Thursday, September 2, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Why women are not called gentle?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 09:58 AM PDT

Avoj friends I have a question - When the host say "Ladies and gentlemen" why they don't put gentle before Ladies? I think ladies are more gentle than men. Why not it be "men and gentle-ladies"? Thank you

"So to speak" vs "As it were"

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 09:33 AM PDT

As the title says, what is the difference between "so to speak" and "as it were"? Personally, I use them interchangeably but I was wondering if there was a proper way, so to speak (haha), to use the two.

Thanks.

"Last night" in reported clauses

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 08:56 AM PDT

Page 516 of the Collins English Usage reads

A place clause usually goes after the main clause. However, in stories, the place clause can be put first

Where Kate had stood last night, Maureen now stood.

In Edwin Drood (page 125) last night is used deictically in a narrative:

The Weir ran through his broken sleep, and he was back again at sunrise. It was a bright frosty morning. The whole composition before him, when he stood where he had stood last night, was clearly discernible in its minutest details.

Is this a general use of the adjective last in reported clauses?

What is "to which" in this sentence?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 07:45 AM PDT

In the following sentence,

The main focus though for Zink at this stage appears to be getting OpenGL games running over Vulkan drivers to which desktop OpenGL is more common than GLES 3.2 but this is a great milestone to see anyhow and could help with some mobile-type GLES3 games/engines.

How is "to which" interpreted? I thought it is Relational pronouns first. So "Desktop OpenGL is more common than GLES 3.2 to that Valkan driver." But here "to that Vaulkan driver" doesn't seem grammatically correct, nor I can interpret it.

FYI, the original quote comes from here.

What is the correct grammar to use in this situation? "She and her colleagues" or "Her colleagues and she"? [migrated]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 08:14 AM PDT

This is the sentence:

She and her colleagues have been given handmade gifts from grateful patients and offered food and drinks.

Which form is correct?:

  • She and her colleagues
  • Her colleagues and she

If both are correct, which one sounds better?

English equivalent of "send the demon to fill a wicker basket with water" [closed]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 05:42 AM PDT

In Catalan language, there is a popular refrain that talks about someone meeting a demon, and the demon offer the person to perform any tasks they want them to do, which the demon will gladly do for them, but when they are finished doing the tasks, if they can't think of any more work to do for the demon, the demon will take their soul.

In this popular refrain, the person cleverly "sends the demon to fill a wicker basket with water" in the nearby fountain. Because the water trickles down the bottom of the wicker basket as its being poured from the fountain, the demon is stuck trying to accomplish that task, and thus the person can keep their soul.

I was wondering if there is this equivalent in English of "sending the demon to fill a wicker basket with water", to mean that you send someone to do a meaningless task that, by definition, is impossible to complete.

Is there any English word for two people having the same character/nature but they do not look alike? [closed]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 08:28 AM PDT

They don't look alike (so aren't physical "twins") but their nature is similar, may I know words for that...?

How does lbs mean pounds? [duplicate]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 05:18 AM PDT

An acronym is a pronounceable word formed from the first letter (or first few letters) of each word in a phrase or title. The newly combined letters create a new word that becomes a part of everyday language. Using shortened forms of words or phrases can speed up communication.

Example ASAP - As Soon As Possible POTUS - President Of The United States

What's the semantic difference between a "Task" and a "Job"? [closed]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 04:56 AM PDT

What's the semantic difference between a "Task" and a "Job"?

I think I'm mixing those words a lot when they have a very tiny difference.

  • "Jobrunner"
  • "Taskrunner"
  • "Taskscheduler"
  • "Cronjob"
  • "A job includes several tasks" (?)

Professional sentence/expression to say "useless information" [closed]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 06:21 AM PDT

I am looking for a polite/professional way to express "useless" information. To me the word "useless" can be perceived as a bit too "direct" and sometimes "rude" so I am looking for less strong expression maybe or something less direct.

If you need context think of a professional conversation, and maybe one person conveys many details but none of them is particularly useful for the topic being discussed.

A: Blah blah blah.

B: Sure, I understand what you're saying, but what you're telling me is useless for the problem.

So I am looking for a "milder" expression that maybe won't be perceived as too assertive.

sentence with "I prefer something to something"

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 03:13 AM PDT

I know for sure that the following 3 sentences are grammatically correct since I took them from the grammar book:
I prefer jumping to running.
I prefer jumping rather than running.
I prefer to jump rather than run.

Based on this I think it is correct to say as well: I prefer to jump rather than running.

My question is this 4th sentence correct?

If you are my line manager, what am I for you? [duplicate]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 02:20 AM PDT

If my line manager will talk about me with a third person, how should he refer to me?

Someone who denies talking about something but then indirectly drops hints

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 07:14 AM PDT

For example, someone had said something to me, obviously meaning something but then right after said that they weren't talking about that but then preceded to indirectly reference it, hint at it or beat around the bush. Basically saying it without saying it.

Is there a term for that?

To Only You or Only To You?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 03:02 AM PDT

I need some native English speakers to answer this one.

Is it

  1. "Alarms are visible to only you."

OR

  1. "Alarms are visible only to you."

Thanks in advance!

Can "As old As" mean just old enough?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 03:18 AM PDT

Let's say X and Y are some artifacts that have been recently found. We know both belong to the prehistoric period. We also know some estimations on Y's age, as it'd been discovered earlier and has gone through different examinations. Now, we have some findings suggesting that X existed when Y was being built.

Which sentence makes sense?

X is as old as Y

Or

X is not as old as Y

How to write "Oh f*ck, you just came victorious" in a more formal manner? [closed]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 12:29 AM PDT

Here are a few example sentences:

  1. "Oh f_ck, you just won the race".
  2. "F_ck man, it must've been hard for you".

Even if I write to a friend or a close acquaintance, I would like to use a less informal word that conveys the same meaning and has the same energy.

What's the difference between 'another' and 'second'? [closed]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 12:58 AM PDT

What's the difference between another and second?

‘also’, ‘too’, ‘as well’; placement, punctuation, and parsing correct meaning. :: “I fought at the battle.” (compare & contrast variations therefrom) [closed]

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 02:09 AM PDT

I, too, fought at the battle.

I too fought at the battle.

Too I fought at the battle.

I fought at the battle too.

I fought at the battle, too.

I fought too at the battle.

I fought, too, at the battle.

I fought at too the battle.

Now consider all of the above substituted with each of 'also' and 'as well'. How does the meaning change? Dictionaries list them all as adverbs, yet to me at least 'too' placed right after the subject seems sort of like a modifier of that entity itself (as an adjective, assigning some veracity-of-existential_truth value) rather than the entire or part of the action (as verb-modifying adverb).

Beyond classifying into a particular part of speech, I am wondering how semantically the sentence changes with each placement and absence or presence of commas. Some seem similar while others quite different. For instance: 'too' at the end with no comma, it seems to me, could be modifying the directly preceding noun; whereas separated by a comma it wants to modify the whole expression; whereas separated by comma after main verb applies more to just that verb individually. The distinction from this to separated by a comma at the beginning seems more subtle in how what is emphasized. Can you help me qualify this? If allowing any additional words (such as 'do' intensifier) then obviously the meaning changes more, which along with changing the whole sentence structure or verb-form might worth exploring if relevant to the modifier's role.

Finally, while on the topic: Are there any other modifiers playing similar role? (If so, what?)

P.S. I used the maximum of five tags that seemed relevant. A sixth one would have been [grammar]. Please let me know if/why you think any should be switched or removed and if you feel confident then go ahead and do so.

What is the original superlative form of well?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 06:15 AM PDT

I know that well has a superlative form (best), but this is suppletive, and I've always wanted to know what the superlative form well had before this since (best) just doesn't sound right, and it's a form of good, so saying best could mean two completely different things.

How did "muggins" come into use?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 04:58 AM PDT

In an episode of "Yes Minister", the Rt. Hon. James Hacker is appointed to be "Transportation Supremo" - in charge of devising an integrated transport policy. His permanent secretary, Sir Humphrey Appleby, explains that it's politically detrimental to hold this position. Then this is said:

Hacker: "But I'm going to be Transport Supremo..."

Appleby: "I believe the civil service vernacular is Transport Muggins."

so, muggins is an interesting word... the Merrian-Webster dictionary suggests that a muggins is a "simpleton", and the other definitions imply that a muggins acts carelessly, or without proper awareness of their environment or the consequences of their actions.

But it really doesn't sound like an adjective to me. Almost seems to be a plural form... I also wonder if it has anything to do with the verb "mug" (perhaps the person being mugged is a muggins?)

So how did "muggins" come into use?

Is "Kain, that doesn't stop you always." grammatically correct?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 02:48 AM PDT

It has been pointed out to me that the sentence, "Kain, that doesn't stop you always.", meaning "That hasn't stopped you in the past", is gramatically incorrect.

After some analysis I still believe that it is correct. There are many alternatives - for example "Kain, that hasn't stopped you in the past." or "Kain, that never seems to stop you." - but I wonder if the community could confirm if the sencentce in question violate any grammar rules.

The context is that K stated that he hasn't done X becasue of a reason A and my reply was meant to be a humorous way to point out that the reason A wasn't enough to stop K doing X in the past.

A phrase to describe someone's bad financial record

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 06:59 AM PDT

Let's assume the context where a woman approaches a bank to secure a loan for her bold but lucrative business idea but she gets turned down because she doesn't have anything for a collateral and her financial record(bank transactions, any previous smaller loans, the CIBIL Score for the requested loan amount and so on) is next to nothing. Overall, the banks don't have anything to proceed with other than the business idea itself.

My question is, is there a phrase to describe her lack of financial record?

I understand that the question sounded particularly vague but the context would help you better understand it.

Edit: "Credit Score" or "CIBIL Score" does fit the context very much. But what I wish to have is a phrase or an idiom. So I have changed the tags now. Sorry for the discrepancy.

What's a phrase for a compromise in which both sides are unhappy?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 04:40 AM PDT

I feel like I've heard a phrase like "so-and-so's deal" or "such-and-such agreement" that describes an arrangement/deal/compromise that leaves all sides unhappy. Like "pyrrhic victory", but for agreements.

Anyone know anything like this?

EDIT: As a fictional example... two people are getting married. One has family in New York, the other in LA. Rather than have one family have to fly across the country while the other stays put, they decide to meet in the middle and hold the wedding in Oscar, Kansas. No one, including the couple, has any connection to Kansas, and no one in the situation is happy. (Nothing against Kansas, but it's not a resolution that satisfies anyone in this situation.)

N.B.: Thanks for the Abilene paradox - not what I'm looking for, but a cool thing to learn about.

"Have you?" vs "do you?" in awkward sentence

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 01:01 AM PDT

This question arises from a debate between friends about what is "technically" more correct in this sentence:

"You don't happen to have read <book name>, do you?"

Should the question be "do you" as in

"You don't happen..., do you?"

or "have you" as in "have you read"?

(I understand that there are better ways to write this sentence.)

Is there a word for one who finds violence acceptable, but not to the extent of killing?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 06:07 AM PDT

Lately, I've been playing the game Metal Gear Solid, which is a game focused on espionage. In the game, the way that I prefer to play is such that the playable character is fine with harming the enemy; for example incapacitating them with hand to hand combat, using a tranquilizer gun on them, or holding them up at gun point, but not fine with murdering them.

Is there a word that exists to describe an opinion that violence is fine to accomplish a task, but not murder? For one to be pacifist necessitates that one is against all forms of violence, including that which does not end the life another, so that didn't quite fit.

I'm looking for a word or phrase that can describe something familiar, but not quite the same

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 05:05 AM PDT

I'm looking for something that can describe a sense of familiarity, unfamiliarity, nostalgia, and bittersweetness. I've considered deja vu, but it doesn't capture the nostalgia or bittersweetness.

Maybe this will give a better idea of what I'm feeling, but it pertains to the chance that I'll be moving into an apartment that's attached to a former residency of mine. I'm looking forward to moving there since I have a lot of amazing memories from that location, but I have this weird anticipated feeling of familiarity and unfamiliarity since the apartment I will be living in isn't quite the same. To top it off, the bittersweetness comes from an unresolved problem I have with a former and incredibly close friend of mine, who used to live a few houses down from that apartment.

It's a hefty combination of feelings for one word or phrase to describe, I know, but it's really bothering me that I can't find a much shorter descriptor of what I'm feeling at the moment. (Also I'm sorry for being so wordy!)

A single word for life after having been changed by a cataclysmic event

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 06:16 AM PDT

I am in search of a single word to sum up this:

Everything that happened after a single event early in a life was altered and effected by it, if that event hadn't happened then each thing after that event probably would have gone in a completely different direction.

Example: a suicide happening in a 12 year olds life. Now that child is and adult and everything in their life would have been different. Every decision they made, every interaction they had. Their who life course.

Maybe a word like "stemmed [from]" or "transpired [because of]"? But not that. A word that defines it even more. An absolute.

Here is the best I can do with an example sentence. I don't need another expression for what I've called a "pivot point"; I am trying use a word for the events that were changed because of it. Not the actual event, but the events in her life after, every one, and how her life changed because of what happened that day. I've used divergent here, but that's the word which needs to be changed.

Her brother's suicide when she was 12 was a pivot point in her life. Everything that transpired after her brother's suicide, every opportunity taken or ignored, every decision made painstakingly or with ease, were divergent from the path her life would have taken had her brother decided to change even one of his actions that day.

Can the word "ilk" be used without an aforementioned group?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 01:03 AM PDT

Is it grammatically correct to use the word ilk as in, for example, this sentence:

Ilk regardless, whether of noblemen or blackguards, no man has ever. . . .

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ilk as kind or class of people, but the Google definition states ilk as an aforementioned group, that is, it has already been referred to. Is it ok to use the word ilk if the kind has not been mentioned yet?

Origin of the saying 'all wet'

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 09:38 AM PDT

All wet is slang expression (mainly AmE) meaning:

entirely mistaken. (TFD)

All wet: The Phrase Finder, referring to OED, suggests that its first usage was:

  • "c. all wet: mistaken, completely wrong. orig. and chiefly U.S. 1923 N.Y. Times 9 Sept. VII. 2/1 All wet, all wrong. 1931 Kansas City Times 29 Aug., Alfalfa Bill Murray may be 'all wet' in his state-line bridge and oil production controversies.

But what is the origin of wet meaning wrong?

Is a sentence always grammatically incorrect if it has no verb?

Posted: 02 Sep 2021 09:08 AM PDT

Is the following grammatically correct? My friend says the second sentence is grammatically incorrect, but couldn't explain why.

I have always been fascinated by statistics. The different ways in which you could look at data and infer knowledge from it.
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