Thursday, October 28, 2021

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Popular phrases for oversold

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 11:53 AM PDT

Is there any popular phrase (proverb/idiom/slang) describing someone ended up buying something much more expensive than what's originally needed? Somewhat like, need a bike, bought a Mercedes. Ideally, whether the person succumbs to sales pitch or to his/her own greed shouldn't be the point the phrase alludes to.

After the game, we went out to eat, went to the movies, and then went home. Is it simple or cCompound sentence?

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 08:29 AM PDT

After the game, we went out to eat, went to the movies, and then went home.

Is this a simple or compound sentence?

Use and proper punctuation of "re:"

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 08:23 AM PDT

I was always taught that you can use "re:" or "RE:" but should not use "Re:".

Any thoughts?

What is the meaning of this sentence "Let me be real for a second"?

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 08:10 AM PDT

Recently I saw the sentence

Let me be real for a second.

What does it mean?

A word to describe a phrase with more than one inferred meaning

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 09:19 AM PDT

The phrase 'BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU' from the opening chapter of Orwell's 1984 could be interpreted as the big brother being of a protective nature, or intimidatory.

What word is used to describe a phrase, such as this, that can be interpreted in different ways?

I created a Knock Knock Joke, please review and make it better [closed]

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 06:36 AM PDT

So I was having dinner with the family, we were play knock knock jokes with the kids and wife. I and came up with this one.

Do you think it is worthy, and the tight enough?

Knock Knock.
Who's there?
A door
A door who?
No! I adore you!

What are the suitable honorifics that distinguish between a man and his father?

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 05:40 AM PDT

Suppose, for instance, that a man (John Smith) and his father are both present in a conversation and that the speaker would like to address each of them individually. Suppose also that the conversation is taking place in a formal setting—the speaker doesn't know John and his father very well.

What honorific would be appropriate in this case? John and his father are both Mr. Smith.

The problem can be extended to other situations as well. For example, when John's wife and mother are both present in the same conversation. Mrs. Smith is a common way to address John's mother, but John's wife is technically Mrs. Smith as well.

I'd like to understand more about the English honorifics system. Hopefully, someone can help me out.

Across (covering all area/part of)

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 08:38 AM PDT

Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lay Hermione. Moonlight was falling across her bed.

My research : According to various dictionaries, the defintion of "across" varies:

  1. Covering whole area of something.
  2. Covering parts (but not whole) of area.

Is there any rule to figure which defintition should be used in what context, for example in this context?

Is there a term that describes the action of playing guitar and singing simultaneously? [closed]

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 03:00 AM PDT

Is there a word (or term) that describes the action of playing guitar and singing simultaneously?

Would you say "He has homework to do, doesn't he?" or "He has homework to do, hasn't he?"? [duplicate]

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 06:06 AM PDT

I would normally say 'He has homework to do, doesn't he?' but I've heard some people say the other variant is correct.

Which one would you say is correct? Or are both of them correct?

What does it mean? That is if it's grammatically correct

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 02:49 AM PDT

Although Gutman admits that forced separation by sale was frequent, he shows that the slaves' preference, revealed most clearly on plantations where sale was infrequent, was very much for stable monogamy.

I understand the full sentence except for this line considering if I extracted it correctly from the complex sentence:

the slaves' preference was very much for stable monogamy

Shouldn't there be an adjective or some other part of speech after was very much for and before stable monogamy?

Usage of AND for multiple times in a single statement

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 01:03 AM PDT

Peak voltage, peak current, average voltage, and average current are four different things. Can I write them in the following way? I am confused with the usage of AND in this case.

Peak and average voltage and current analysis can be done using a Picoscope.

Continued my work by/with/on analysing

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 01:03 AM PDT

Which preposition is correct in the following sentence?

The first paper of my thesis indicated issues in these patients' ongoing care. Therefore, I continued my work by/with/on analysing these patients' rehabilitation.

I would like to know if the verbs "want to" and "have to" are considered "stative" [duplicate]

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 02:57 AM PDT

Is it correct to say - "I've been wanting to call you all week, but I have simply not had the time." Or - "I'm having to tend to petty issues all the time, and don't get to do my work."

Choosing between "non-need-based" and "unequal"

Posted: 27 Oct 2021 11:45 PM PDT

English is not my native language. Thus, I ask your help in choosing a correct word for concluding my work.

I have more and less fit patients (two groups). Obviously, more fitter patients need less rehabilitation for recovery. However, my research showed that more fitter patients had better chances of receiving rehabilitation.

Which word should I use in my conclusion?

Conclusion

This work shows unequal/non-need-based allocation of rehabilitation.

Merriam-Webster definitions:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unequal

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/need (couldn't find need-based)

Should I have another task? correct the sentence [closed]

Posted: 27 Oct 2021 10:34 PM PDT

For example, Asking the Project manager for a new task in the morning.

The above sentence is correct or not? How and where we can use this sentence?

Thank you.

Placing comma before ambiguous prepositional phrase

Posted: 27 Oct 2021 10:55 PM PDT

But when I'm not writing code, I'll be spending time with friends and family, in the pursuit of happiness.

Is the comma placement before "in the pursuit of happiness" correct? Most of the time, I place commas before prepositional phrases when they appear as nonrestrictive clauses in the middle of sentences.

Here, however, I want to clarify that I--not my friends and family--am in the pursuit of happiness. As such, the comma before the prepositional phrase at the end feels logical.

Am I correct to place it there?

Is the term "morbid curiosity" generally negative or positive? [closed]

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 02:17 AM PDT

In my experience, someone who asks things out of "morbid curiosity" generally seems to do so for the "sake of fulfilling their curiosity" with no other motivation beyond boredom, a random thought (lol ADHD), and so on.

