82
votes
Accepted
Does OP mean “original poster” or “original post”?
People all over the Internet have asked the same thing—which, on the face of it, suggests that different forum posters (and perhaps, in some cases, the same people at different times) have used it to ...
- 169k
27
votes
Accepted
What is the third option beside 'accept' and 'reject' on a ballot?
"Abstain," as you suggest, is widely-understood, at least in the UK.
See this Sky News article on the EU withdrawal bill which includes:
However, there were still rebels among Labour and Tory MPs, ...
19
votes
Does OP mean “original poster” or “original post”?
I'm not really sure who is qualified to say that one use or another of this abbreviation is "correct" or "incorrect". But I have certainly used "OP" to stand for "original post" instead of "original ...
- 84.5k
15
votes
Accepted
Is there any difference between "straighten out" and "sort out"?
In many contexts, idiomatic straighten out and sort out are equivalent and interchangeable.
But there's a potential distinction in, for example,...
I have to miss my regular "Girsl's Night Out" ...
- 142k
12
votes
Does OP mean “original poster” or “original post”?
Either or an abstraction related to both, depending on context.
To be clear, "OP" may refer to:
the Original Post; or
the Original Poster; or
the Original Post or the Original Poster, ambiguously;
...
- 694
11
votes
Accepted
Are "in accordance with" and "according to" interchangeable?
According (to) and Accordance (with) are two different words/phrases. They clearly have the same root (Accord, meaning agreement) but they cannot be used interchangeably.
According to means "as ...
- 5,611
11
votes
What is the third option beside 'accept' and 'reject' on a ballot?
You specified MPs, but then asked for "any English spoken country". In the US Congress (and generally in the USA), legislative votes are typically recorded as "Yea" (yes/for passage), "Nay" (no/...
- 344
10
votes
A word or phrase to refer to restaurant sector?
The term encompassing restaurants, bars, cafeterias, taverns, etc. is "the hospitality sector" or "hospitality industry". This is using the second definition for the word ...
- 22.4k
9
votes
Accepted
'Using a keyboard is better' v 'It's better to use a keyboard': and why IT with the infinitive?
We often use gerund-participle clauses when we want to use a verb as a Subject:
Smoking is bad for you.
Using a keyboard is better
In English, we don't like to use infinitival clauses as Subjects, ...
- 48.7k
9
votes
A word or phrase to refer to restaurant sector?
This is the foodservice industry. From Wikipedia:
The foodservice (US English) or catering (British English) industry includes the businesses, institutions, and companies which prepare meals outside ...
- 22.5k
7
votes
When to use "the" in front of plural demonyms? "Americans" vs "the Americans" vs "the American people"?
First, I must point out that words like Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese, etc. are different from words like Americans, Koreans, etc. in that, when used as "demonyms," the former are much more ...
- 7,316
6
votes
Désert médical translation
This concept is still too new for there to be a single accepted term.
Take a look at this article on CNN: "Millions of Americans live nowhere near a hospital, jeopardizing their lives"
The ...
- 7,663
6
votes
"So I have learned."
It’s not so much an expression as a common way to employ so with certain verbs:
so, adv. and conj.
4. a. Representing a word or phrase already employed: Of that nature or description; of or in that ...
- 19.8k
6
votes
"centers around the concept" vs is "based on the concept"?
This is impossible to answer without a concrete instance as the focus of something and its basis are not the same.
In addition, saying something “centres around something” is absurd. If it contains ...
- 13k
5
votes
Ungrammatical or Grammatically Incorrect
"Grammatical" is a modifier. Let's assume someone were to write a scientific article. If the information contained within the article is accurate, but poorly worded, we could say that the article ...
5
votes
Is there any difference between "straighten out" and "sort out"?
Straightening out implies some kinks that need taking care of. The majority of the task has been attempted but there are some issues that need rectifying. Sorting out is used for a new activity.
...
- 271
5
votes
Accepted
Do we say "as it" or "as if" to say "as it is right now"?
Your as if would be wrong. You mean as is:
Do I send it as is?
- 137k
5
votes
Accepted
Word or phrase for "shooting an arrow with a bow"
There's the simple:
. . . how you asked me to use a bow and arrow . . .
However, assuming that there was an object that had been shot at (lets assume it was a tree), I think it would more naturally ...
- 38.3k
5
votes
Accepted
Is "in no way" informal?
"No way" has a long tradition of formality that is recognised as being distinct from current "street talk".
The skull shows good development and is in no way artificially deformed ...
- 46.4k
5
votes
Is it possible to have an interrogative after an imperative connected with coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence?
There is, apparently, no rule carved in stone; rather, what dictates the use of coordination by means of "and" (bar some fundamental and rather stringent requirements as regard to ...
- 23.9k
5
votes
Is it possible to have an interrogative after an imperative connected with coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence?
Is it correct to say:
Please tell us the best choice, and why/why is that?
Tell me your name, and where are you from?
No. The second clause of both should be expressed as an indirect question:
...
- 46.4k
5
votes
Is ‘fancy dress’ just a dress?
"Fancy dress" is a British and Australian English term for being dressed as something you are not - being dressed in a costume, such as Wonder Woman or a medieval knight. In US or Canadian ...
- 26.4k
5
votes
"centers around the concept" vs is "based on the concept"?
Answer without details
No, those expressions are not even variants of one another.
Neither is richer than the other but each is consecrated to a unique idea, and so question # 2 is not really ...
- 23.9k
4
votes
What is an expression for a priest not wearing official attire?
As an Anglican Priest, I generally use the term plain clothes. But rarely is it necessay to explain what I am wearing. Among friends and other clergy, I just say "I'm not wearing my Priestlies (...
- 41
4
votes
Historical and contemporary usage of "don't" for the third singular person
There is evidence that "He don't" was proper long ago in British writings.
For example:
An essay upon the interest of England; in respect to Protestants (1701):
He'l dread the Government, ...
- 10.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Historical and contemporary usage of "don't" for the third singular person
Dictionary.com has a nice summary:
Don't is the standard contraction for do not. As a contraction for does not, don't first appeared in writing in the latter half of the 17th century, about the ...
- 67.3k
4
votes
Accepted
Verb - agreement dilemma - 'first-two days'
The key is that "two days" is a measure and measures are treated as singular.
That is why your option 1 works as the subject, verb, and predicate are in agreement. However I do not believe it needs a ...
- 5,774
4
votes
Accepted
Specific verb or phrase for holding or transporting something in this particular way
"He held the chicken tucked under his arm." and "He tucked the baguette under his arm." I would say they don't sound as accurate as they actually are, because people are not as likely to refer to ...
- 333
4
votes
Accepted
Complemented with or complemented by
It's a passive construction. "Moscato wine complements chocolate" = "Chocolate is complemented by Moscato wine". However, I feel that in the context of your example, there's no intention to convey ...
- 2,644
4
votes
Complemented with or complemented by
Both prepositions are about equally common in OP's context, and I see no reason to prefer one over the other (nor do I see any possible semantic distinction). From Google Books...
His report was ...
- 142k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible