Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

What is the relation between "husband" and "husbandry"?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 08:04 AM PDT

The definitions for "husband" on Merriam Webster are

husband noun

1 : a male partner in a marriage

2 British : the manager of another's property

3 : a frugal manager

whereas "husbandry" is defined as

husbandry noun

1a : the cultivation or production of plants or animals

b : the scientific control and management of a branch of farming and especially of domestic animals

2 : the control or judicious use of resources

3 archaic : the care of a household

The definitions for "husband" as a verb also don't help much:

husband verb

1a : to manage prudently and economically

b : to use sparingly

2 archaic : to find a husband for

Since a husband is traditionally seen as the head of a household I can see the connection to the management-related definitions of "husband" but I'm still missing the relation to farming and animal breeding. Even in ancient times there were other occupations than that of a farmer, so not every husband was necessarily involved in some form of husbandry.

Is there another connection that explains this?

"Uncanny valley" but for inanimate objects

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 08:06 AM PDT

Uncanny valley is the unpleasant experience one feels when confronted with something resembling a human, that isn't one (e.g., creepy Chucky Doll).

From Wikipedia

The concept suggests that humanoid objects that imperfectly resemble actual human beings provoke uncanny or strangely familiar feelings of uneasiness and revulsion in observers

What is the equivalent term when referring to objects or concepts rather than humans? That is, what term would you use to describe the sense of uneasiness when you are faced with something that looks like, say, a phone, but isn't a phone (say a phone shaped cake). Or even more abstractly, say, something "that looks like love", but isn't love.

To clarify, I'm looking for a term that emphasizes the uneasiness of the experience.

Any ideas?

Do dictionaries disfavor "disfavor"?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 08:33 AM PDT

A recent question asked for A word for making an event more likely or less likely and I proposed the verb pair favor/disfavor in an answer, with these examples:

For example, in the case of the Ising model, if we consider two neighboring variables, X, Y, the local function will favor (higher probabilities) configurations in which X = Y and will disfavor (lower probabilities) configurations in which X ≠ Y. Luis Sucar; Probabilistic Graphical Models (2020)

The universe does not carry a memory of past results that will favor or disfavor future outcomes. S. Martinez-Conde et al.; Sleights of Mind (2011)

There is no problem finding a dictionary definition for this sense of the verb favor:

Work to the advantage of.

Natural selection has favored bats Lexico

Of a circumstance, fact, etc.: To lend confirmation or support to (a belief, doctrine, rarely, a person); to point in the direction of.

1887 C. C. Abbott Waste-land Wanderings ii. 22 Every indication favored rain. (OED)

However, I was surprised when I couldn't find an opposite definition for the verb disfavor, such as work to the disadvantage of or weaken confirmation or support. For example, the sole definition in these three dictionaries are:

disfavor (v.)

To regard or treat with the reverse of favour or good will; to discountenance; to treat with disapprobation. (OED)

Regard or treat (someone or something) with disfavor. Lexico

To withhold or withdraw favor from m-w

Are there conditions or constraints (e.g. register) on using disfavor in the "neutral" sense of making something less probably or saying something is less likely, i.e. without denoting disapproval as in the above and following examples?

This fact disfavors the possibility that genetic personality differences are maintained by a mutation selection hypothesis. D. Buss et al.; The Evolution of Personality and Individual Differences (2011)

Such bias favors the finding of positive associations and disfavors the possibility that significant associations do not exist. But despite such inherent bias, the observed effects were small. H.R. 1633, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011

There is, therefore a well defined line which limits the extent to which the general government can act as a moral person, and regulate its powers so as to favor or disfavor particular acts of individuals in the States. James Carter; Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court (1891)

What are the antonyms (phrases) of the following phrases? [closed]

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 07:03 AM PDT

My slang vocabulary is limited. If someone calls you mentally ill and retarded pussy, what would you call them? Aggressive cock or vicious dick or something else? My question comes from the recent majority public opinions favoring verbal abuses over physical abuses. Thanks.

Condemnation by vs. from

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 06:29 AM PDT

I am unsure which is correct or if both are correct whether they mean something different.

1. There was strong condemnation by the public.  2. There was strong condemnation from the public.

Regular vs Irregular polysemy

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 06:40 AM PDT

I'm having trouble understanding the difference between regular and irregular polysemy. May someone give an example?

Meaning of confession and doctrine in this context? [migrated]

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 05:58 AM PDT

What is the difference between the meaning of 'confession' and 'doctrine' in this context, and what their 'unity' is supposed to mean. I know based on my searches that 'confession' might mean something like belief or system of beliefs, and 'doctrine' might mean principles or teaching. But I want the meanings in the context of Christianity.

