Wednesday, April 6, 2022

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Term for getting "Depending on" the wrong way around

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 03:36 AM PDT

I have been trying for some time to figure out the correct term for a grammatical error that drives me up the wall. It is when people use the phrase "depending on" the wrong way around. Where thing A actually depends on B but they say "B depends on A". The best example I can think of right now is "Whether it rains depends on whether I'll wear my raincoat or not." It just feels so wrong but I don't know how to properly explain to someone why it's wrong, or the correct terminology for this.

Does this have a name? Is it actually bad grammar or am I being overly pedantic?

What is the opposite of deaf (n)?

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 03:03 AM PDT

Could someone help me with the (or "a") correct opposite of the noun deaf (deaf as defined in this National Association of the Deaf article)?

Non-deaf does not sound nice.

Is "yet again" negative in the sentence?

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 12:25 AM PDT

Usually from what I learned, "yet" is used as a negation in the sentence, like "...have not...yet".

However, if the sentence is "He failed the test yet again". Here, is the "yet again" positive or negative?

If we add a tag question to this sentence, should it be "did he?" or "didn't he?"?

Is there something called a "Patronage Template" or "Patronage Presentation" used to present information? [closed]

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 10:55 PM PDT

I was requested by my manager to prepare something called "Patronage Template/ Presentation" in which she would like to include some sort of an "Event agenda" in it, to be submitted to "high profiles". I've never heard of such a document type before and am certain that whatever this document is, it's not called a "Patronage Template/ Presentation". Can someone advise if you have any clue?

English question [closed]

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 07:25 PM PDT

An agenda is a list of things _________________.

to be bought

to be brought

to be written out

to be done

Is it ok for to write “Under the prospering of Economy” [closed]

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 05:16 PM PDT

Under the booming economy, the new generation of teenagers May I the booming economy into "Under the prospering of economy " If no , please tell me why .

Term for person in a coma

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 04:14 PM PDT

The word I'm looking for is just what the title says, a term for a "person in a coma". Or it could be a phrase, because I just need a little variety.

It gets a little repetitive if I say "in a coma" multiple times.

If there isn't any, is there any synonyms for "coma" that communicates similar connotations (like hospital, medical, long time, stability) but not too technical?

Rock, Paper, Scissors Game - what article before rock and paper

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 02:44 AM PDT

Let's play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" game. If you play "rock", then would you say?

  1. I got a rock
  2. I got rock (without a)?

The first option seems much more natural. On Youglish you can find only examples supporting the first option. For example I got a rock in my shoe.

https://youglish.com/getbyid/87298883/i%20got%20a%20rock/english/us

The doubt weather the first option is correct lays in the lack of "a" before rock in the descriptions of the game. Whenever "rock" is mentioned, it goes without "a". Here are examples:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_paper_scissors

In Rock paper scissors, rock is scissors' "Kryptonite", scissors are "what" to rock?

In one fell swoop, I would like to ask the same for scissors and paper. Scissors seem to be plural so I guess "I've got scissors" is a proper form. I am not that sure with paper. Can a native speaker shed a light on this trifle please?

Update after comments. I would like to use this game to engage children in practicing phrases as "I've got ...", "What have you got?" Obviously, the children deserve to be equipped with correct phrases. The focus of the question is in grammar rules, not in the game rules.

entailing, entailing "the", entailing "about the" or entailing "that"?

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 02:01 PM PDT

What is the correct way to use "entailing"?

  • "The machines are working, entailing consumption of nonreplenishable resources, such as fuel"
  • "The machines are working, entailing the consumption of nonreplenishable resources, such as fuel"
  • "The machines are working, entailing about the consumption of nonreplenishable resources, such as fuel"
  • "The machines are working, entailing that nonreplenishable resources are being consumed, such as fuel"

A word for misplaced recognition

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 12:55 PM PDT

I'm writing a scene where my male protagonist turns to see someone he doesn't know, but who reminds him instantly of his wife.

The wife's golden curls are used throughout as a theme and symbol, so the reader should know what I'm hinting at.

I tried to work with "...golden curls reminiscent of [wife's name]", but it's too wordy. Also, it feels redundant, but "...reminiscent golden curls" is gibberish.

I'm looking for something that will fit this sample sentence, but will happily restructure it if I find a good word:

"He was taken aback by the [WORD GOES HERE] of her golden curls."

So I tried familiarity, which makes it seem like he recognizes (and is possibly even close with) this new character.

