Sunday, January 2, 2022

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

"Last but not Least" or "The last but not the least"?

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 07:12 AM PST

Is it because, in most cases, we use "last but not least" after mentioning some items that don't add "The" to the phrase? or is it just an accepted exception? Shouldn't the correct way be like " the last but not the least" or simply just "the last but not least"?

Are there any synonyms for "unimportant"?

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 07:30 AM PST

I am an author and also a hypnotist.

In my native language, Danish, I can do magic with hypnosis, but It doesn't work so well in English.

If I want to stop an action, I can say in Danish "It is unimportant to smoke", and the person will stop smoking. But for some reason "unimportant" doesn't work so well in English.

Are there any other words meaning "unimportant" that I could use?

What does "Oxford Classic" mean in this context?

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 07:36 AM PST

In "THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF CHARLES DARWIN", Volume II, Darwin was writing in a letter:

"Here is an odd chance; my nephew Henry Parker, an Oxford Classic, and Fellow of Oriel, came here this evening.

Does this mean that he has a degree of Classics from Oxford?

What is "hull-a-ba-loo"? I have seen this word in my chats and facebook posts. But what does this word exactly mean? [closed]

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 05:28 AM PST

What is "hull-a-ba-loo"? I have seen this word in my chats and facebook posts. But what does this word exactly mean? I have posted in many English forums englishforums.com but I didn't get any valid response. I would like to know the answer in detail

Origin of “on tilt”

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 07:24 AM PST

Farlex Dictionary of Idiom gives the following definition about the expression:

on tilt:

In a reckless or rash state; acting without proper care, attention, or consideration.

and adds that:

Originally used in reference to poker players who begin making reckless decisions after experiencing either good or bad luck. Primarily heard in US.

But Gambling with the Myth of the American Dream by Aaron M. Duncan, suggests that the sense of "tilt" originated from the game of pinball and was later adopted by poker players with the meaning suggested above.

Unluckily both sources don't give further details about how and when the expression evolved.

So did the expression "on tilt" really originate in pinball-machines arcades and from there moved to smoky poker-players rooms to become later a more colloquial expression? Poker, after all, is a much older game than pinball.

3 Multiple Choice Questions (English Language) [closed]

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 05:43 AM PST

A. Which one is grammatically correct?

  1. Reverse Engineering Using 3D Laser Scanner
  2. Reverse Engineering Using (a) 3D Laser Scanner

B. Which one of the following is correct?

  1. Passed (the) IELTS Test
  2. Passed IELTS Test

C. What is correct?

  1. Entertainment Institute in College of Arts
  2. Entertainment Institute at College of Arts

Is there a tool or website that can form paragraphs or sentences from specific words? [migrated]

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 01:59 AM PST

I'm learning new vocabulary and I thought it would be helpful if there's a tool to take specific words as input and form a meaningful paragraph from them.

An analysis of a sentence

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 06:45 AM PST

I just wonder if anyone could help me understand the differences between the following original excerpt gleaned from the latest The Economist as follows :

One aspect of hammam culture proving resistant to the pressures of both modernity and covid-19 is its role in wedding rituals.

and the following sentence:

One aspect proving resistant to the pressures of both modernity and covid-19 of hammam culture is its role in wedding rituals.

In the first, original, excerpt, my dilemma in understanding is whether proving resistant to the pressures of both modernity and covid-19 is referred to one aspect or hammam culture; in the second, I can clearly understand which one has been referred to which is one aspect.

Certain expression need to know if it is right or not [closed]

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 11:05 PM PST

Now my question is about ( play a film or play a movie ) Which one is right expression 100%

And if play a film is right so in this example : The film they are ............ is an action one. (Playing - making) Which one is the right here ?

Word used to refer to a large group when defining a smaller one?

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 10:17 PM PST

I'm trying to remember an uncommon word. It defines an exaggeration of language to include a large group of people when speaking about a smaller group. Like "All of Chicago turned out for the game last night".

I thought it started with an O… I just can't remember.

Which idiom corresponds to the meaning of Hungarian "mintha összebeszéltek volna"? [closed]

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 04:59 AM PST

The phrase means "as if they have agreed ahead of time but we know they didn't". How would this appear in English?