It is important to note that Kant did not deny 'the preeminent importance of its [theology's] subject', but that his problems with this discipline were twofold. First, in his view theology falls outside the scope of what can be established by means of human rationality alone. As we have seen, this principal argument was not new, since late medieval nominalists like Ockham had already claimed that the principles of theology cannot be supported by natural reason.30 Second, what was new was Kant's political argument against the way in which theological orthodoxy was used by the state for its own interests. In fact, such (mis)use had become widespread ever since the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 with its famous maxim cuius regio cuius religio, which had turned religion into a means to bolster the identity of the newly emerging nation states. From now on unity of confession and doctrine often came to be enforced by the state, and it was in this context that the notion of theology as queen of the sciences got its most articulate meaning (one should note that a queen was, first of all, a political figure). Apparently, it was this political constellation that, quite understandably, sparked Kant's deep dissatisfaction with the academic status quo in general and the role of theology in particular.

How Theology Stopped Being Regina Scientiarum—and How Its Story Continues
Gijsbert van den Brink
Studies in Christian Ethics 13 August 2019

Please help me to find out the incorrect sentences among those below made with conjunctions "when " and "while" [closed]

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 04:27 AM PDT

  1. While you were in Paris, I was traveling in Madrid.

  2. While you were in Paris, I was traveled in Madrid.

  3. When you were in Paris, I traveled in Madrid.

  4. When you were in Paris, I was traveling in Madrid.

  5. When you were in Paris, I had traveled in Madrid.

  6. When you were in Paris, I would travel in Madrid.

  7. Whenever you were in Paris, I traveled somewhere.

I feel that the verb in the principal clause with "when" can be put in more verbal tenses, but I don't know which above sentences are correct

What is a word or phrase that describes something that looks grand from the outside but in actuality, it is very bad on the inside?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 08:50 AM PDT

I'm looking for a word/idiom/phrase that describes a situation where the front side has been held up for a show/event to function but the back stage that is holding it is a complete chaos/mess and is on the brink of falling apart.

Specifically, what is a phrase that describes something that looks grand from the outside but in actuality, it is very bad on the inside? For instance, imagine a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. But when I turn the tree, the back side of the tree is all burnt up. It is only putting up a good show on the outside.

What is the correct tense for an event in the past which was predestined? [closed]

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 12:21 AM PDT

Tonight I found some old notes for a story about time travel, and I was wondering if there was a way to rewrite this line.

"It is the will of life to live, to exist, to continue. Towards this end, we have rewritten time and space. We have always had, and we always will have. This, I must do."

I have bolded the part I want to replace. The easiest solution, as mentioned to me by a friend, would be to write "We always have, and we always will have." But, this is still poetically unsatisfying to me.

"Always have" and "Always will have" both point to an event in the past. "We always have," I interpret to mean that it has always been in the past, and "we always will have" means that in a later future to come... it will still be in the past.

"We always will have." It points to a future time in which the thing has already been completed. What I want is something which is the inverse: to point to a time in the past, in which the thing is yet to be completed, but is certain to be completed. Predestined. But is now, already completed.

The question is a bit of a headache in and of itself, but such is the nature of time travel stories.

What does "arse-knit" mean?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 12:08 AM PDT

In Alan Hollinghurst's 2004 novel The Line of Beauty, winner of the 2004 Man Booker Prize, there appears the term arse-knit. What does it mean?

In context, it seems to be some kind of uncomfortable physical condition, maybe similar to chafing, but I could not find an actual definition anywhere. The OED doesn't appear to have it, and the only Google hits are either how to knit (out of yarn) something that looks like an arse, or variants on the phrase "it made my arse knit buttons", or quotes of the passage from the novel itself.

Here's the passage where it appears. Since the context is a sexual encounter and the language is explicit, I've put it in a spoiler box. The scene is set in London in 1983, and the characters Nick and Leo are young British men.

It was previously established that Leo is an avid cyclist, and that he suffers from ingrown beard hairs.

So I deduce the following about arse-knit:

  • It's some sort of painful or unpleasant physical condition, perhaps like a skin irritation or rash

  • It's aggravated by riding a bicycle

  • It has some relationship with body hair

  • It's relieved (or perhaps aggravated?) by shaving. (Leo's meaning is somewhat ambiguous: does he shave in order to avoid arse-knit, or does he get arse-knit because he shaves?)

I wonder if there is a more common equivalent in either British or American English, or perhaps a medical term for the condition.

The word "ornamental" : is it an opinion adjective, a purpose adjective, or part of a compound noun here?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 06:37 AM PDT

Upon reviewing my notes on the order of adjectives, I saw that "ornamental" was listed as an opinion adjective. However, wouldn't ornamental be a "purpose" or "type" adjective? I am using the order of adjectives as listed in the Cambridge Dictionary. I have three phrases here:

  1. the old ornamental vase
  2. the ornamental iron work
  3. ornamental gilt bronze frames

For example, in #1 I don't think it's right to my ear to say the "ornamental old vase". It sounds better to say the "old ornamental vase". I also wonder if in this situation "ornamental vase" is just one unit/compound noun, which is why it doesn't feel right to say "ornamental old vase".

