This tag is for questions which a dictionary cannot answer asking the meaning of a particular expression.
0
votes
1answer
32 views
What does “I cannot be more thankful” mean?
What does "I cannot be more thankful" mean?
I want to say that I am very thankful for having this opportunity. Can I say something like the following?
... and I cannot be more thankful for having ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
Is the turn of speech “stand: September 16, 2018” correct?
I'm writing on my website:
This German / English Word List in Excel contains 1593 German words. If you need more words, you can have my German-English word list with 27449 words (stand: September ...
0
votes
1answer
34 views
Do these sentences for recommending others to search on Google, sound patronizing? [on hold]
And are they natural? In what situation will you use it?
Why not google it?
Why don't you google it?
I think you can google it.
You'd better google it.
I'd google it if I were you.
1
vote
2answers
49 views
Looking for the English equivalent of “to cross a hairline bridge”
In my native language, we have this idiom - "to cross a hairline bridge", meaning, one has successfully avoided getting in trouble or a dangerous situation miraculously.
Is there an idiom or ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
Word “Complicated”
When you say a place is "complicated", what does it mean?
When I hear the word "complicated" I think of problem that is hard to solve,
a place like maze, situation that requires lots of explanations.
...
0
votes
1answer
14 views
Word “position” for map?
Can word Position be used to describe my location in the map/directory?
I often saw "You are here", "Here", and "Your Current location" signs, but haven't seen "Your Current Position" or "Present ...
2
votes
2answers
23 views
Job was completed, job has completed and job has been completed?
I have written an email which I believe the sentence was incorrect.
Mr. A, Mowing at the job site has completed.
It could be better if I say: "Mowing was completed at the job site" or "mowing has ...
1
vote
2answers
35 views
Looking for an expression or idiom for a weak person who can be easily bullied or intimidated
In my native language we have this expression for a weak person - " a low fence " implying that anybody can jump over it. Is there a similar expression or idiom in meaning in English for this type of ...
1
vote
1answer
18 views
Word for a value incremented by certain amount?
When we take a number and multiply it by 10 we get a value ten times the original.
Then, what do we call the result of adding 10 to a previous value?
i.e., what can I put in place of the ellipsis in ...
1
vote
1answer
28 views
Is “How much more miserable should he be?” grammatical?
I know it is safe to say
"How miserable should he be?"
but I wonder I can add much/more/e.t.c in the sentece to
emphasize the level of misery.
Such as
how much miserable should he be?
or
...
0
votes
1answer
28 views
I have an idea!/ I've just got an idea(expression) [on hold]
Let's say you and your colleagues are figuring out how to save time doing your daily work. And then you suddenly come up with an idea, how do you say this if it happened abruptly?
Guys, I have an ...
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Idiom for trying to avoid misfortune, but it happens anyway
Is there an idiom, proverb or expression in English describing a situation in which a person is trying really hard to avoid misfortune (by taking precautions) but what exactly he`s trying to distance ...
0
votes
2answers
36 views
What's the proper way to ask if you're expected to go to a meeting? [closed]
I received an e-mail in which I was CC'd by my boss. In it is a timetable of meetings and shoots. I'm the junior of a 4-man team so I don't really expect to be part of these meetings but since I ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
What does “here goes nothing” mean? [closed]
I regularly hear the phrase "here goes nothing". For example when someone starts up a computer after doing stupid configuration and is not sure if it will start.
But I'm not sure about what it means,...
2
votes
1answer
35 views
Proper usage of the expression “words fail me"
I am trying to use the expression “words fail me” and I want to know if these sentences are formed correctly:
Look at this mess, words fail me.
This comment is so ridiculous that words fail ...
0
votes
2answers
61 views
“John Brown has died” - why is this tense used?
Whenever I see information about someone's recent death (usually well known, if this makes a difference), the expression used is
John Doe has died.
Why is this tense used? What about the ...
0
votes
1answer
38 views
How to apologize
"I apologize for not have spoken to you in person yet."
"I apologize for not speaking to you in person yet."
