Questions tagged [phrase-meaning]
Use this tag for questions about the meaning and usage of a particular phrase, for which a dictionary cannot answer.
2,806
questions
-2
votes
1answer
28 views
Rephrase the phrase
What does it mean? Can anyone rephrase this phrase?
I did this because this song was love at first listen to me.
Does it mean or don't?:
I did it because this song was love for me when I first ...
2
votes
1answer
25 views
What does “cranked out with abandon” mean?
I'm trying to understand this line –– cranked out with abandon. Does it mean that Fox produced lots of bad and cheap merchandise without any shame? Or it means something else?
Season 8, which ran ...
0
votes
0answers
48 views
What would this line mean?
I'm currently reading this article, and a paragraph says,
Johnson tweeted that the two sides had struck a “great new deal” and urged U.K. lawmakers to ratify it in a special session being held ...
9
votes
4answers
2k views
What does “studies need to be taken with more than the usual grain of salt” mean?
I found this quote in a psychology paper entitled If We Are So Rich, Why Aren't We Happy by M. Csikszentmihalyi:
“Thus, the results of culturally and methodologically circumscribed studies need to ...
0
votes
0answers
24 views
What's the meaning of i.e.? [on hold]
So, I've noticed that when people write in English, they often use the notation 'i.e.' to give examples of something.
But I don't know what does 'i.e.' stand for.
Is it just to make examples and/or to ...
0
votes
1answer
26 views
Meaning of the phrase “at least initially”
What does the phrase "at least initially", as used in these examples, mean?
The attention, at least initially, surprised them.
At least initially, few donors seemed to agree.
But the real ...
1
vote
1answer
14 views
“As for” meaning in this context
An extract from an article:
For global climate change, as for hunger, the countries that experience the worst problems have the fewest resources to address them.
What does as for mean here?
...
0
votes
0answers
37 views
What “standing on the moon” means?
What "She was standing on the moon" means in the passage:
“So,” Clee said loudly. I stopped. “I don’t really know a lot about health
and stuff? But I figure you probably know what I should be eating. ...
0
votes
1answer
18 views
What is a habitual sentence and in what does it differ other legal sentences?
Here are some examples:
He was facing five years on each count and you are also facing a habitual sentence, she told him, and you can actually get double.
Prosecutors counter that it is more ...
0
votes
1answer
24 views
Meaning of “intellectual farce”
Overview
Aristophanes was the greatest writer of Old Comedy in
Athens in the fifth century BCE and the only playwright
from that era with any complete plays surviving. Old
Comedy was a form ...
-2
votes
0answers
21 views
Difference b/w “What I am” and “who I am” [on hold]
What is the difference between "What I am" and "who I am"?
Can "What I am" mean M
1
vote
0answers
26 views
Can the start be “the other end”?
The sentence is " There is the letter T in the end of the word and the letter C in the other end". Can you call the start of the word the other end?
0
votes
0answers
25 views
Meaning of “consistency of time, place, or character”
Overview
Aristophanes was the greatest writer of Old Comedy in
Athens in the fifth century BCE and the only playwright
from that era with any complete plays surviving. Old
Comedy was a form ...
-1
votes
1answer
33 views
“to fink meself lucky”
"I was selling in Diagon Alley an' she come up to me an' asks if I've got a licence for trading in magical artefacts. Bleedin' snoop. She was gonna fine me, but she took a fancy to the locket an' told ...
-1
votes
0answers
14 views
-2
votes
1answer
25 views
What does pay-off mean?
Recommender Systems: Noisy data, commercial pay-off (e.g., Amazon, Netflix). -- source
I look up the longman dictionary. Seems none of the explanation makes sense.
11
votes
6answers
3k views
Phrase: the sun is out
Why do we say the sun is out? We don’t say the candle is out or the light bulb is out. Why don’t we say the sun is visible?
0
votes
1answer
30 views
phrase meaning: “crash-bang wallop”
Have you ever heard of crash-bang wallop? What does it mean? Found this in my homework text and looks like it's not a translatable one... I've tried finding it but that's just a hopeless try...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
What does “he was equally game to slip into bit parts” mean?
I was trying to understand this line – he was equally game to slip into bit parts, but couldn't. My best guess is that it's meaning something about universality and flexibility in acting. Could ...
2
votes
2answers
36 views
What does “in its absolute stakes” mean in this context?
Below is an excerpt from The Economist.
But climate change is an increasingly dangerous context for all their worlds.
To understand that context, it is important to understand all the things ...
0
votes
0answers
18 views
About the usage of “about the same” in this context
Jim, Jack, Raul, Kim, Beti are the members of this group. Jim spent
100 euros, but Jack spent 10 euros. About the same difference is
between Jim and each of the other members.
The last sentence ...
1
vote
1answer
18 views
Does the phrase “fix a schedule” sound natural, if does, then what is its exact meaning?
When I want choose a date for, say, a party, does it sound natural to say the following?
Let's fix a schedule for the party.
If that sounds ok, then could I change fix for set?
0
votes
1answer
23 views
What is the meaning of “many walks of life”?
I know that the meaning of walks of life is
a person's occupation or position within society.
But in some cases, I don't get it. for example, someone has been saying something about how should we ...
1
vote
1answer
25 views
What does 'get ahold of' means?
I searched the meaning of the word get ahold of something which showed:
If you get ahold of someone or something you manage to contact, find, or get them.
But in the below paragraph the meaning ...
2
votes
1answer
29 views
“a pretty good snuff on the nose” meaning
The NBA is adamant about one thing: It respects Morey having an opinion and hasn’t suspended or disciplined him or anything like that. It’s a fair point, although having the league itself apologize ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
I would've been late not if my mom woke me up on time
I have this sentence:
I would've been late not if my mom woke me up on time
Does this sentence make sense? if not, how should I correct it? And how should I correctly use "not if"? Could anyone ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
Is “shut up” a noun phrase in “James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here”?