What I'm looking for is a single word for that moment when you recognize something from one person in another. A kind of transferred familiarity, or misplaced recognition. No, I don't think any of those will work either.

Any idea?

Choosing between oblivion, forgetfulness, and forgetting

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 09:02 PM PDT

I am trying to figure out what is the right word related to forgetting in this quote by Blasco Ibáñez:

Tenemos dos fuerzas que nos ayudan a vivir: el olvido y la esperanza.

which translated in English would be as below (that is how someone posted it via Reddit here and how Google Translate translates it):

We have two forces that help us to live: oblivion and hope.

However, I am wondering if oblivion is the right word. This question is not so much about translating olvido from Spanish ot English, but finding the right English word.

Olvidar means to forget and olvido is the substantive referring to the fact that memories fade away.

I am unsure about the English term (one word) that would fit here: oblivion, forgetfulness or simply forgetting?

Since I have never used oblivion before, I looked it in the dictionary and its very definition is quite powerful for this context:

the state of being unaware or unconscious of what is happening around one

I would use forgetting and hope instead, but would it be correct? What about forgetfulness?

Is there a better term for the fact that we, as humans, forget memories (such as sufferings, happy moments etc)?

Does anyone know the expression "Aye Gannies" (or perhaps the spelling is "I gonees")

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 10:39 PM PDT

Growing up in the Missouri Ozarks we had a neighbor named Hicks who used this expression. One of Mr. Hick's frequent and unique expressions was, "I Gannies" (the "a" was short). The only other times I've run across the expression were on the old radio show, "Lum and Abner" and in the book, "Little Shepard of Kingdom Come." I wish I knew origin or meaning of the expression.

What's the structure of this Hemingway sentence?

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 04:23 PM PDT

I'm reading The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway, and I'm confused by this sentence:

Then, while the old man was clearing the lines and preparing the harpoon, the male fish jumped high into the air beside the boat to see where the female was and then went down deep, his lavender wings, that were his pectoral fins, spread wide and all his wide lavender stripes showing.

I wonder which part of sentence spread is? Is it a predicate or a non-finite?

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

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 12:59 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 word is more suitable than regret to describe the feeling of lamenting the fact that you will never have a particular experience?

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 04:33 PM PDT

For example, if I were to say "As a man, my greatest regret is that I will never be able to experience pregnancy or birth". It isn't an actual regret, because nothing has happened or could possibly happen, so it isn't a missed opportunity either per se.

Term to describe 'all the rest' of a collection of things?

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 04:12 PM PDT

Is there a term to refer to everything in a collection except some named thing(s); that is, to mean 'all the rest' in that collection?

Examples

Suppose you read:

Ukraine downed 22 of Russia's fixed-wing aircraft

And you want to know if 22 represents all the aircraft downed, to answer that, you wish to work out if 'fixed-wing' represents all Russian aircraft, or if there are aircraft that aren't 'fixed-wing' that need to be added to the 22 fixed-wing craft to get the total. Your first thought may be: 'what is the supplemental to fixed-wing aircraft?' (i.e. are there any aircraft which aren't fixed-wing, and if so, what are they).

Another example:

Suppose you read:

Lithium batteries may not be sent via post.

If you're not sure whether the battery you want to send is a 'Lithium' battery, you may wish to first find out what the supplemental to Lithium batteries is? (i.e. what are the other kinds of batteries, so you can research them and determine if the one you have belongs to one of those subsets).

What I already know

Words I use are

  • Supplemental
  • Inverse

Are there any better words to use to describe 'all the others' of a certain group or collection?

Which bank did you suggest ? I want to know..... ( indirect question ) [closed]

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 11:01 PM PDT

I am stuck in this problem and confused on how to solve it , i did some research and didn't got any clue to solve it pls help me to solve this and a little explanation.how to make this to turn it into indirect question > which bank did you suggest ? I want to know..... ( indirect question )

Idiom or better yet a word for loss of fidelity by copying

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 10:59 PM PDT

Is there a word for describing the loss of fidelity or quality by repeated copying. I'm thinking of a xerox of a xerox, or a copy of a copy, or of the phenomena that happens when playing the game of telephone, where the original spoken phrase is distorted after being passed around a group of people.

What is it called when a speaker accidentally merges two words?

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 06:31 PM PDT

There is a word to describe the action of accidentally mixing two words together, such as exclaiming trampede when struggling to explain what cattle do. The speaker tries to say one thing, but a related concept interferes right at the moment of speech, and as a result the two words come out as somewhat garbled together. Importantly, however, the garbled speech is understandable and not non-sensical. Referring to the above case, we all instantly see that cattle stampede, and as a result can trample what is in their path.