However looking it up, the term seems to refer with an obsession with morbid topics, or anything generally negative, about death and disease, etc.

That said, if I say that I ask a question on here or Quora "out of morbid curiosity", is that an incorrect usage of the terminology?

Verb for "to be a cornerstone"

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 03:31 AM PDT

The central idea ____ the observed structure

If central idea didn't exist or was taken out of the equation, the observed structure would no longer be observed.

I would like to use cornerstones, mainstays, etc. as verbs, but preferably an established word that has the same meaning: the subject is foundational to the object.

"support" doesn't work well enough because I also want to connote the idea that as soon as you remove the subject, the object totally falls apart, Jenga tower or house-of-cards style. Remove a table leg and watch the table fall over. Support doesn't imply absolute necessity.

I would prefer a single word to a compound word like props-up, and something with more gravitas: cornerstone, mainstay, keystone, foundation, sound so powerful, huge, and significant. But "props-up" sounds like a ramshackle job.

Capitalize "the" when referring to publications as physical objects? [duplicate]

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 06:00 AM PDT

There are plenty of questions on Stackexchange and the web about when to capitalize "the" in titles like "The New York Times." But most of those questions have to do with referring to a periodical as a publication. But how about sentences like these (imagine these taken from a work of fiction):

  • "If I'm not mistaken, the New York Times seems light today."
  • "I bought a copy of The London Times, but I forgot to get the New York Times."
  • "Look what's in that package from Aunt Sophie, the New York Times."

Here one is not referring to the periodical as a publication (as in, e.g., "It was in The New York Times yesterday"), but as an object. (Yes, in the last two sentences it might be preferable to use "a" instead of "the," but "the" works fine.)

I'm sorry my question was not clearer. Perhaps this will clarify: Suppose you see the sentence: "Mr. Buffett bought (the/The) New York Times this morning." If he literally became the owner of the publication, you would capitalize "The," but not if all he did was buy a copy of today's paper. Right?

Can "while you're at it" be used in non-physical contexts?

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 11:06 AM PDT

Most of the examples I looked up with the expression "while you're at it" involves physical contexts:

  • "I'm going to the store to buy a newspaper." – "While you're at it, could you get some milk?"
  • Since we're cleaning the kitchen, we should wash the floor while we're at it.

I'm wondering if the expression could be used in this context:

  • This artwork needs to be updated with the new logo. While we're at it, can we change the typography?

Also, the preposition "at" is used to speak about specific locations, so it makes me think the expression should not be used in non-physical contexts.

Origin of saying 'Thank Buddha it's Tuesday'

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 10:06 AM PDT

What is the origin of the saying 'Thank Buddha it's Tuesday.'?

Can I say "I am twenty years young."

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 12:28 PM PDT

I found someone wrote this on the thread.

"I am 65 years young."

We are so used to say "young" at the end but I was convinced by intention.

Without the sense of metaphor or poetic approach, is it appropriate to say in our daily conversation?

Is there a logical umbrella term for onboarding and offboarding?

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 12:30 PM PDT

I'm creating documentation that describes both the process of onboarding new team members (e.g. creating accounts for required resources, locating, installing and configuring required software, finding the right person to talk to for a particular request), and also the process of offboarding departing members (e.g. revoking access to resources, ensuring completed work is stored in an appropriate location).

Ideally I'd like to arrange this documentation in a hierarchy, where these two processes seem to naturally sit under headings of "onboarding" and "offboarding," or in simpler English, "joining" and "leaving."

I'm looking for something that would be a top-level (umbrella) term to place both these headings under - descriptiveness is more important than brevity.

I'd rather avoid things like "HR Processes" as these contain things that the new team members, and other team members need to do that don't really feel to me like they fit under human resources' purview.

Obviously I could just use a heading like "Onboarding/Offboarding" but if there's a suitable umbrella term I'd much rather use that.

What'a the difference between "spacious" and "capacious" "source" and resource"?

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 03:08 AM PDT

I'm doing translation exercise, and it comes to a problem.

I used "capacious" to describe a big yard.

(because I learned this word lately.)

Then I check out the answer, it used "spacious".

I consult the Oxford Dictionary, and it says:

Capacious: having a lot of space to put things in.

Spacious: large and with plenty of space for people to move around in.

well, I still can't figure it out.

Are they just the same ?

Or there is a nuanced difference ？

Next is "source" and "resource"

I think "resource" is a abstract word, like "human resource", "social resource".

While I think "source" is a concrete word, like "water source" and "food source", which we can touch or drink or eat.

Is that right?

Would I say "I can sometimes..." or "I sometimes can..."

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 11:52 AM PDT

I'm just curious. I like to think that I am decent with grammar, but this has me puzzled.

Which is the correct way to arrange my sentence?

"I can sometimes..."

or

"I sometimes can..."

Thank you

Meaning of line in "Line one's pockets"

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 11:27 AM PDT

I am not asking about the meaning of the idiom "Line one's pockets". It is clear.

Line one's pockets:

to make much money, especially in an illegal or questionable way.

I wonder what line means here, and how it came to give the meaning above with the rest of the idiom.

Is this idiom that common today? Pick the scale you want.

Why was the Bletchley bombe so called?

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 09:51 AM PDT

This has always puzzled me.

It looked nothing like the dessert.

If they thought it was in some way bomb-like, why the extra 'e'?

Origin of pluralisation of verbs and nouns in English

Posted: 28 Oct 2021 07:04 AM PDT

From this question, I was just wondering why plural nouns use the ending -s, while the exact same ending is used for the third person singular form of verbs.

How did we get into this weird situation? Why don't we use the same plural ending for both nouns and verbs?
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