Q) Did I use the italicized sentence correctly in both the situations? If so, doesn't the italicized sentence, or rather the modal "could" with the progressive aspect, depend on the reason why I'm not playing with them now, because in (1) there is an obvious reason (my injured leg) why I'm not playing but in (2) there is no apparent reason why I'm not doing so?

Adjectives after nouns in descriptions of persons or animals [duplicate]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 09:30 AM PDT

Am I right that gray is an adjective in the following quote?

...the light was coming from a flashlight being carried in the mouth of a large black Scottie dog, its muzzle gray with age.

Is it common in modern English, or is it an archaic/poetic usage?

Need an alternate idiom for 'no big deal'

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 08:50 AM PDT

I'm currently writing a short story. I've written the following sentence in it:

"He hated going to school anyway, so it was no big deal to quit it altogether."

I think the phrase/idiom 'no big deal' does not sound good, it seems too informal. So it would be helpful if you could gather a list of alternate idioms that would express roughly the same feeling.

Which is correct - "Looser" or "Loser" [closed]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 06:30 AM PDT

The title is pretty self-explanatory. Which is correct to use in a sentence "Loser" or "Looser"?

Don't be such a loser.

Don't be such a looser.

Bibs & Bobs vs. Bits & Bobs [duplicate]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 05:31 AM PDT

When I was a relative newcomer to Yorkshire, in the North of England, I was slightly annoyed when I heard people talking about 'bibs and bobs' (meaning odds and ends). I wanted to correct them by saying it should be 'bits and bobs' but I realised that this had become a dialect issue. I'm wondering if 'bibs and bobs' is in common use in other parts of the UK. (By the way, I know I'm an established Yorkshireman now because I've recently named my new cat Bibs and Bobs.)

Emphasizing Nouns [closed]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 04:46 AM PDT

I'd love to know how we can emphasize a noun (e.g racist).

My buddy, once, said, "You are so racist."

Does it add up?

What's the smarter sounding way of saying, "I will be the best representation of this company to any and all of its customers and potential customers" [closed]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 04:00 AM PDT

I am trying to create a resume for an at-home sales & customer service position, therefore, I need the smartest sounding way of saying, "I would be the best representation of this company that each of its customers deserves."?

How to ask for "which one" but for people, not objects or animals? [closed]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 03:58 AM PDT

I want to know the "which one" equivalent, but for people like "Which one is right ?"

The property of 'year-long absence' as an adjective or concise adjectival expression [closed]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 07:13 AM PDT

I am looking for a single-word adjective or as short adjectival expression as possible to convey the idea of year-long absence as applied to a person. I would be using it in the title of an automated task that is to do with customers who have been absent (as in inactive or not visiting a business) for a year, and I would really prefer the title to be as short as possible. The title would go something like this:

Data Extract - ______ Customers

where the "______" would be the adjective or expression I am looking for. I am aware of possibilities like "Customers who have been absent for a year" or even "Customers absent for a year", but I would prefer something shorter, as well as in the attributive, rather than postpositive, position. I would be fine with a somewhat obscure term, as long as it is not totally made up.

What does this sentence mean 'He would not as soon tell a lie as die.'? [closed]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 05:23 AM PDT

'He would not as soon tell a lie as die.' Is this sentence grammatically correct? If it's correct then please explain about its structure. Also, provide few examples which are akin to this peculiar sentence. This sentence is taken from Wren & Martin's English Grammar Book (Chapter 10- Comparison of Adjectives).

Am I an Immigrant by definition of the word [closed]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 03:20 AM PDT

So, I was born in Country A and migrated to country B 20 years later, but I have by birthright a citizenship of country B.

I frequently jokingly say that I am high school dropout criminal immigrant stealing jobs while not working (Schroedinger's Immigrant), but GF instead says I make stupid jokes.

Trying to prove her wrong I figured that neither MW nor Oxford dictionary has actually covered that case.

So, am I an Immigrant or not? Please elaborate your response and provide an explanation.

What does it mean to have a rare ring to something?

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 01:20 AM PDT

I was reading a book and came across the following (emphasis was mine)

Those words have a rare ring to them, don't they?

What is the meaning of the expression in bold?

Idiom/phrase for achieving just the tip of the iceberg

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 09:08 AM PDT

For example, winning the battle but that is just the beginning of the long war.

What is it called when people, e.g. computer programmers, pronounce, say, 65,536 as 'sixty-five, five, thirty-six' i.e. omitting 'thousands' etc?

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 04:47 AM PDT

I heard on ELU that computer programmers often pronounce long numbers like that. What is that method of saying the numbers called? How common is it? What is the point of it? What are the pros and cons of it?

65,536 was pronounced 'sixty-five, five, thirty-six'.

Source: "In computing contexts, we frequently read out large numbers with the "units" omitted. For example, 65,536 is read as "sixty-five, five, thirty-six", which is an abbreviation of "sixty-five thousand" five hundred thirty-six". – Canadian Yankee Apr 1 at 18:19"

Here: How do I say whether or not a number was pronounced like a telephone number (or zip code). Are there words for this?

Here's corroboration: "I find it really hard to imagine anyone saying "two-five-six-K" to me in speech, and if anyone did, I'm sure I would give them a mildly alarmed look. "Two-fifty-six-K" is very different, because that's a common alternative to "two hundred and fifty-six" (and I should have noted that in my first comment!) – Yee-Lum Dec 14 '15 at 17:22"

Here:Saying a number digit by digit

"Would" in subordinate clauses after wish-constructions

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 09:04 AM PDT

I'm reading about the correct usage of wish-constructions, and my English grammar book says:"Would + infinitive may be found in the subordinate clause only if the subjects in the clauses are different. It makes the wish more emphatic. The use of "would + infinitive" often implies that you want a situation to change and you talk about things that annoy you". As an illustrative example the book gives this:

I wish it would stop raining. It rains all the time.

But I have several questions regarding it.

The book says that "would" in wish-constructions is put in subordinate clauses if a person is annoyed by something. However, it writes "often implies" but not "always implies". So I'd like to know if "would" can be used in wish-constructions when a person isn't annoyed.
Also, I'm puzzled with the second sentence of the example( "It rains all the time"). They first wrote about annoyance, but put a form of Present Simple. Wouldn't it be more logical if they wrote the second sentence in emotional Present Continuous instead of Present Simple ("It's raining all the time), so that it can express a stronger emotion?
Finally, I would like to clear up another thing. What if I ommit "would" and formulate the sentence in a different way: "I wish it stopped raining."Will it be correct from the point of view of grammar?

"Can" vs "Could" - emphasis

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 10:04 AM PDT

Which seems more grammatically sound and emphatic?

I could swear there was a motel room here.

I can swear there was a motel room here.

'Can' seems to me to talk about an ability to do something.

'Could' seems to give an impression of something made attestable.

Single word for distance and duration

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 07:03 AM PDT

Is there a single word that defines the distance both in time and space between two points?

I am writing a long text and repeating distance and duration constantly seems weird.

I have considered gap but I am not sure if it makes sense.

I'd like to turn "The distance and duration for the jorney is 100km and 1 hour" into "The ____ for the journey is 100km and 1hour".

Should I use [sic] when quoting sexist language?

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 07:51 AM PDT

From R. P. Feynman, "The character of physical law":

If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It doesn't make any difference how beautiful your guess is, it doesn't make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is. If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong. That's all there is to it.

Feynman is assuming here that a scientist must be male. Should I point this out by adding [sic] after "his"?

Is there a word for anti - or complete lack of political beliefs?

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:00 AM PDT

edit Basically, I'm trying to come up with a name for a new motorcycle club. I've been in others before and they seem to get ruined by politics and unnecessary alliances. I am hoping that there's a term (even if its Latin or something) that doesnt sound awful and describes a group of people who have no interest in politics or alliances or similar end of edit

I'm looking for a word that describes someone or a group of people who either have an anti-political viewpoint or a complete disbelief in the workings of common politics. Perhaps a bit like an atheist with regards to religion.

If I have a game level that needs precision and fast decision making, what skills are being challenged?

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 06:22 AM PDT

What should I put in the empty space? "Challenge your ___ skills..."? "precision skills"? Just "precision"? Maybe something else? Thank you!

I am talking about a scenarion in a 3D game where your character is on platforms high up in the sky that are quite narrow and require precision to move around and not fall, where you have to turn often and make fast decisions.

“Will we be able to talk?” I asked, my eyes red and swollen from crying, a balled up tissue squeezed tightly between my sweaty palms

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 09:58 AM PDT

I was going through a reading and this construction confused the student:

"Will we be able to talk?" I asked, my eyes red and swollen from crying, a balled up tissue squeezed tightly between my sweaty palms.

She understood the words; it was the construction that confused her. I could explain what it meant in that context, but I didn't have a good explanation for that construction, generally. So in the above example, how would you classify "my eyes red and swollen from crying, a balled up tissue squeezed tightly between my sweaty palms"? Is it an appositive? Some kind of relative clause? Something else? A noun phrase?

How should a multiple-word noun be punctuated within a compound adjective? [duplicate]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 09:50 AM PDT

I would like to use a noun made of multiple words (like particle board, Mount Everest, or windscreen wiper) in a compound adjective with a hyphen. But I don't know how to hyphenate such a composition. I'm not sure how common this situation is, so here's an example:

Machine learning is a single noun made of two words, and I want to use it in a compound adjective with a hyphen.

Are either of the following examples correct?

I would like to pursue a machine learning-related certification.

I would like to pursue a machine-learning-related certification.

If not, then what is the correct way to hyphenate compound adjectives like this?

Does a "fact" have to be true?

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 09:34 AM PDT

I'm struggling to decide whether to jettison use of the word fact, because the definition appears to be not solid enough to support continued usage. What do I mean by that? Look at one "meaning ladder" (taken from Random House via TFD Online) among several on the same page:

fact

something that actually exists: Your fears have no basis in fact.

something known to exist or to have happened.

a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true.

something said to be true or supposed to have happened.

an actual or alleged event or circumstance, as distinguished from its legal effect or consequence.

This definition marches us from something that exists to something that is merely supposed to be true to something that may be "actual or alleged." (And yes, I am aware that dictionaries don't dictate the meanings of words; they record meanings from usages. And the meanings of this word as it is used and recorded in English seem to be antagonistic toward each other.)

What are we to do with all this? Does a fact require the modifier true to be judged genuine? When we preface a statement with "in fact" don't we mean What follows is the truth? The aforementioned dictionary certainly thinks so:

in fact, in truth; really; indeed: They are, in fact, great patriots.

Here fact and truth are equated absolutely. So I'm wondering: how do we distinguish between what is a fact in the sense of absolute truth and what is a fact of a lesser order? Other words can have many shades of meaning, but this one seems somehow like it shouldn't. So if I hear the word fact without hearing true before it, does it even deserve the term?

A cautionary note

I'm not really looking for a discussion of truth in the philosophical sense. The scope of this question is limited to the meaning of a word in English, not the meaning of an absolute concept as rational beings can or should understand it. What I'm really after, as I mentioned in a comment, is whether the adulteration of this particular word renders it, ultimately, meaningless, and therefore something to be avoided.

In conclusion, I offer this quote from Howard K. Zinn, from his Afterword to A People's History of the United States:

But there is no such thing as a pure fact, innocent of interpretation. Behind every fact presented to the world—by a teacher, a writer, anyone—is a judgment. The judgment that has been made is that this fact is important, and that other facts, omitted, are not important

Do Americans also typically use the word "aesthetic" spelled that way?

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 09:06 AM PDT

As far as I know, the word "aesthetic" can be considered the "British" or "European" way of spelling the word, like "caesium" or "haemophilia". The spelling "esthetic" (which replaces the ae with e as so many American spellings of those words do) does exist, but I've barely ever seen it written that way anywhere. Do Americans also typically use "aesthetic"? If so, how come?

"Feel like at home"

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 04:02 AM PDT

Feel like at home.

Is it correct or must it be "feel at home"?

It is in a Euro 2012 commercial, however some experts say it's not correct.

Not so much as [something] as [something else]

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 03:01 AM PDT

Consider the sentence:

"She sees him not so much as her uncle as her friend."

Is this sentence correct? I feel something is missing, or perhaps I am disturbed by the extra 'as'. Compare with:

"He is not so much her friend as (he is) her uncle."

What do you suggest?

How to use "know" and "realize" correctly

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 02:19 AM PDT

Are they just actually the same? Especially as in the following examples:

I realize then whom I love.
I know then whom I love.

Why is the word "whatnot" a construction of "what" and "not"?

Posted: 15 Jun 2021 07:08 AM PDT

I've done some online etymological research on the word "whatnot", but I've been unable to figure out why it is a construction of "what" and "not".

How does the combination of the words "what" and "not" relate to the meaning of "whatnot" (simply, anything)?

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Tuesday, June 15, 2021

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