Saturday, July 16, 2022

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Recent Questions - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange

Is there a word or phrase for "a weak person harming another weak person"?

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 08:21 AM PDT

My question is what is the Word or phrase for the following?

a weak person harming another (equally) weak person and both inflicting harm on each other in the process.

Warning: The next part contains f word.

Let me go into a bit of a background. Actually a friend asked me English alternative for a Punjabi saying. If I translate the exact words, it'll be something like this: one hungry person fucks another hungry person and as a result both faint.

Synonym/alternative for "rhetorical kill shot"?

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 04:58 AM PDT

The phrase "rhetorical kill shot" means clever persuasion with words that immediately incapacitates the rhetorical opponent.

Sometimes that phrase is simplified to just "kill shot".

The phrase has been used in at least one book sub-title (How Dare You: Inspecting the Rhetorical Kill-shots of America's Most Banned Comedian, Owen Benjamin).

BUT:

Without context and especially when omitting the word "rhetorical", some people are prone to misunderstand and/or misuse the phrase, alleging that "kill shot" was meant as a literal suggestion to kill a person.

Question:

What words or phrases can be used — words/phrases that are just as snappy as "kill shot" — as a synonym or alternative to that phrase?

I mean, "rhetorical kill shot" or "kill shot" is sharp and catchy while "clever persuasion with words" is cumbersome and slow (and doesn't convey the instantaneous effect).

Connotation of "swagger" [closed]

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 04:39 AM PDT

Could someone explain the exact meaning of the "swagger" word in this context?

Whereas ego is artificial, this type of confidence can hold weight. Ego is stolen. Confidence is earned. Ego is self-anointed, its swagger is artifice.

Ramifications of/in/on [closed]

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 04:39 AM PDT

Consider the following sentence

They can be extended to the main model, leading to ramifications in game theory.

Is the expression "ramifications in" correct? I have seen online examples with "in" and "for", but I am not too sure whether I understand the difference. Any ideas?

Is “month year” or “month, year” the more common form of punctuation in print publishing?

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 07:11 AM PDT

A great many style guides address the question of whether or not to separate the month and year with a comma in phrases of the type "January[,] 2018"—and yet, to my surprise, a search of English Language & Usage for the terms "month year comma" yields only one question that seems to focus on precisely this point: Is there always a comma before and after a year in a sentence?

Unfortunately, that question was closed as duplicate back in 2014, even though the prior question that it supposedly duplicates (How to use AP Style commas after dates) does not ask about "month[,] date" constructions, and even though none of the answers posted in response to that question address the issue either.

But the "Is there always a comma before and after a year in a sentence?" question doesn't show any research, which would probably lead to its being closed again for that reason if it were reopened as not being a true duplicate—so rather than try to rehabilitate it, I ask the question afresh (and in my own words) here:

In instances where only a month and a year appear as date indicators—such as "January[,] 2018"—is it more common in print publishing (that is, in ink-and-paper books and magazines, whose publishers tend to enforce in-house or third-party style guidelines) to include a comma after the month or to omit it? Are the relevant style guides evenly divided on this issue, or do they preponderantly favor one or the other option?

Is "You’re a better man than I am, Gunga Din!" still considered a compliment in English?

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 07:00 AM PDT

I grew up hearing the phrase, "You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!" used as a compliment, a genuine expression of admiration, fairly self-effacing at the same time.

I have to admit that, while I knew from context that it was meant as praise, I long ago forgot most of the poem it came from, remembering just that Gunga Din was heroic on the battlefield. Hence the admiration.

I was about to use the phrase when I realized that the person I was addressing might be too young to get the reference, so I skipped it, but went back to read the poem. It is (to me) shockingly racist, with lines like

An' for all 'is dirty 'ide
'E was white, clear white, inside
When 'e went to tend the wounded under fire!

Researching it a bit, it seems the poem is not taught anymore, much like some of Mark Twain's works in the US.

So, is it still a compliment or have the racist overtones made it obsolete?

Edited to add: The last stanza refers to meeting up with Gunga Din in hell someday. [Again edited to add] I realize that the meeting in hell was a compliment - once again - to Gunga Din. The author calls him, "You Lazarushian-leather Gunga Din!" In the Bible, the Rich man (in hell) asks to let Lazarus (in heaven) give him water: 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' While the Biblical answer is 'Nope', the author has so much faith in the goodness of Gunga Din that he believes Gunga Din will bring him - and others - water not only on the battlefield, but also in hell. (I think...) Thanks to @Michael.

Sorry, I realize this has some POB aspects to it.

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