All Questions
125,472
questions
-1
votes
1
answer
35
views
What is the difference between "impossible" and "infeasible"? [closed]
In cryptography world I usually encounter the word "infeasible", like:
"It is computationally infeasible to solve elliptic curve discrete logarithm."
But I rarely see the word &...
- 101
2
votes
1
answer
48
views
What do you call someone who sets up a small-business but is not the owner?
I'm trying to find a way to communicate my role or position title in this situation.
A friend of mine wanted to start a small business using their knitting skills, but they didn't know how to make a ...
- 21
8
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why does “revocable” have first-syllable stress?
Read the following “canonical” sets of related words, and notice the (uncontroversial) stress patterns:
Renew, renewable, renewably
Regret, regrettable, regrettably
Repeat, repeatable, repeatably
(...
- 433
0
votes
0
answers
16
views
Adjective for the Weather [duplicate]
I'm looking for a word which functions as an adjective for weather. So I want to say something like "He had weather concerns as he went on holiday", but with a specific adjective term in ...
- 101
0
votes
0
answers
18
views
Do you have to change the order of the words when not using an apostrophe? [duplicate]
For example:
Didn't you like the opera?
Did not you like the opera?
Did you not like the opera?
Which one, (1) or (2), is correct and why?
0
votes
0
answers
27
views
Is "all the above" a valid phrase to use in a sentence? [duplicate]
I have just discovered such a wonderful thing as determiners. I did a little digging and found out a lot about the stuff, but there is one thing that still confuses me.
Is "all the above" a ...
-1
votes
0
answers
18
views
What is it called when you say something that is not necessarily your opinion, or that you're not sure about? [duplicate]
I'm Dee and I teach English in Brazil.
Some months ago, I was teaching a lesson about ways to say something that isn't necessarily your opinion, or that you're not completely sure about. The lesson ...
2
votes
1
answer
76
views
Single word: Happiness caused by ones own misfortune
I'm looking for a word/loanword that means:
"happiness caused by the misfortune of oneself"
I have put together all combinations that follow this pattern:
(sadness|happiness) caused by the ...
- 91
1
vote
1
answer
43
views
Which one of these two sentences is unnatural, and why? [closed]
A: It gets really hot when I use it for a couple of hours.
Is it supposed to do this? (is it supposed to do like that?)
B: No, it's not supposed to do that, but it can if you use it in direct sunlight....
- 73
3
votes
1
answer
80
views
What is the term for belief that economic outcomes are entirely deserved?
What is the name of the ideology that posits everyone's individual financial position (and the societal distribution of economic inequality) is already entirely justified, that is, individually earned ...
- 131
0
votes
1
answer
39
views
Issue with word 'incentives'
I am proofreading some documentation, and this sentence bothers me:
This incentives users to install the app.
Is the use of 'incentives' here grammatically incorrect?
Are these two alternatives ...
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
31
views
Role of "otherwise" in conditional sentences
I have a question about this test question:
Chemotherapy given at the same time as radiation therapy can help patients with a certain type of lung cancer live nearly 50 percent longer than they .........
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
55
views
What to call a field that the farmer let nature reclaim for becoming more fertile? [duplicate]
I think every once in a while, farmers stop growing on some of their crops fields. They let all the natural and wild grasses, weeds, flowers, plants, etc. grow up in it. I think the purpose is to give ...
- 2,611
0
votes
2
answers
46
views
Is "including in the Neckar" acting as a modifier in the given sentence? If so, what is it modifying?
He hoped to compete in some challenging open-water events later in the summer, including in the Neckar.
Is "including in the Neckar" acting as a modifier in the sentence above? If so, what ...
1
vote
0
answers
70
views
Usage of the term "good egg" [closed]
I came across the informal idiom good egg which means a likeable or pleasant person. The idiom seems somewhat old-fashioned.
My question is: How common is this idiom inside and outside the USA ? And ...
- 1,420
1
vote
0
answers
17
views
What is the meaning of 'd? [migrated]
Man: Now Carly, that's my older daughter, has just had her seventh birthday, so presumably she['d] been in a different group?
Could anybody tell me the meaning of 'd and the usage of it?
1
vote
2
answers
33
views
Are "go into," "come into," and "get into" transitive?