Term for an employee in the sales department at an advert agency who's fresh out of college

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 05:40 PM PST

I know there is a word an "account executive" meaning an employee of the sales department at an advert agency in English. I'd like to know whether you use the word when you talk about someone who is fresh out of college and little experience of handling clients. If you don't then how do you call them? Actually I posted the same question yesterday, and an answerer took part in it, but my English is not well enough to understand what they exactly mean. A simple answer will be appreciated.

What are some synonyms for "live" as used in the broadcast TV context? Our TV station is great because it's always ____!

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 05:16 PM PST

"In the moment" sounds a little janky. Any nicer-sounding words that aren't long phrases per se? Really wanna find a word or short phrase that captures "living in the moment" or "something happening now".

Our TV station is great because it's always ____!

Too many “and”s - separating clauses vs. list items

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 03:25 PM PST

I have the following sentence and feel like my usage of "and" is awkward since it makes it look like a list of three things:

The scale of the problem has only become greater thanks to the internet and related changes and technologies like digital journalism and social media, respectively.

I hope it's clear the structure is like {(thanks to the internet) AND [(related changes) AND (technologies)]}. How to rephrase or fix the sentence?

Commas before not?

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 02:45 PM PST

I want a vanilla cake this year, not chocolate.

If this is punctuated correctly, what exact comma rule are we applying here?

Another:

I took my little brother to the store with me, not because I wanted to though.

"Not" isn't one of the FANBOYS, and everything following the comma here sounds like it could be its own sentence as well, so wouldn't that be a comma splice potentially?

I normally use an em dash to precede "nots" due to its emphatic nature (but mostly because I'm not proficient in the multitude of all the comma rules yet lol).

I took my little brother to the store—not because I wanted to though.

I'm pretty certain both comma examples are correctly punctuated; I'm just confused on what actual comma rule is being used.

What verb goes with "combined temperature"?

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 08:30 PM PST

I came across the following two sentences in a reputable daily:

  1. The combined land and ocean temperature for the first six months of 2010 are 57.5 degrees Fahrenheit (14.2 degrees Celsius), which is 1.2F (0.68C) above the 20th century average for the January to June period.

  2. In June the combined land and ocean temperature was 61.1F (16.2C), which is 1.2F (0.68C) above the 20th century average of 59.9F (15.5C).

Although the subjects in both the sentences are the same, different verbs are used - in the first sentence, the plural verb 'are' is used whereas in the second sentence, the singular verb 'was' is used.

Which verb is appropriate? Can anyone shed some light on it?

Word/phrase for talking tough when afraid

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 09:53 PM PST

I often notice this as a psychological response/defense mechanism that people do when afraid. They will talk tough about the thing they are afraid of. They will say that they will do horrible things to the thing they are afraid of, to compensate for the fear they experience. Is there a word or phrase or idiom for this?

"Screw" slang terms - are any politically correct?

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 04:06 PM PST

There are a number of slang terms that use the term "screw". Pulling from an answer on this site:

screw-based [slang terms] abound: you can screw something up (mess it up), you can be screwy (crazy), you can be screwed (ruined, done for), you can 'screw it' (forget it, leave it aside), you can screw someone over (cheat them), you can screw around (fool around), you can screw someone (as in, "Screw you!", not-so-politely telling them to go to hell), etc.

Do all of these have the same origin? Are they all equally inappropriate (as a substitute for the f-word)?

What does 'good room' mean in Irish English?

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 07:30 AM PST

Listening to an Irish podcast, I heard the expression 'good room', and though I'm a native (UK—England) English speaker, I had no idea what it meant as a discrete noun (as opposed to just good+room. The quotation was something like:

Not many houses have a good room anymore, but this might be an occasion to use it.

Phrase for a kind, but unnecessary gesture

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 06:57 AM PST

If somebody is sincerely taking part in a futile or unneeded task with/for somebody, but rather than giving up, not bothering or flat out refusing they go along with it, not to humour them, but to show support and kindness.

Example sentences:

With only a <blank> she made to help her friend up after falling over, although she knew between her own strength and her friend's weight meant it would have made no difference; regardless they both knew she was more than capable of getting up by herself, but the <blank> was appreciated.