James is getting a bit frustrated shut up here, he tries not to show it but I can tell - also, Dumbledore's still got his Invisibility Cloak, so no chance of little excursions.
Harry Potter and ...
2
votes
1answer
37 views
What does “take a nap between the snoozing lion and lamb” means?
This phrase is from the below paragraph in the book Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert M. Sapolsky.
The book has a number of personal roots. One is that, having had
...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
“Assisting delivery of construction program ” vs “Assisting with delivery of construction program”
I recently came across the phrase "assisting delivery of construction programs". Is this phrase grammatically correct? I would write: "Assisting with delivery of construction programs".
Could ...
0
votes
0answers
12 views
What do share collaboration and share development mean?
In our lecture slide, I see the following:
Why Community Cloud?
Pool resources/skills with similar organizations
Share data/infrastructure/collaboration and development
Share ...
3
votes
1answer
30 views
What is the meaning of “Counter-productive at best”?
I cannot understand the last sentence of the following paragraph:
Highly Emotional – While emotional expression is healthy and natural, with Campaigners even viewing it as a core part of their ...
1
vote
1answer
26 views
What do the Arapesh ancestors do when they “pluck back the bramble”?
I'm not sure about the meaning of the phrase "pluck back" in this passage of Margaret Mead's Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies.
The ghosts themselves are residents of the lands, and ...
1
vote
1answer
28 views
What does it mean “Don't go …ing something”?
Could anybody help me to understand a line from "Lay All Your Love On Me" by ABBA?
I wasn't jealous before we met
Now every woman I see is a potential threat
And I'm possessive, it isn't nice
...
4
votes
3answers
250 views
“Shake your head all you like” meaning
"Yes, Ariana might have made a desperate bid for freedom and killed Kendra in the struggle," said Auntie Muriel thoughtfully. "Shake your head all you like, Elphias! You were at Ariana's funeral, were ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
What does “take my word on anything” mean?
I have stumbled upon it in this video. It is at 11 minutes and 22 seconds.
I am not asking for your trust. I am not asking you to take my word on anything. In fact, I urge you not to take my word ...
-1
votes
1answer
30 views
meaning of “the sentence had been pronounced by Journey”
In A Fine Mess, the pamphlet of the defeat that is so hard for us, one finds at the end a few heartfelt but precise pages on education and what can be done for children whose hearts are still not ...
2
votes
2answers
66 views
We are committed to rolling up the evil county lines drugs gangs
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the following on the issue of rising crime in the UK:
"We are committed to rolling up the evil county lines drugs gangs. . . . which predate on young kids and ...
2
votes
2answers
19 views
Does “seemed” have the same meaning as “as though”
A. It seemed as though the war had ended.
B. It seemed the war had ended.
What is the difference between these two sentences?
0
votes
1answer
51 views
Can you finish a sentence with “for the now”?
Can you finish a sentence with "for the now"?
"So we will resolve your case for the now?"
This sounds old fansioned to me. However, is it correct?
0
votes
1answer
20 views
How to understand “All most suspicious” in this context?
"Ariana was delicate!" said Doge desperately. "Her health was always too poor to permit her -"
"To permit her to leave the house?" cackled Muriel. "And yet she was never taken to St Mungo's and ...
1
vote
1answer
51 views
Understanding the meaning of “a beat”
I've come across some phrases with the word "beat" while reading a book. And though I looked it up in the dictionary, I failed to explain them by myself. I collected those "mysterious" phrases here:
...
2
votes
2answers
55 views
What does “spot shower” mean in weather forcasting?
I saw "spot shower" on a weather forecast here. It reads:
Muggy with Spot Shower This Weekend
What does "spot shower" truly mean?
3
votes
3answers
1k views
“Kept that sister of his quiet” meaning
Dumbledore kept that sister of his quiet for a long time.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I could not find it a phrase in dictionaries. Is it an common idiom? I only found "on the quiet" in ...
2
votes
2answers
29 views
How can I express “exclaim or say something not out loud, but in my heart, silently”
For example, upon my first arrival in a new city, I was shocked by the backwardness of this place, so I thought to myself, what a shitty place, why do I even come here. But of course, I wouldn't say ...
3
votes
2answers
55 views
What means her ride didn't show?
I just heard this in a video and the sentence goes like this:
Her ride didn't show.
What does that mean?
0
votes
1answer
27 views
What does "the law of average” mean?
Of course I may lose my bet, but according to the law of average, I will not. [Source: A Message to Garcia]
What does " the law of average” mean? What is the meaning of the sentence? Some ...
2
votes
2answers
45 views
“curbing out cigarette smoking”
In this sentence "curbing out" reads strange. I can't find much on Google. It doesn't appear to have any meaning beyond "curbing", "inhibiting", and I am not sure the tag-along preposition "out" adds ...
2
votes
2answers
26 views
get in/into the habit of reading
1)
Is there a difference in meaning between "get in a habit of reading" and "get into the habit of reading"?
2)
I also want to make sure whether this is the idiomatic way to say this.
3)
Is it ...
0
votes
2answers
16 views
missing the public's attention / out of the public's attention
How Do the following sentences differ in meaning?
The billionaire lives his life missing the public's attention.
The billionaire lives his life out of the public's attention.
I'd appreciate ...
0
votes
1answer
23 views
what does “present company included” mean
There is failure to see the forest for the trees; the silver lining in the cloud, may cause small-minded men to reject women; present company excluded/included, because of their other than acceptable ...