Several years ago I came across the precise word for this, and I cannot find it again. It is not portmanteau, as that's a word I have known all my life and thus I would not have been pleased to discover this new-- now forgotten-- word. The important distinction between portmanteau and the above concept is its accidental, incorrect nature.

P.S. I understand that technically the words I described might be portmanteaus, in the same sense that squares are rectangles. However, in the identical sense that a person might seek square as a better word to describe rectangles of equal side length, so I search for this.

Is the phrase “final solution” used in the field of software development?

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 02:04 AM PDT

I recently came across the phrase "final solution" being used in communication between software developers. It was used like this:

I was working on fixing the issue with the data. I tried several potential solutions, but they did not work or had other drawbacks. The final solution I found was X. I implemented it and the data loads correctly now."

While the phrase was used purely in a technical context, I still found it shocking, and I was not expecting to see the two words put together like this. But maybe it's just me…

I came across What is another way of saying "final solution?", where the asker was searching for an alternative phrase to "final solution", even in a technical context, because of its negative connotations.

I would like to know if this phrase is commonplace in technical communication.

Are there any instances of this particular phrase in technical publications or communication from international tech corporations?

What are the differences between Vitriol, Vituperation, and Invective?

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 03:02 AM PDT

I am having a really hard time seeing the nuanced differences between these three synonyms, especially vituperation and vitriol. I saw from my research that invective is used in more formal context with use of refined language (if somebody can add more to this word, I would be appreciate it). But I have trouble seeing the subtle difference between vitriol and vituperation since both suggest bitter, cruel, harsh abusive language.

Why does English use singular they instead of making up a new word for this?

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 05:44 PM PDT

Why does English use singular they instead of making up a new word for this?

In my native language there's a word dia which has the same meaning as he/she, but it doesn't give information about the gender of that person.

I've seen questions close to this, but they don't provide the reason for not making up a new word for this distinct meaning.

Replacement for homophobic slang, used to show contempt

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 03:11 AM PDT

(Note: please read through what I am asking before taking offense and feel free to edit to make it less offensive)

When I was growing up in the 70-80s it was common for kids to say things like "oh, your taste in music is so gay". Now, I am not saying we were very tolerant either, but at 12-13 we really didn't know all that much about sexual orientation, and we really meant "your taste is very lame", but with the intent to do it in a vulgar fashion. Later on, we kept on using the word, but really very separately from any homophobic intent per se. This was also often used between people who actually liked each other, more a mock insult than a true one.

Nowadays it's not acceptable to use "gay" in that sense. I am not defending that use and I welcome the shift away from that pejorative usage of the word.

But I wish there was something to replace it with.

Is there a suitably obscene equivalent to "lame", minus homophobic (or racist) overtones? Just to vulgarly express strong contempt for someone's choices or tastes.

Is there an idiomatic simile for "as wrong as"?

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 09:07 PM PDT

The simile "as RIGHT as rain" is idiomatic in English. Is there an idiomatic equivalent for "wrong"? If so what is it? If not, any suggestions?

Word meaning 'playing politics' when the context isn't politics?

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 01:03 AM PDT

Here's what I'm trying to write:

The single thing I would say would make the book better, would to make it a lot shorter. Shorten all the sentences, and eliminate the cruft. I think the book could about 50-75% of it's current length.

I suspect that there's a bit of [politics] here. The publishers and advisers perhaps feel that a shorter book wouldn't be taken so seriously, and efforts are made to make it a full length novel.

But it being about publishing a book - politics doesn't really seem to fit, where it would in other contexts, for example:

The reason the Labour Party doesn't add cannabis law reform as a policy platform is politics, they don't want to antagonise their more conservative older voter base.

Is there an alternative word I can use, to convey a kind of jaded (or pragmatic, depending on your point of view) making compromises for the greater good?

Punctuation before and within an adverb clause

Posted: 06 Apr 2022 02:05 AM PDT

I have a sentence which includes two independent elements connected by 'and' within an adverb clause. Do I still place a comma before the and?

Ex:

Jett's dad died when he was seven and his little brother was three.

or

Jett's dad died when he was seven, and his little brother was three.

What is a word that describes someone who hurts people without meaning to?

Posted: 05 Apr 2022 10:27 PM PDT

What is a word that describes a person who hurts people without meaning to (as in not intentionally)?
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