Applying for the job was only a <blank>, as Alex knew they were underqualified and had no intention of accepting an offer, but they also knew it would reassure their friend to know they hadn't applied alone.

He offered to buy food for the barista at the coffee shop, despite knowing he'd say no. It was a <blank>, but still meant a lot to the barista.

Ze put zir hand out as she got off the bus, ultimately a <blank>, as she didn't need helping and subsequently didn't lean any of her weight on zir. Rather than being offended by zir, the obvious <blank> made her smile.

Nugatory and performative seem too negative for my purposes. The phrase 'kind gesture' doesn't communicate that the one making it thinks it's not going to work or is not needed. Saying "It's the thought that counts" implies to me the gesture might have been sincere, but failure/lack of outcome wasn't a foregone conclusion.

What can I use to get this idea across?

What is it called when soldiers stick/leans to the wall before breaching?

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 07:11 PM PST

Before breaching doors, soldiers and policemen all line up on the wall near it. What is this called? Is there a even specific word for it?

I want to write something like this:

The soldier leaned against the wall near the door and cocked his pistol and proceeded to open the door slowly as he mounted his gun against the door.

I think the first line sounds too wordy. Can you help me write it more crisply?

Singular use of “the young” to mean animal offspring?

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 03:33 AM PST

Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and bees have complete metamorphosis. The young (called a larva instead of a nymph) is very different from the adults. It also usually eats different types of food. (https://ansp.org/exhibits/online-exhibits/butterflies/lifecycle/)

Why in the sentence above, "the young" is followed by "is" and not "are"? I wonder because as far as I know "the + adjective" is a plural noun. Have I understood this wrongly? Please explain it to me.

What is a word for "services not provided" or "Goods paid for not delivered"?

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 01:07 AM PST

What is a word for "services not provided" or "Goods paid for not delivered"? For example: The "scam" is a word for a dishonest scheme. The word "fraud" is a word for wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.

Similarly I was wondering if there is any legal or technical term for not getting what you paid for. A scenario for this would be you always buy from Amazon.com, but this time you paid for a product but it was never delivered, Or you left you car at the carwash for a day but it was returned to you without being washed even though you paid them.

Thanks, Again.

Dramatic writing and behavior of primary characters in a screenplay

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 08:11 PM PST

What is a way to describe a person who is smirking or whose lips are pursed? I'm looking for a simple phrase or word that describes a series of conflicting and contradicting emotions being displayed by a person. The description of the behavior is in an effort to reveal vulnerability.

Is this an appositive?

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 03:05 AM PST

Keep up the great work you're doing, fighting for both animal and human rights.

And is following sentence grammatically correct?

Keep up the great work, fighting for both animal and human rights.

The meaning of "is"

Posted: 02 Jan 2022 07:19 AM PST

As a native english speaker, I never really thought about what "is" really meant, but after starting to learn some other languages, I saw how often times, expressions with "is", were often, in the other language, used as expressions with "have". For example: EN: I'm cold. FR: J'ai froid.

This started to make me wonder what "is" actually meant. At first I though that is could just be a synonym to "equals", but that doesn't always work. (E.g. "He is sad". Not, "he equals sad.")

As of now, I have two theories as to what "is" means.

The first is that sometimes "is" can be equated to "equals" (e.g. January 15th is today.) It would be strange to say that January 15th equals today -and that statment would only be true one day of the year-, but technically, I think, that would be a correct logical statment.

The second is that "is" can also mean "the subject of this sentence currently manifests/embodies the abstract concept about to be listed" (e.g. He is sad." would follow this definition.)

What I am wanting to know is whether -and I assume that this list isn't complete- there are other definitions or stipulations concerning what "is" means.

Origin of the expression "being cagey about something"

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 10:04 PM PST

What is the origin of the expression "being cagey about something"? Does it have anything to do with "being in a cage", not letting someone out of a cage? I googled for it but didn't get much:

cagey
"evasive, reticent," 1909, U.S. colloquial, of unknown origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

What is meant by "a carriage that returns"?

Posted: 01 Jan 2022 06:18 PM PST

http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/big-picture.html#faq-6.17:

And '\r' is the carriage return, even though your computer might not have a carriage that returns.

I know that he is trying to play with the words. Does anyone know what exactly the author means by "a carriage that returns"?
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