In #2 I have material = iron, and I'm not sure what category ornamental would be.

For #3, same as #2. What category would ornamental be?

What should I say instead of "you first"?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 04:35 AM PDT

Are there any specific phrases for this situations below:

  1. When I am approaching to pickup something from a store shelf and somebody else is also doing same at the same time and I want to say: "you take it".

  2. When I reach to a door with another guy at the same time and I want to say: "you go first".

  3. When I want to speak and somebody else also wants do it at the moment and I want to say "you speak first".

What does "heraldic cognisance" mean in this paragraph?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 08:17 AM PDT

Neither party would listen to the antiquaries who delivered learned lectures in the neighbourhood, showing the Bleeding Heart to have been the heraldic cognisance of the old family to whom the property had once belonged.

(Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, Chapter 12)

What is heraldic cognisance? Tried to Google it, but I couldn't make out the actual meaning.

Which of the following usage in correct?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 01:43 AM PDT

Please focus on the bold part.

At week 24, the proportion of patients achieving a response according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria for 20% improvement (ACR20) was significantly greater in the tocilizumab plus DMARD group than in the control group.

At week 24, the proportion of patients achieving a response according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria for 20% improvement (ACR20) was significantly greater in the tocilizumab plus DMARD group than that in the control group.

Is "that" really necessary here?

Another sentence:

HbA1c was significantly elevated in the DRINK trial and was significantly higher than in the RE trial.

HbA1c was significantly elevated in the DRINK trial and was significantly higher than that in the RE trial.

"The meeting ends in 2 hours" or "The meeting will ends in 2 hours"? [migrated]

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 05:59 PM PDT

2 hours later is in the future, so "the meeting will ends in 2 hours" is correct, right? But since we say "the train arrives at 9AM", does "the meeting ends in 2 hours" make sense too?

Is Iroquoi the origin of American idiom “cuts no ice with me”?

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 03:42 PM PDT

In Patrick O'Brian's novel The Fortune of War, two of the characters are discussing American English and the following dialogue takes place:

'Why, sure,' said Evans, in his harsh nasal metallic bray, 'the right American English is spoke in Boston, and even as far as Watertown. You will find no corruption there, I believe, no colonial expressions, other than those that arise naturally from our intercourse with the Indians. Boston, sir, is a well of English, pure and undefiled.'

'I am fully persuaded of it,' said Stephen. 'Yet at breakfast this morning Mr Adams, who was also riz in Boston, stated that hominy grits cut no ice with him. I have been puzzling over his words ever since. I am acquainted with the grits, a grateful pap that might with advantage be exhibited in cases of duodenal debility, and I at once perceived that the expression was figurative. But in what does the figure consist? Is it desirable that ice should be cut? And if so, why? And what is the force of with?'

After barely a moment's pause, Mr Evans said, 'Ah, there now, you have an Indian expression. It is a variant upon the Iroquois katno aiss' vizmi – I am unmoved, unimpressed.

TheFreeDictionary claims a number of alternative origin possibilities for this phrase, but none mention an Iroquoi derivation.

Is this origin story true? Does the phrase "Cuts no ice with me" really derive from the Iroquoi language?

What is the term for pretextual basis?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT

Fred builds a unapproved structure which causes damage to an HOA. He then persuades the board to build a structure to compensate / correct said damage under the guise of maintenance of said damage.

The guise of building the second structure as maintenance is pretextual. What is the legal term to capture the notion that the act building of building the compensating structure instead of removing the his unapproved structure and correcting the damage is wrong?

What is the definition and origin of the phrase "force the straits"?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 08:38 AM PDT

I've seen the phrase used often in information about the WWI Gallipoli campaign ("forcing the straits" or "force the Dardanelles").

I know what force means (power, or using power to attain a goal). I know what a strait is (narrow passage between land masses).

But this particular construct eludes me, precisely. I've never heard it used until reading about Gallipoli today.

I can guess - it seems to mean to barrel your way through, or to attack, a strait.

https://www.deseret.com/2015/4/22/20563269/this-week-in-history-allied-forces-land-at-gallipoli

"Several attempts were made to force the strait..."

https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2015/4/24/the-battle-of-gallipoli

"...send a fleet to force the Strait..."

So does it mean to make your way through (a temporary state), or to take complete control (permanently)?

More to the inspiration of my question: the quotes do NOT say to force one's way through the strait. Simply, to "force the strait".