Basically, I’m trying to say:
"I’m sorry I haven't had the time to speak to you ...
0
votes
1answer
15 views
I don't understand how I Wsh work
I learned about i wish i had vII -> something i regret that i didn't do something in the past and i have now effects of that
And about i wish i had wihout vII -> I regreat that i have to do something ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
“I'm new here and would appreciate your guidance”
I'm a Hong Kong English learner. There's a Chinese phrase usually used when introducing yourself to a new group, that means "I'm new here and would appreciate your guidance." Would it sound strange to ...
0
votes
1answer
21 views
correct usage of “moved up"
I am not a native speaker.
Is that appropriate to say:
The assignment was discussed a while ago, that was before you moved up/promotion.
Is "move up" has a positive meaning, can I say:
That ...
40
votes
6answers
9k views
Does the English language have a word explaining a song in your head that you can't stop singing?
Sometimes after listening to a popular song you can't stop repeating it in your head. Is there any term for this in English? You can't say the same in Russian using one word.
1
vote
2answers
39 views
The expression of “Over and beyond”
I have come across this phrase:
Functional foods - products which have health-promoting properties over and beyond their nutritional value - have become a significant food industry sector.
[ https:...
1
vote
1answer
50 views
Need help understanding the meaning of a word and looking for other ways to express the idea
Author:
The report noted that “Personal causes of unemployment have
received, heretofore, a disproportionate amount of attention” (citation) and called for policy measures reflecting an ...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
What does the sentence “It won't be until later on in the week given a last minute work trip” mean?
In reply to an inquiry someone wrote:
You will get an answer, but it probably won't be until later on in the
week given a last minute work trip.
What does the sentence mean? And what is the ...
0
votes
1answer
41 views
I'm all in to <verb> vs. I'm all in ~ing
I know there is an idiom 'be in' to describe someone is totally immersed in something, but I've never seen the usage where that 'something' is described along with the idiom 'be in'. For example, is ...
13
votes
1answer
3k views
What's the meaning “be from money”?
I've searched online dictionaries but I couldn't find the meaning of
be from money.
The example is:
To anyone who doesn’t know who Matthew is, they just come across as a
well-heeled, ...
0
votes
2answers
19 views
How to make a BIT stronger negation?
In my view, we can use the word "NO" to substitute "NOT" to express a bit stronger negation. For example, "He is no singer." put a bit emphasis on negative, compared with "He is not a singer."
But ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
What are the differences between “Do dishes / laundry / household chores..” & “Do the dishes / the laundry / the household chores”?
What are the differences between "Do dishes / laundry / household chores..." & "Do the dishes / the laundry / the household chores..."?
I would say:
Do / wash dishes: refers to dishes in general....
1
vote
2answers
49 views
Is it okay to start a sentence with “like” to show sarcastic tone?
Is it okay to start a sentence with "like" to show some sarcastic tone?
For example:
"Like you knew how to swim, right?" (meaning: you are acting as if you could swim, but we both know you can't)
...
0
votes
0answers
23 views
Is “attack and defense dynamics” equivalent to “interaction” in this context?
I want to rewrite the following sentence which appears in the this verbal reasoning practice question:
The evolution of intelligence among early large mammals of the
grasslands was due in great ...
0
votes
2answers
110 views
“That’s what I have done” VS “That’s what I did.”
A: Let's implement a feature:......
B: #1)That's what I have done
B: #2)That's what I did.
Which do you prefer? Originally, I use #1, but someone told me that #2 is more proper.
1
vote
1answer
24 views
‘Don’t work for yourself, you will have no job security.’
I have clients whose parents and grandparents would say things like,
‘Don’t show yourself up’ because they wanted to be a performer, ‘Don’t
ask for a discount, it’s embarrassing’, ‘Don’t work for ...
0
votes
0answers
16 views
Improving “A brings doubt about if the true motive behind A can be justified or legitimate”
The current artificial manipulation and control on the number of the
lawyer license holder, which includes limiting total law school
entrance quota to 2000 students per year and retaining the ...
