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This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.

1 vote

What does "feeling a little precious" mean?

It simply means feeling fragile or vulnerable, the way you do when you've over-indulged the night before.
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-1 votes

"professions' and "occupations" what's the differnce?

The sentence isn't very well written, but since it isn't yours (I presume), you can't revise it. To answer your question, the difference is largely one of education. "Professions" are followed by peop …
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4 votes

"Make of that what you will" – meaning of "will"

One of Shakespeare's plays has the full title, Twelfth Night or What you Will, which is a way of saying,"the kind of comedy you like". Hardly different from the title of another of his comedies, As Yo …
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1 vote

What does “Cultures are circular” mean?

A circular argument is one where Fact A is the explanation for Fact B, and Fact B is the explanation for Fact A. Asians are motivated to educate their children because they have an education culture, …
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0 votes

Touch an extension - meaning

I believe it's a reference to the feature of an office phone by which you can connect to someone in the same office by pressing a single button, called an "extension". It might have been better to say …
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2 votes
Accepted

Meaning of "but if one turns it thither ever so little" in context

"...but if one turns it thither ever so little..." equals: "...but if one turns it even slightly in that direction.." BTW the direction spoken of isn't towards "the mathematical way", as you assum …
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1 vote
Accepted

Comprehension - gave them the run of the base grounds still in Ukrainian hands

During the ordeal, the colonel gave reporters and TV crews the run of the base grounds still in Ukrainian hands, and held impromptu news conferences in front of brigade headquarters. The colonel …
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1 vote
Accepted

Meaning: one Benghazi revelation away from impeachment

If it's one...away that is the problem, a parallel case would be we are three days away from Christmas, meaning three days will pass before Christmas arrives. …
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0 votes

What word is this?

He asks how much he'll be paid, and when they tell him, he says, "Bene", meaning "Fine". …
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5 votes
Accepted

Meaning of the plural form of yarn

I believe explanation 1 is the better guide. When you're talking about the same yarn, you'd say "lengths of yarn", but if there were two different kinds of yarn in the same weave, you'd say "the two y …
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0 votes

"Upright he held it, lords, that held it last", meaning?

You could re-write it as "he that held it last held it upright, lords."
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1 vote

Is there a word or phrase (other than euphemism/innuendo) for using one word/phrase to mean ...

But if a word-pair is acceptable, you could consider the word veiled combined with another that points more specifically at the meaning you intend: veiled invitation, veiled threat, veiled challenge... …
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3 votes

Looking for a word meaning "where or who it came from"

You're probably looking for "ostensible origin", "apparent origin", "perceived origin". But you need to sort out your language, and possibly your thinking, in relation to the traffic. A spam message ( …
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