52
votes
Accepted
What does "I'm catching a 4:00 at Logan" mean?
Logan is an airport in Boston.
"A 4:00" means a 4:00 flight. That style of reference is often used for "commuter" flights, which go a particular route at a scheduled regular interval, e.g., every ...
- 4,760
15
votes
What type of English is used in the dialogue of the Lord of the Rings movies?
Epic prose deals in weighty and significant matters, to do with times and periods that transcend normal life, with the formative doings of extraordinary people. The question of how to learn it I find ...
- 29k
11
votes
The meaning of a short excerpt of dialog from the "La-La Land" movie
to haul ass is an AmE slang phrase for "to move extremely quickly"
from the UD - to move extremely quickly, to move at an expeditious rate, to move much quicker than the normal pace
When you ...
- 50.2k
11
votes
What type of English is used in the dialogue of the Lord of the Rings movies?
Once on a time
in comment contrite
Sir Reginald Dwight
anon did us write:
It's of a slightly higher register, but actually not by much. Especially not in writing. Anyone in here can, and ...
- 137k
9
votes
Meaning of "Buck ten, buck fifteen, tops"
"Buck ten" means "One dollar and ten cents", or 110 cents. So it presumably means here 110 pounds, or about 50 kilos. Likewise "buck fifteen" means 115 pounds. So:
He looks like he only weighs 110 ...
- 3,674
8
votes
Accepted
Asgard is not a place, it's a people
Grammatically either would be valid, but not quite the same.
The people would mean a particular group of people, which in the context would mean "the people who live in Asgard".
A people would mean ...
- 53.7k
8
votes
How is the contraction for "one of" spelled?
For informal, especially less common, non-standard contractions, there is no written rule how you should spell them. There are only some conventions, and the unwritten rule is to spell it in such a ...
- 37.1k
7
votes
What type of English is used in the dialogue of the Lord of the Rings movies?
This English is normal proper English. Spoken English is mostly colloquial or casual. Lord of the Rings is in a category of well-written English literature. It is more the model of English versus ...
5
votes
Accepted
What does an ellipsis followed by an exclamation mean?
Without context it seems hard to tell, looks like a creative use of punctuation in any case. '...!' could be:
Deafening silence
An awkward pause after an exclaimation
If we consider "I won't die ... ...
- 166
5
votes
What type of English is used in the dialogue of the Lord of the Rings movies?
This register (a declamatory style) reminds me of the King James Bible
And Ephraim their father mourned many days, and his brethren came to comfort him.
1 Chronicles 7:21-23 King James Version
and ...
- 37.4k
5
votes
What was the reference to 'federal case' in the movie Air Force One
"Making a federal case out of it" is figure of speech (and had the same meaning in 1997 when the movie Air Force One was released that it does today).
It means making a big deal out of ...
- 2,512
4
votes
Accepted
What does "two-meal" mean in "There's nothing that could get him away from that two-meal town."?
A 'two meal' town is short of the usually expected three meals a day.
The expression is similar to another idiom which describes a town as being short of the expected number of horses :
A very ...
- 24.9k
4
votes
What does an ellipsis followed by an exclamation mean?
To me it would indicate an uncertain promise, for a moment, followed by some non-verbal expression of certainty, determination or defiance.
However, as an author it is our job to be clear, and this ...
- 975
4
votes
"brothers in her bag"
I expect it's a metaphorical / figurative reference meaning there are more dollar bills like that in her bag (i.e. - There's more where that came from as often said when someone wants to indicate that ...
- 142k
3
votes
What does an ellipsis followed by an exclamation mean?
The way I have always heard it, you should never have two forms of punctuation in sequence, and the ellipse is a form of punctuation.
It follows the same general logic as not ending a question with ...
- 531
3
votes
Accepted
What does it mean by the phrase "not my story to tell"?
He says, "It is not my story to tell." For some reason he is not allowed to tell the story. Perhaps it would invade the privacy of some third person. He is leaving it up to that third person to ...
- 25.8k
3
votes
Help me make sense of this dialogue from 'The Importance of Being Earnest'
This exchange shows the level of intimacy between Algernon and his servant Lane. They are joking together, and they both know it, but they have lived together so long that they talk in a kind of code. ...
- 31
3
votes
A word, gesture or expression for a confident "shrug"
I think you might be looking for a “nothing-to-hide” gesture. It shares with the shrug an open palm attitude, but the shoulders don’t rise up:
Image source: Dreamstime: A young man shows his two bare ...
- 19.8k
3
votes
A word, gesture or expression for a confident "shrug"
I don't think that there is an expression specifically for shrugging. 'Shrugging' falls into words like run, speak, wave, jump, etc. You have to add separate words to give an action context.
For your ...
- 31
3
votes
Dialogue with multiple sentences before the “he said”
Yes, it is acceptable - and it is still clear that John is the one talking.
You can also do it like this:
'How are you?' asked John. 'I'm so glad it's raining.'
You may also find this to be a useful ...
- 6,485
3
votes
Simple Abbreviation Confusion
The abbreviation is attested. The Oxford English Dictionary lists it under "'course, adv.":
colloquial.
= 'of course' (see COURSE n. 37c).
The form is colloquial, which means that it tends ...
2
votes
Accepted
Help me make sense of this dialogue from 'The Importance of Being Earnest'
At one level, the humor of the exchange lies in the fact that Algernon (a well-bred but impecunious and somewhat dissolute bachelor) asks Lane (his manservant) what would seem to be an irritable ...
- 169k
2
votes
Can a statement be "hissed" without any sibilants?
What constitutes a hiss is broader than you think. Compare a snake's hiss to a cat's hiss. Pretty different, right?
You may think you can't hiss 'you fool' because there's no s in it, but put enough ...
- 21
2
votes
How is "but of course" different to just "of course"?
"Of course," means "yes."
"But of course," means "obviously yes."
Like any phrase, either could be intended or interpreted as demeaning or respectful (if you ...
- 21
2
votes
suggestions on word-choice for "the smell of roses"
I think about Fragrance:
a. The quality of having a pleasant odor: the fragrance of the ocean breeze.
b. A sweet or pleasant odor; a scent.
A substance, such as a perfume or cologne, designed ...
- 319
2
votes
What's a verb that means "to say something in a singing way"
intone - to utter in a singing voice; to utter something in singing tones or in monotone
"Open wide," he intoned.
[Dictionary.com]
[Merriam-Webster.com]
- 1,777
2
votes
Position of comma relative to quotation marks: "You're wrong",... vs. "You're wrong,"
The latter example is correct.
A comma follows the dialogue and comes before the closing quotation mark. A period ends the sentence. Punctuation serves to separate the spoken words from other parts ...
- 29
2
votes
Reasking in answer to "How are you?"
When dealing with anyone you do not know extremely well, it is never wrong to be correct.
Being correct means you will respond to any query about your well-being. And, you will reciprocate.
Good ...
- 5,145
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