceptive', is there another word?
- 91
8
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5
answers
54k
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"Don't S**t Where You Eat"
The idiom "Don't shit/defecate where you eat" means:
One should not cause trouble in a place, group, or situation in which
one regularly finds oneself.
[Wiktionary]
I always understood what it ...
user140086
8
votes
2
answers
73k
views
What is the difference between FYI and JFYI?
What is the difference between these two acronims: FYI and JFYI.
Can I interpret JFYI as "Only for your information", or should it be "Simply for your information"?
- 397
8
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7
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13k
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"Success", "Failure" and what's in-between?
The title pretty much already describes it:
Whats the 'neutral' term when relating to "success" or "failure"? A term which is neither, but still some kind of result?
To further elaborate, I'm ...
- 237
8
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3
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2k
views
Is 'Single Sitting' a proper phrase?
Being an Indian, I don't like the way we Indians use the English. Of course I also make mistakes, but I will try to learn from time to time.
I see and hear some phrases like, Please do the needful, ...
- 91
8
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6
answers
476k
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How to say "I'm sorry for such a bother" [closed]
I am in the middle of constructing my email to my colleague and I am out of words on how to say "I'm sorry for such a bother".
Is there any other way of saying it politely?
- 81
8
votes
4
answers
103k
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Difference between "take a taxi" and "get a taxi"
What is difference between the following sentences?
I take a taxi/bus/train.
I get a taxi/bus/train.
- 495
8
votes
2
answers
53k
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What does the phrase "it does not become you" mean?
I have heard it used in a negative sense. For example, "rudeness does not become you" etc.
Is this phrase used in a positive context as well? (like "generosity becomes you")?
- 319
8
votes
8
answers
36k
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"Bald Faced Lie" vs. "Bold Faced Lie"
Which of these is correct? What is the origin of this expression? I've searched here on the exchange and haven't found an answer.
- 403