Thursday, March 25, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

About Lovecraft's style to start a sentence with 'For'

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 12:23 PM PDT

I'm reading my first ever novel in English (French is my mother tongue): Tales of Horror by H.P Lovecraft.

Surprisingly, reading this book is fine for me, however there's a sentence construction I don't fully understand. This is when Lovecraft is starting a sentence with For. He's using this style so often that I arrived at a point I really want to understand this way of writing.

Random examples:

From The Shunned House:

For on my ears rang the reverberations of that shocking scream, while my nostrils revolted at the stench which filled the place.

From Herbert West - Reanimator:

For that visitor was neither Italien nor policeman.

Could you please explain to me the purpose of adding For at the beginning of sentences like in these examples?

Does this way of constructing a sentence has a particular name?

I'm a bit confused by this style so I want to know more about it.

Thanks for your answers

Difference between How're you and How's you

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 11:13 AM PDT

In the UK I noticed that a lot of people use How's you?, which doesn't make sense to me because Americans use How're you? more.

Are they actually the same? Why can someone use is for you?

Comma or no comma: "...save for the last digit [,] which is 2."

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 11:09 AM PDT

Comma or no comma: "11112 is a number whose digits are all 1, save for the last digit [,] which is 2.

My sentence is of the following form:

Comma or no comma: "11112 is a number whose digits are all 1, save for the last digit [?] which is 2.

Does the place with a [?] require the use of a comma, require that there is no comma or a comma is optional? I've read that a non-restrictive clause requires a comma before which but I'm not sure if this is a non-restrictive clause (I just encountered this terminology today) because all examples I can find have the non-restrictive clause in the middle (My car, which is pink, is ugly.). Moreover, I would like to stick to the original sentence with minimal modifications.

Explanations and references will be appreciated!

What does "commercial" mean in this context?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 11:02 AM PDT

If a psychologist describes someone's behavior like this: "they can provoke conflicts and actions, including commercial ones," what does "commercial" mean?

Edit: Additional Context: This psychologist is not an Anglophone. Rather, I believe the person is Russian. To clarify this a description of a particular personality.

How would you call someone that is very enthusiastic about something silly or trivial?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 11:32 AM PDT

For example one who is exceedingly enthusiastic about some bad singer or band, without knowing that there's much better around and does not realise (or does not care) that his exaggerated appreciation is the subject of ridicule.

"We've got you covered" usage

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 10:34 AM PDT

I have an explainer ad script to write, and I came to the line where I want to say "We are here to help you to solve this problem". Can I use "We've got you covered" instead? And is it universal to say "We've got you covered" in any industry? (because I found its usage mostly in the insurance industry, and we're doing 2D explainer animation videos, which is different).

Thank you!

What does 'diary point' mean in English?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 08:37 AM PDT

I can't find any explanation of this phrase on Google. The example sentence is "On this, one diary point in Morocco will be the middle Saturday, when developed countries get to publicly question each other about their plans and ambitions", which seems to have appeared in the Guardian. Wish someone could help.

Why do we label words themselves as offensive when context, connotation, annotation and tone are what give them meaning? [closed]

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 08:11 AM PDT

This site is a bit scuffed in the sense that if you're not lurking on here 24/7 you can't reply so this is both a reply to the "When and how do words become offensive?" dtech post and continuation of the subject matter, hopefully in a more grounded and open-minded manner. Most of the points brought up in defense or against the different viewpoints submitted in the dtech post are fairly biased opinion pieces and are largely one sided, I intend to bring balance and substance to this post.

If you would like to assist in this or have a civil disagreement over any points made, feel free to do so, though please bring facts and evidence, opinion can find its way sprinkled in, but it's important to remember that opinions don't make for very persuasive or credible points.

I'll start with a simple statement.