As the subject says. Note the following sentences:
"I got into a taxi."
"He came into the room."
"We went into the store."
For some reason, I have always been under the ...
- 21
0
votes
0
answers
33
views
Expression similar to "embracing one's homosexuality" [closed]
I'm trying to find an expression that refers to the opportunity to "experience" one's sexuality.
Example: By disclosing his homosexuality, he is able to .. (live out his sexual identity?)
- 9
1
vote
1
answer
70
views
Does the idiom "dotting your Is and crossing your Ts" have a negative connotation?
I have heard this idiom being used in the negative sense on TV to express annoyance when someone is too meticulous.
However, from what I remember, it is a positive trait to have, i.e., to be thorough ...
0
votes
0
answers
30
views
Grammatically correct way to restart a thought in a single sentence
There exists an oratory technique where a sentence or thought that might be highly complex, too complex even to risk maintaining the listeners' understanding throughout it, where such a complex ...
- 1
-1
votes
0
answers
29
views
Which of these two facts can be conveyed from this paragraph?
We are in a debate about the meaning of this paragraph:
The standard deviations of both populations must be known, and if the sample sizes are
less than 30, the populations must be normally or ...
- 112
0
votes
1
answer
28
views
In formal writing such as a reference, can an initial subject defining sentence imply the subject to several sentences thereafter? [closed]
I am writing a personal reference for a family member and trying to list several ways in which they have helped me without the sentence running on. I do not believe a colon would work in this case as ...
- 3
0
votes
0
answers
50
views
Why isn't there a comma in "Unloose him Frodo!"?
I was rather shocked by the extremely sparse use of commas by Tolkien, but in most cases, it still falls "within reason". However, there is one place (so far) in The Two Towers which just ...
- 9
1
vote
0
answers
35
views
"a bit" vs. "some"
Disclaimer: I'm a German native.
I'm working on some software with a coworker from US. He just sent a message saying "if we decide to actually publish this as a real package, I'd like to clean it ...
- 153
0
votes
0
answers
28
views
Metaphorical reference to a specific person/place [duplicate]
Is there a grammatical term that describes the use of a figurative reference in place of directly naming a specific person, place or thing? Terms such as metaphor, metonym, etc. apply to classes (eg. &...
- 1
0
votes
2
answers
44
views
Difference between "across the year" and "throughout the year"?
I have heard people saying these two phrases, do they have any difference from each other?
For example
I have accomplished a lot across the year.
and
I have accomplished a lot throughout the year.
...
- 111
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
When is it OK to pronounced a voiced th like a /d/ instead of a /ð/?
As I learned in Do native speakers really always pronounce the voiced th as a /ð/? native speakers sometimes pronounce the voiced th as a /d/ instead of a /ð/ like in the words "the", &...
- 129
1
vote
1
answer
61
views
What would be the modern equivalent of " ... is around the corner yet"?
Here's a neat article covering the differences between yet and still:
https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-still-and-yet.html
There is, in Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee, a sentence that ...
- 19k
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
In this sentence, should I use "hit" or "hits"? [migrated]
In this sentence, should I use hit or hits?
I threw a small stone, then I was worried about a car with a driver
inside; if the stone hit the car, I would be miserable.
- 11
1
vote
0
answers
38
views
Is the highlighted part a noun phrase acting as an appositive or an absolute phrase, modifying the previous clause?
His chest and arms were thick and roped with muscle, testament to the athlete he’d once been.
In the sentence above, is "testament to ..." modifying the previous clause "his chest ..&...
1
vote
0
answers
19
views
Etymology of phrase, "to get the better/best of" [closed]
What is the origin of the term, "to get the better/best" of? While I've looked at some sources, they say the meaning without giving the etymology of the phrase. Since the meaning has to do ...
- 239
2
votes
0
answers
37
views
I am looking for a word that is synonymous with "syntactic expletive" to describe the purpose of the word "there" [duplicate]
It is a word that describes the purpose of the word "there" in a sentence such as,
"There is a bird in the tree." Expletive is one word, but there is another, longer word, and I ...
0
votes
0
answers
19
views
Plural “who clause” subtlety [duplicate]
“Most Americans who have a car…”
“Most Americans who have a car in their garage…”
Should that be his garage? Their garages?