0
votes
1answer
17 views
The correct expression of 'follow his way (or method)'
I asked a question on a forum, and somebody (let's say his name is Bob) answered it (but not completely solve the problem). Based on this answer, I have the problem solved.
I want to write the answer ...
0
votes
1answer
26 views
improving “apply understanding about A to examine B”
(after I wrote sentences in which I discuss about occupational freedom, I wrote the sentence like the below)
I apply these understanding about an occupational freedom to examine
the ...
0
votes
3answers
68 views
What English common word or phrase used to describe Passing of humorous complimentary remarks while eating a good food that one is unaccustomed to?
What English common word or phrase used to describe Passing of humorous complimentary remarks on food one is eating (the remarks are considered silly or funny and as showing that the speaker is ...
0
votes
2answers
30 views
Improving “the leading cause of her suicide is putatively X”
Discouraged by failures in the bar exams, a law school graduate
recently committed a suicide, and the leading cause of her suicide is
putatively frustration by failures in the bar exams.
I'm ...
0
votes
2answers
35 views
Improving “the question is if A is B or C”
The next question is if X is a regulation based on subjective
condition or a regulation based on objective condition.
I wrote the sentence like the above in my research paper.
A basic structure of ...
9
votes
8answers
5k views
A situation where your friend or your neighbor offend you, that you wish to have no more interaction with them
I need an expression or a phrase—even if it is an idiom (to make it stylish)—commonly used by English native speakers to express a situation where your friend or your neighbor offend you so much that ...
0
votes
1answer
35 views
How can I express “my cold is usually cured automatically without medicine in 1 day” properly?
As the title says, I guess the original expression is not proper, I hope to know how native English speakers will express. Thx.
-2
votes
1answer
42 views
Describing an air-conditioned room on a hot summer day
How to describe the feeling when you enter a room with running air-conditioner in a hot summer day?
Can I say, "Oh, it feels so cool in this room!" (suppose pleasant cool)
Or, "I feel a little cold, ...
0
votes
1answer
47 views
Polite euphemism for death
I starting a project on domain X. Though it existed before and was already quite famous, an important name N got so popular that it became a bannerman of the whole domain, and the general audience ...
3
votes
1answer
30 views
Is “Turn the flow down a little” an appropriate expression when my son is playing with tap water?
I am learning English and trying to teach my son to speak English in daily life. We live in China. My son likes to play with tap water and observe the water running out. I always wanted to tell him “...
2
votes
3answers
117 views
How to express you partially read the paper?
How can I express that this morning I read parts of a newspaper and not the entire paper? If I say "I read the paper this morning" it means the entire paper, so that would be wrong. But "I read parts ...
2
votes
2answers
22 views
My son doesn't want to take a nap in the afternoon. What should he say to ask for my consent?
I am learning English and so I am also trying to teach my son to speak English in daily life. He doesn't always want to take a nap in the afternoon on weekends. I told him to ask me
"Can I skip ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
idiom or expression for a spiteful/vengeful person
I am looking for an idiom or expression to describe a spiteful and vindictive person; a type of person who tends to hold a grudge against their offenders for a long time, being unable to forget past ...
4
votes
2answers
493 views
a morning greeting: is it “morning”, “g'morning” or neither?
Not a native English speaker and poor at distinguishing shortened expressions, I am not sure if native English speakers indeed say "Morning", or "G'morning", in addition to the formal expression "GOOD ...
0
votes
2answers
53 views
Is “competition” plural or singular?
I was reading through a submitted work by some editor, and I stumbled upon this phrase added...
"a little friendly competition never hurt anyone"
...and I was confused at first of why isn't the word ...
0
votes
1answer
17 views
Expression 'this is what we have come to'
I came across this expression 'this is what we have come to', the person was trying to express something like 'this is the point we have reached' and I don't know if it's correct or not.
Thank you in ...
0
votes
1answer
27 views
What does 'remove' mean in this context?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQssMVQ3BQs&feature=youtu.be
At 4:14 on the video, she seems to say:
"After that my dad says no no no, you removed yesterday, it is removed forever.”
What does ...