Ultimately implication of words themselves as taboo or offensive without context, open mindedness, and tone of their application, is a direct result of an underlying issue we, as human beings, naturally struggle with, and that is the fact that we can only give a human perspective of things, because we know nothing other than humanity and it's underlying characteristics, therein lies the problem, we apply human characteristics to none-human things

How would you refer to a collection of books written in english?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 08:03 AM PDT

I'm not a native english speaker so maybe I'm just overthinking and it depends on the context. I collect books in spanish and english, what I'm trying to say is "this is my collection of books in english".

I wanted to use:

My english collection

But somehow it feels like I'm saying "books written in England". Consider that it's a very informal conversation.

Please check and confirm is it ok to write like this [closed]

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 08:13 AM PDT

DUE TO Over population,the asia is poor country, to begin with.To elaborate,more people require more food....so on

i just want to check is this the right way to start paragraph.

Due to ....., to begin with. To elaborate/in other words

How is weight shown on a body weight scale in the UK? [closed]

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 07:07 AM PDT

According to Wikipedia, in the UK body weight is commonly specified in stones and pounds.

How would an app, in which you enter your body's weight look like? What input fields are needed?

My (as a European mainlander utterly clueless) guess is an input field for stones and pounds is needed. But how about fraction of pounds? Do the weight-scales in the UK commonly display them? If so, what unit is used? 1/10th of a pound or ounces? Or something else?!? Is the fraction shown the same as on US-American scales, where they don't use stones?

Your help is very much appreciated, Thank you!

What is the meaning of “safeguarding of prospects” in this context?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 06:36 AM PDT

What is the meaning of "safeguarding of prospects" in this context? Does that mean safeguarding or protection of the future prospects? Does it mean something to the effect of making a better future?

And, who knows, by seeing the world differently and touching our rootedness in nature, we may enrich and inform our own lives, our ensuing decisions, and thereby also contribute to the safeguarding of prospects for the myriad people with whom we are unbreakably interconnected by our common ecological dependences.

what do "promise of tomorrow" and "rug merchant" mean?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 06:11 AM PDT

Here is the main text including the questioned parts. ps: this is a political statement.

"As we proceed we cannot be gulled by promises of what will happen tomorrow—at bottom they really are rug merchants"

Relative pronoun "in which" vs. relative adverb "where" II

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 06:55 AM PDT

I am confused by why the following sentence is connected with "in which".

The term "applied mathematics" also describes the professional specialty in which mathematicians work on practical problems by formulating and studying mathematical models.

Why this sentence can be connected by using "in which"?

Also I learned that "[preposition] + [which]" can be substituted by relative adverbs. For example, "This is a house in which I live" is equal to "This is a house where I live". The sentence can be divided into "This is a house" & "I live in the house.", and it is easy to concatenate with relative clauses.

So adding to the question, can in which be replaced with "where"?

If you are familiar with mathematics, I also ask that if "We define the function f by f(x)=ax+b, where a and b are constants." can be substituted by in which?

What's the origin of the phrase "show true colours?"

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 09:46 AM PDT

I wonder if someone knows the actual origin and oldest printed record of the idiom "show true colours?" Other than this popular theory (seems not real to me):

This phrase dates back to the 1700s. It has a nautical origin and refers to the color of the flag which every ship is required to fly at sea. Pirates used to deceive other ships by sailing under false flags so that they would not excite suspicion. The other ships, thinking that the pirates were friendly, sailed close to them and fell under their grip. It was only after the attack that the pirates would show their 'true flag'.

References:

  1. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/show_one%27s_true_colors
  2. https://www.idioms.online/show-your-true-colors-to/
  3. https://www.theidioms.com/show-true-colors/

Antonym of "response"

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 07:33 AM PDT

Suppose you're on an internet forum. If post Y is a response to post X, then X is a [WHAT] to Y? What's the antonym of "response", here? The word coming to mind is "antecedent", but that's not the right word. The thesauruses I looked at (online) weren't very helpful; most of them didn't list any antonyms, and the ones that did gave words only kinda relevant, in context, like "cause".