“Most Americans who have cars in their garages…” sounds unobjectionable, but ...
- 9
1
vote
1
answer
42
views
Does there exist a word to describe someone who points out a good thing in a bad situation in a negative way [duplicate]
I’m wanting to know if there exists a word to describe the following situation. Someone who finds a silver lining in something is generally considered a good thing. However, I am looking for a term or ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
45
views
What is it called when an author uses a question mark without a question attached? [duplicate]
My specific example is from a passage in Fahrenheit 451 (although I've seen it used colloquially as well):
Click? Pic? Look, Eye, Now, Flick, Here, There, Swift, Pace, Up, Down, In, Out, Why, How, ...
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
21
views
Dictionaries that do a good job explaining nuances in how words are used [migrated]
I find dictionaries tend to provide definitions that are too general and don't cut to the heart of how words are distinctly used. Is there a dictionary that does a better job defining words or ...
0
votes
0
answers
13
views
Online collocations search engine? [migrated]
What's the best collocations search website you've used?
I recall there being one associated with Oxford but can no longer find it. It returned results from classical and modern English sources, ...
- 101
1
vote
1
answer
40
views
Is there an easy way to identify the subject in a relative clause? [closed]
I am having a problem deciding whether to use "is" or "are" here, as I do not really know what the subject is... I feel that the sentence is OK as is but my Word grammar checker ...
- 31
0
votes
1
answer
95
views
What is the word to describe the sudden emotional shift from being motivated towards sorrow? [closed]
Here is the moment from a story:
For the first time after several years, he laced up his shoes and stepped outside to start his run. However, the run turned to a walk as his thinking turned inward ...
- 103
-1
votes
0
answers
20
views
1
vote
0
answers
25
views
Which role does the noun "number" play in the phrase ‘a number of ’?
I am confused with the role of the noun number in the phrase ‘a number of ’.
Is the noun number a quantifier here or a collective noun?
Some people argue that the number is a quantifier in "A ...
- 21
-2
votes
1
answer
38
views
Article before trouble? [closed]
I'm having (a?) trouble with article before the word "trouble". What's the correct way to say, "I'm having trouble doing X" or "I'm having a trouble doing X"?
- 99
-1
votes
0
answers
28
views
Which is correct: 'helping make friends' or 'helping to make friends'? [duplicate]
In the sentence below,
Economic reforms, including price and currency liberalisation, are also helping the country make friends.
is the phrase "helping the country make friends" correct?
I ...
- 107
0
votes
0
answers
52
views
What is the word for being attracted to a person's character?
Sapiosexual means someone who is attracted to intelligence.
What would you call someone who is attracted to character?
For clarification, I see character differing from personality in the sense that ...
- 1
-1
votes
1
answer
66
views
Real word for "patternistic"? [closed]
The context I was writing in:
"I hypothesized that due to the patternistic structure of Active Directory environments and the frequency of their use [...]"
The word seems like it would fit ...
- 622
3
votes
0
answers
76
views
Do native speakers really always pronounce the voiced th as a /ð/? [closed]
In Can we pronounce the 'th' sound as a d? one answer explained that native speakers often don't pronounce the voiced th excactly like how it ideally should sound.
What I have noticed over ...
- 129
1
vote
0
answers
45
views
This question ended with ?"? and I think it is a punctuation error, if it is incorrect is there a way to avoid using ?"? [migrated]
This question ended with ?"? and I think it is a punctuation error, if it is incorrect is there a way to avoid using ?"??
As a psychiatrist what will you do when a patient asks a question
...
- 11
0
votes
3
answers
37
views
Is "within a month, sometimes sooner" redundant?
Is this statement redundant?
Your box will ship within a month of successful billing, sometimes sooner.
-2
votes
0
answers
94
views
What is the adjective for “drama queen” as in a person/place overreacting to a minor action based on petty/unnecessary rules?
I'm looking for an adjective that can express the meaning of “drama queen”, but I’m not limited to that option.
drama queen n. Informal. a person who often has exaggerated or overly emotional ...
- 19
1
vote
1
answer
38
views
Meaning of the construction noun + "but" + phrasal verb
I came across some usages of the construction noun + "but" + "can" of which I can only recall one:
No truth but can be pried away from this book.
Actually the full example is ...
