New answers tagged phrases
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What does the phrase "have no idea" mean?
No idea to me would mean you are 0% aware of it or completely unconscious of it
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What does “being had” mean in “due regard being had to”?
Being Had: I have always heard this term used for one who has just been fleeced, fooled , or led down a winding garden path to nowhere by a clever scoundrel or fraud.
Examples: A victim tells his tale ...
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(Rather than) as a conjunction
John Lawler commented:
Yes. And here's where the multi-word character of rather than comes in handy; you can split them up and put rather in an adverbial position: I would rather tell her than she ...
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'Go on a binge' in British English?
The Cambridge English Dictionary gives, as it first definition of 'binge', the following.
an occasion when an activity is done in an extreme way, especially eating, drinking, or spending money:
a ...
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Why does left come before right?
With up and down, as well as left and right, could it not be related to how words are written down in English?
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What is the origin for the phrase "Lend a hand"?
In the literal sense of "offering one's hand" (e.g. to "shake" on an agreement) the phrase "lend a hand" appears in Chaucer's Knight's Tale (c1385):
Lene me youre hond, ...
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What is the origin for the phrase "Lend a hand"?
Lend a Hand was the motto for Brownies(Girl Guide Movement) back in England in the 4o's and 50's when I was a Brownie. It inspired us to look for ways to make a situation better for someone in need.
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2
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Accepted
"Ay me" origins and usage?
At the time of writing, English was heavily influenced by French. It may therefore be best to look to France for an explanation:
Glossaire de la Langue Romaine
has:
Ainmi, aimi, aimini, aymi, emi, ...
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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 ...
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What is the difference between "comprehensive" and "complete"?
Comprehensive and Complete are similar words and can get confusing. But Comprehensive means “complete; including all or nearly all elements or aspects of something.” which means broadly complete, or ...
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What is the difference between "comprehensive" and "complete"?
I conclude that "comprehensive and complete" is the belt & suspenders of making sure the pants stay up. The meaning I want to convey is that nothing has been left out of the plan.
...
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"Don't start blowing up my line"
Aight, so . . .
To blow up a line means to petition someone’s phone line with calls or messages.
blow up
To call/text someone repeatedly, or have multiple people call or text
the same person. Kyle ...
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"Don't start blowing up my line"
It is likely to be a reference to a line of cocaine. The song refers to partying and feeling like magic, so a reference to drug use makes sense.
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Is the phrase "put paid to" widely understood outside of the UK?
I am a multi-published author in the US who lived in the UK for 3 years growing up. No one I know here ever uses the phrase put paid, and I only read it in the British online newspaper I subscribe to.
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Is the phrase "step foot" a recent misuse of the phrase "set foot"?
In the UK from 1947 to 1973, you only ever heard ‘set foot in’. It was not until I came to Australia that I heard ‘stepped foot in’. It is not grammatically correct and I have always thought of it as ...
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"Out of sight" to refer to something that is very good — could it be based on German?
As a German native speaker, I cannot agree.
As Shoe has already stated in a comment, "ausgezeichnet" is the past participle of the verb "auszeichnen" (to award something to ...
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3
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Accepted
"Out of sight" to refer to something that is very good — could it be based on German?
Yes, out of sight may be connected to ausgezeichnet, though whether it is directly connected or a folk etymology isn't clear. [Note: this is a downgrade of my previous confidence due to new evidence ...
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3
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"Out of sight" to refer to something that is very good — could it be based on German?
James Main Dixon glosses out of sight as "incomparably; beyond comparison" in his Dictionary of Idiomatic English Phrases (London, Edinburgh, and New York, 1891), offering this attestation:
...
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2
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Accepted
Prepositional phrases next to adjectives
Yes, those adjectives and their preposition phrase complements (they are allowed by a certain subset of adjectives) do form adjective phrases. These adjective phrases are modifiers in noun phrases in ...
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