What does "uggin’ bumplies" mean?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 08:43 AM PDT

Here's an example sentence:

How long do you think Rick and Michonne been uggin' bumplies?

What does "uggin' bumplies" mean and where does it come from?

If I cannot win, then I will make it impossible for you to win

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 09:18 AM PDT

{caveat: This question may appear to be racist, but uses actual examples as heard and seen in my country.}

We have a joke about a foreigner that went to a wet market in zone 1, and saw a farmer selling live frogs in an open basket.

As we all know, frogs jump. Actually, they jump about quite a bit when in a confined space.

When the foreigner pointed that out and asked, "Aren't you worried these frogs will escape?" The farmer replied,

"No, sir. These are Guatemalan frogs, and if one looks like he is going to escape, well the rest pull him back in."

Another example could be seen in traffic.

Few drivers here use the directional signals when changing lanes. Why? Although covered ad nauseam on the Driver's test, it has become a "cultural" thing: basically people here do not like other people getting in front of them. It becomes a competition to see who can occupy that space first. Usually it ends when neither one can occupy the space, and the other driver has actually missed their turn.

"cutting off a nose to spite a face"

...is too broad.

So, is there an expression that means

If I cannot win, then I will make it impossible for you to win?

EDIT

Dog in a manger

was suggested: however that means something else.

Interpreted variously over the centuries, the metaphor is now used to speak of one who spitefully prevents others from having something for which one has no use.

My examples exclude "having something for which one has no use."

All the frogs want to escape. All the drivers want to get ahead. Most are incompetent, mediocre... but jealous of those who are better.

Is the expression 'asked for a special permission' grammatically correct?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 11:01 AM PDT

It appeared in an English test for foreign learners recently, where the candidates had to choose the right word to fill in the blank. On the subject of Covid, the question is:

  • Some parents have asked for a special [permission/admission/interest/stage] to come to school ...

The only logical answer here, given Covid restrictions, is 'permission'. I'm wondering why the answer reads "asked for a special permission" and not "asked for special permission".

"... a special interest" sounds more natural and a lot of students chose this as their answer on grammatical grounds. 　

Is the origin of "butch" really from Polari?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 10:41 AM PDT

I've been researching the origin of the term "butch" and noticed that sources tend to be split on whether they mention it originating from Polari.

OED, Green's Dictionary of Slang (adj., noun) and the Online Etymology Dictionary all seem to point to entirely U.S. origins, presumably from a shortening of "butcher" to a stereotypically masculine nickname (~1870s), to a representation of masculinity generally (~1900s), to a gay male masculinity (~1930s), to a lesbian masculinity (~1940s).

Several sources (such as Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang) note that the term originates in Polari, a gay argot spoken primarily in England and Ireland (no time of origination is given, but late 19th or early 20th century is implied).

Did the term originate in the U.S., travel back to England, then travel back to the U.S. again?

Is there a crossing of potential etymologies here? Am I missing a primary resource or reference?

What is the presumed origination of "butch", taking into account Polari and non-Polari descriptions?

Simple phrase for the business model of 'secretly' worsening terms of service?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 09:02 AM PDT

Let's say an online service worsens its subscription terms (e.g. charges extra for some hidden fees) once they reach some sufficient market saturation. Many users will not read the general terms of service updates, etc and only notice many years later. This is not really fair business and many users will feel betrayed once they realize that the service that used to be good has cost twice as many in the last few years etc.

What is this step called when a business switches from competitive to greedy without real upfront communication? The word or phrase does not need to necessarily reflect bad intent just this kind of 'making money by worsening the terms at the expense of long time customers'.

Example usage (I will use 'greedy switch' as placeholder):

John is regularly reviews his subscription plans' terms to make sure the business partners don't [do this greedy switch].

Jane recommended this banking service to her friends for its good terms a few years ago but since then they [greedy switched] and we are better of without them.

