4
While it is true that based on is still the universally preferred version of the expression, especially in formal writing, based off (of) seems to gain more and more popularity. So much so, that Merriam-Webster has a whole article about it that provides some answers.
While it's more common to say that something is "based on" something
else—as in &...
3
You might try ornamental
(Cambridge)
beautiful rather than useful:
a bowl of ornamental china fruit,
The handles on each side of the box are purely ornamental (= they are
for decoration only).
3
Should I assign the task to myself?
Yes, you should. No one else can assign the task to yourself. Nor can you assign the task to anyone else’s self.
I assigned the task to myself displays a perfectly correct and natural usage of a reflexive pronoun with a ditransitive verb — as does I mailed the package to myself.
Here are some more examples of reflexive ...
2
Only 2. and 4. are incorrect or unidiomatic. ("Untested" or "uncontrolled" would be more correct.)
However I don't think any of the choices given are a good under these circumstances.
Vaguely describing the status of "control" or "testing" is far too indirect an approach for communicating a safety concern. What would ...
2
I would go for untested water. The term water testing exists. The Planet Magazine has a post about it which says:
Before you stoop for a drink at Western’s untested water fountains, ask yourself, is it really worth it?
It has this picture with a detailed notice, saying:
Water testing results pending mitigation completion. Please use other sources for ...
2
I suggest the word foolproof.
From Lexico
Incapable of going wrong or being misused.
From Merriam-Webster
so simple, plain, or reliable as to leave no opportunity for error, misuse, or failure
2
You do not need a "collective equivalent", albeit is a conjunction that means although (Cambridge). So it is not a relative pronoun that would need agreement in person or number.
The word comes
From the Middle English expression al be it (that), itself shortened from althagh it be that (“although it be that”), and thus composed from al (“...
2
Use dictate for authoritative commands, emphasis on authority. Use instruct for educational descriptions of processes, emphasis on making expectations clear.
Dictate has two general uses: either A) to issue decrees in an authoritarian manner, or B) to speak words that are intended to be transcribed by another person.
A dictator is (MW.com):
1a : a person ...
1
I'll start by clearing up some terminology; Improve your Grammar's comment is as clear as mud.
(1) 'Athletics', like 'mathematics', 'scissors', 'apples', 'news', 'oxen' 'data' but not 'staff', is plural in form.
(2) This hints fairly strongly, but certainly does not demand (think of 'the news is not good'), that a plural verb form should/must be used. But ...
1
Bijou is sometimes used for spaces and furniture which are small but attractive.
Merriam Webster defines it as
something delicate, elegant, or highly prized
It is actually French and means "jewel" but has been adopted into English with the above meaning.
1
You could say mini-houses. As a prefix, mini- can precede nouns to mean:
smaller or less important than a normal example of the same thing:
He has his own mini-refrigerator in his room. (Cambridge)
In fact, GNgram shows that the us of mini-houses increases, which may be related to the fact that such houses have become trendy lately.
Mini houses, without ...
1
Your suspicion that it should have been "to me" is actually not wrong. If I understand it correctly, the context in which you uttered the question to your colleague justifies this kind of reading:
Should I assign [the task] to myself, instead of assigning it to someone else?
If this reading is correct in context, then you can use me instead of ...
1
It appears that the difference may keep you out of jail:
Then we need more waiver of technicalities. In some states the escape
from punishment of men convicted of crime has been notably based upon
the most absurd of technicalities. For example, one thief in Delaware
escaped his just desserts [sic] because he was indicted for stealing a
"pair" of ...
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