New answers tagged phrase-usage
5
votes
An English equivalent to the Spanish phrase «Me pasó a un amigo»?
The phrase "asking for a friend" can be used in a similar (joking) way in English. It implies that someone is really asking a question on their own behalf while pretending to be asking on ...
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3
votes
Accepted
Is the question ""Does it exist what I'm looking for?" " the most usual way to ask a question in this meaning?
That construction isn't grammatical. If I understand the meaning right, you could phrase it
"Does what I'm looking for exist?", or
"Does the thing I'm looking for exist?"
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3
votes
How to Translate the "Killing" in this Context?
If it was just a matter of his reputation being destroyed, there would have been no reason to involve the police. Furthermore, destroying his reputation wouldn't (necessarily) make the husband "...
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1
vote
Origin of “I don’t buy it”
The construction is relatively recent:
OED:
6b. transitive. colloquial (originally and chiefly U.S.). To accept the truth of (a statement, theory, etc.); to believe; to approve of
(something). ...
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0
votes
Origin of “I don’t buy it”
Proverbs 23:23 "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding." (KJV; 1604 commissioned; 1611 printed)
This is logically one origin, in print, of valuing ...
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1
vote
What is being toasted by "Here's looking at you"?
Toasts might be divided into formal toasts and first-sip formulas. Rick's is clearly a case of the latter, but for the moment we may simply ,call it a toast, in the wide sense of the word.
An ...
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0
votes
Difference between "How are you?" and "How are you doing?"
In American-Conversational Use, the saying, “How you doin’?” was a popular phrase said by the character Joey in the famous 1990’s tv sitcom, Friends. Those in Europe and the U.S. may remember the fun ...
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1
vote
Is the expression "to hire help" a euphemism for "to employ servants"?
To answer the original question, yes, "hiring help" means the same as hiring servants. I'm not qualified to comment on Philadelphia in the 1940s, but I'll draw a potentially interesting ...
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-1
votes
Does "keep one's cool" come from Beat slang?
This Tweet provides a link to a document produced by Stepney Trades Council at the time of the UK general strike in 1926 in which people are advised to "Keep cool".
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Can I email someone (with) something?
Both options are acceptable. When we use the preposition "with" in the context of emailing someone, it is meant in the sense of "having or including". So if you say
I emailed you ...
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