The usage of the words “Decagon” and “vertex” [closed]

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 11:44 PM PDT

I am writing a blog in which I present a 10-element model of "motivation". That is to say, I have identified ten components which affect the motivation in people. The audience of this blog is laypeople (general public). Now my questions are

1-is the word "Decagon" or the phrase "motivation decagon" understandable for laypeople? what percent of native English readers know that 'decagon' refers to a 10-sided shape?

2-then, to explain the system, I'm going to use the word "vertex" to refer to each of these ten components. e.g: Vertex 1: emotion Vertex 2: thoughts . . . again, is 'vertex' a normal and totally understandable word for native English-speaking laypeople or I'd better use words like "angle" or "apex"?

Thank you in advance for your help

I know more than you do about X

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 07:32 PM PDT

I think these mean the same thing:

(1) I know more about X than you do.

(2) I know about X more than you do.

(3) I know more than you do about X.

In (1) and (2), the preposition phrase (PP) about X is part of the main clause, and the comparative clause is you do.

In (3), then, is the PP part of the main or comparative clause? I think both arguments could be made.

If it's part of the main clause, the comparative clause (you do) is the same as in (1) and (2), and the PP comes after the comparative clause.

If it's part of the comparative clause, the comparative clause (you do about X) is different than in (1) and (2).

Which is correct, and why?

EDIT

Comments told me that (2) means a slightly different thing than (1) and (3). The call of the question is whether there is a structural difference between (3) on the one hand and (1) and/or (2) on the other, so I think the question as is can be answered regardless of whether (2) means something different.

The verb "mark" with events in time

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 08:13 AM PDT

  • The 19th century was marked by the abolition of slavery.
  • The 19th century marked the abolition of slavery.

Which is correct?

The meaning is that the abolition of slavery was an important event in the 19th century.

Help me create an adjective for "in heart" [closed]

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 05:24 AM PDT

Help me make a beautiful adjective to describe "being in and belonging to the heart"

For example:

Mary's endopathic concerns increased because she refused to deal with them.

Mary has physical issues, no psychological issues but many endopathic issues.

Where the word "endopathic" needs to be replaced since I made it up before realizing "pathy" means sickness.

I don't like "psychological" because it is rooted in something mental as in "logi"

But I want this adjective to focus on the heart.

"Psychic" would have been perfect except it is usually used to refer to supernatural power .

"Suneidesis" is a greek word for conscience but i could not manage to make it aesthetically pleasant as an adjective. "Suneidestic" "syneidontic" etc.

"Cardi" has been used to represent the litteral heart in medicine so I couldn't use it . Ie. "Endocardic"

Maybe if "pathy" can be used in "telepathy" to represent something outside of sickness, then maybe it is ok for me to use "pathy" in the same way?

Can I say "in age only"?

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 06:33 PM PDT

Does this phrase work?

A senior in age only, he's never lost his strength.

It should mean that he's old, but you can't tell. It is meant to be a variation of "in name only", although I can't seem to find it used. Will this work, or does it sound off?

having been participled?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 02:36 AM PDT

Is anything wrong in this sentence?

The enemy, beaten at every point, fled from the field.

According to my book it should instead be:

The enemy, having been beaten at every point, fled from the field.

Why?

There is only one subject in this sentence, so there should only be one verb; that is, fled.

How can we use having been + the past participle?

What's the difference between the two sentence structures?

Is there a word that could mean both serious and humorous?

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 12:06 AM PDT

I'm creating a project on character traits, and the person that I'm writing about is funny yet serious. I didn't know if there was a word for that, so I'm asking for help.

Can we use "whisky" to describe a squirrel going up a tree?

Posted: 29 Mar 2022 03:34 PM PDT

I am confused that the term "whisky" is used in the poem The Squirrel to describe a squirrel going up a tree (though 'whisky' denotes a drink). According to the Cambridge Dictionary, "whisky" denotes:

NOUN

B2 a strong, pale brown alcoholic drink, originally from Scotland and Ireland, made from grain such as barley, maize, or rye

But confusingly, this word (whisky) is used in the following poem:

The Squirrel (Anonymous)

Whisky, frisky,
Hippity hop;
Up he goes
To the tree top!

Whirly, twirly,
Round and round,
Down he scampers
To the ground.

Furly, curly
What a tail!
Tall as a feather
Broad as a sail!

Where's his supper?
In the shell,
Snappity, crackity,
Out it fell.

Please pardon me, if I am mistaking the poem.

"View", but for hearing

Posted: 30 Mar 2022 05:54 AM PDT

I know a lot of words, but it's driving me crazy that I can't think of one for this. I'm sure there must be one. I want to be able to say:

I had not only a great view of the ocean from that room, but also a great _,

where the blank means that I could hear it well as well as see it. Does such a word exist? (Rather, does it exist in the lexicon of "words regular people would recognize as being English" — that's what I'm looking for, not an extremely archaic word or one you made up. )
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