What figure of speech is this: "the arguing sixth floor window"

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 07:37 AM PDT

Sydney Barringer jumps from the ninth floor rooftop. His parents argue three stories below. Fay's accidental shotgun blast hits Sydney in the stomach as he passes the arguing sixth floor window. Google Books

This doesn't appear to be exactly synecdoche as the window is not part of the arguing people. Anthropomorphism also sprang to mind but I am not sure that is the case here either. That there is an element of anthropomorphism or personification is not disputed, but I doubt that gives the whole picture, because besides the personification of the window this line also connects the window to the arguing people.

Also I don't think anthropomorphism is a figure of speech. What is this then? Figure of speech or some other concept?

What does 'for' mean in 'We are done for'?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 06:04 AM PDT

There is an English expression do for, which means to kill, to execute, to ruin, to defeat etc. and this expression seems to always be used in passive voice: e.g.) We are done for.

I understand this is like an idiom, but why is the preposition for used? Most prepositions have so many meanings to them, and I would like to know what for in this case means.

edit: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/for https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/for

In the definitions of the above links, which for do you all think the for in done for is the closest to?

edit 2: I don't think the for is dangling, but I just want to know why for is used. Like, for normally means purpose, cause, or to be given, etc. But the for in question means quite opposite.

"Independent as a pig on ice."

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 12:11 PM PDT

"(She's/he's) as independent as a pig on ice." An expression used by my wife's maternal grandmother (in her 90's at the time) when referring to a very independent (and very bright) family member on my wife's father's side of the family. I asked what the expression meant or came from, and she replied simply that she had heard it all of her life. I've got some theories and some research guesses. What's your take? I think it's a great expression.

What do you call the "one who requests" and the "one who offers"?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 05:40 AM PDT

In some sort of an exchange (maybe of services, maybe of items), there are those who seek and then request, and those who offer. What would be pleasent nouns to use for these roles? "requester"/"requestor" and "offerer" don't sound right ("offerer" especially).

A shade of meaning that needs to be reflected in the nouns I'm interested in is that these cannot be ongoing services, i.e. the "offerer" does not offer you to also get some of what s/he is providing all the time to many people. If an agreement is made, the offerer will do something; otherwise s/he will not be doing it.

(Not a real) Example 1: Suppose it's a forum in which people offer or request to have a stimulating intellectual conversation about some subject. Or offer to spot someone lifting weights and request someone to spot them. Offerers, and requesters.

I know there's a related question on "someone who makes a request", but I thought I'd ask about both terms together since the choice could be related.

Is there a word for wanting, or craving, power

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 05:53 AM PDT

The title is self-explanatory. Is there a word for the desire to have power, or should I just use the phrase?

Metaphor or idiom for "poor substitute"?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 09:28 AM PDT

I'm trying to find an idiom for a poor substitute. One that comes to mind is Mark Twain's purported remark: "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter. 'Tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning."

I'm looking to describe something that intrinsically falls short – not a failing of someone or something in a particular instance. The metaphor should mention two persons or objects (like lightning and lightning bug), one of which falls almost ludicrously short.

Are there other, colorful metaphors that carry this meaning?

Is "despatch" the British spelling for "dispatch" or is it an archaic spelling (or both)?

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 09:48 AM PDT

In John Ormsby's 1885 translation of Don Quixote, the word "despatch" is used. Is that the corresponding British spelling for "dispatch" or is it simply an archaic spelling (in both the American and UK English dialects), or is it both (British and archaic)?

"Whoever" Vs. "Whomever"

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 11:05 AM PDT

On the subject of "whoever" and "whomever", I was reading this but I am still confused: http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/whoever.asp

What is the correct use of whoever/whomever in the following sentence?

I like your copy, congratulations, whoever is writing it.

Whoever? Whomever?

Is there a difference between US and UK English?

Meaning of “flip the script”

Posted: 25 Mar 2021 10:52 AM PDT

I've heard the phrase "flip your script" or "flip the script" in various hip-hop songs. What does it mean?
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