1

I'm not able to find proper words to describe these three pictures:

three pictures of glasses

If I try to describe them myself, then my sentences would be:

  1. [.........]

  2. Glasses are in a straight row.
    Imperative: Keep these glasses in a straight row.

  3. The yellow glass stuck in the middle diagonally.
    Imperative: Stick the yellow glass diagonally.

0

2 Answers 2

1
  1. Stacked
  2. Lined up; in a row
  3. Depends on use:
    formal - askew
    informal - wonky

Answers may vary by location; I'm from the southern region of the U.S.

1
  • Askew and wonky may not be the best choices. I would use the simpler and more common, "wedged."
    – EllieK
    May 4, 2018 at 20:29
0

1. on top of each other

When you place one object on top of another you are stacking them. Usually, having a flat surface makes stacking easier; e.g. "a stack of papers". If there is more than one stack then add the -s suffix, e.g. "stacks of books".

enter image description here

Sometimes the objects can be hollow (like bowls), so they can fit snugly inside one another. If the objects are not stackable, and most coffee cups with handles are not, then the word pile is appropriate. Notice in the OP's image, the cups appear to be stacked but they are not. In real life, if the same three cups were placed on top of each other the resulting pile would wobble and might collapse.

enter image description here

a pile of dirty dishes

2. behind one another

A line of objects, for instance the seats in a movie theatre, seen lengthwise would be called a row, a row of seats. In the OP's example, I would say that the glasses are seen in a line, in an Indian file ,or perhaps less controversially, a single file. In other words, the glasses are behind one another

3. one inside another

In picture 3, the smaller glass is inside the larger glass, but it is not nested comfortably. The yellow glass is stuck2., wedged or jammed inside the larger glass.

The famous matryoshka doll is also known as a Russian nesting doll, and Stacking doll

…is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside another.

enter image description here

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .