Questions tagged [phrase-request]
This tag is for questions seeking a phrase that fits a meaning. If you are looking for a word, or don't care, see the "word-request" tag too.
2,541
questions
-1
votes
1
answer
27
views
how to express informal strong dislike
so as you can say in a positive informal way that you have a "soft spot" for something, or you "have a thing for"... what would you use to say informally you have a dislike or you ...
12
votes
6
answers
5k
views
What is a noun expressing a very young person who has advanced skills even higher than adults?
Mozart composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty.
Not many grownups can do that.
What is a noun expressing a very young person who has advanced skills even higher than adults?...
- 20.7k
1
vote
1
answer
70
views
Can we have adjectives before objective personal pronouns, for example, "I have some photos of baby him"?
THis is a part of the script in the social network film
Erica Albright : Well, why don't you just concentrate on being the
best you you can be.
Mark Zuckerberg : Did you really just say that?
Erica ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
3
answers
62
views
Can we say "we are just about a third way to the city"?
halfway (adj/adv): in the middle between two points
Say, the distance between your house and your friend's is about 20 miles. You are driving to your friend's house and your car is about 10 miles away ...
- 20.7k
10
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Can we use "gift" for non-material thing, e.g. "My dad took me to the amusement park as a gift"?
Dictionaries say "a gift: a thing that you give to somebody, especially on a special occasion or to say thank you"
I am not sure if "a thing" here can be a non-material thing.
For ...
- 20.7k
2
votes
2
answers
816
views
(How) can I say 'state of the [non-art]'?
I read the noun 'state of the art' or the adjective 'state-of-the-art' every now and then, but once in a blue moon I saw 'state of the [non-art]'. I cannot remember what the [non-art]'s are, then I am ...
- 3,141
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What are the synonyms to the phrase "balls to bones" from Matrix movie?
That's a part of Oracle and Neo dialogue from Matrix:
Oracle: So, what do you think? You think you're the one?
Neo: I don't know.
Oracle: You know what that means? It’s Latin. Means “Know thyself”. I’...
0
votes
2
answers
44
views
Is there a phrase like "there is always a tea shop set up earlier"? [closed]
The compelling ending of this article reads that:
Mankind can always pride itself for the giant leap with a small step. But remember, there is always a tea shop set up earlier.
I wonder if the ...
- 3,141
2
votes
1
answer
325
views
Alternative idiom or phrasal verb for eating an elephant one bite at a time
Eat an elephant one bite at a time.
I am looking for an alternative to this idiom that expresses the same idea.
The idea expressed: If a big task is given, tackle it piece by piece
- 767
1
vote
1
answer
47
views
The idiomatic antonyms of "keep someone in the loop"?
In this thread I realized that 'loop someone in' does not fit in the scenario of inviting someone into a WhatsApp group for an intermittent discussion, and the idiomatic expression should be 'keep ...
- 3,141
7
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Can we use "since" in future tenses, for example, "I will be free since 6pm today. Now is 3pm"?
We normally use "since" to mean "from a time in the past until a later past time, or until now".
Can we use "since" in future tenses, for example, "I will be free ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
2
answers
33
views
Term for predecided meaning of an unrelated expression
I just heard a friend telling me about a concept of gryps. Translating it to English produced very little (let alone anything of relevance).
Originally, a gryps, is a message passed to, from or within ...
- 4,255
3
votes
1
answer
303
views
What is the verb expressing the action of moving some farm animals in a field to let them eat grass or plants?
The verb "drive an animal" is to force an animal to move. For example, the shepherd is driving a cow. It does not mean to make the cow eat.
What is the common verb expressing the action of ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
1
answer
34
views
Is it correct to say "Can you put your school supplies into your backpack"?
I want my daughter to put her ruler, 2 pencils, 1 eraser and a book into her backpack.
Do we have a general word to refer these things?
I thought of "stuff" but it is too informal.
Can I say ...
- 20.7k
1
vote
1
answer
70
views
Is it called "the filter/strainer/cover/seive of my bathroom drain"?
This is the drain in my bathroom
What is the piece of metal with many holes called?
Is it called "the filter/strainer/cover/sieve of my bathroom drain" in casual everyday English?
- 20.7k
0
votes
2
answers
26
views
a buyer and seller and straw buyer
When X buys something, they are a buyer.
When X sells something, they are a seller.
What would they be called if they buy something on someone else's behalf?
A straw buyer???
Note that X does not ...
- 1,333
2
votes
2
answers
64
views
What's the contrary of "cherry picking"?
Cherry picking in artificial intelligence research (and in some other contexts) is the act of choosing examples of good (accurate, grammatical, etc.) predictions. I wonder which word or phrase ...
- 5,591
0
votes
2
answers
113
views
What is "a shirt with short sleeves" called?
Normally a Tshirt is made of cloth (I don't know what kind of cloth it is) that is soft and does not leave creases even though you don't iron it (see the picture above).
A shirt is normally made of ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
0
answers
35
views
is it correct to say "hold the toy fan blade-away"?
The person in the picture above "is holding the knife pointy-end down" and I think "pointy-end down" is an adverb.
The person in the picture above "is holding the knife ...
- 20.7k
1
vote
2
answers
94
views
What is the area for people to sit in a stadium called?
What is the area for people to sit in a stadium called?
It seems to be called "stand", but I am not sure.
But why "stand"?? because people can sit there too?
Can we say "I was ...
- 20.7k
8
votes
2
answers
875
views
What is a tight narrow space between things that are in tight contact with each other called in everyday English?
This is a picture of my sofa. There is a tight space between the arm and the seat of the sofa.
If you have a cover, you can tuck the cover in this tight gap.
Is that tight space called a gap?
For ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
2
answers
40
views
Better / proper translation of "包容" in English
I looked at the translation of "包容" in English, and both google translate and the collinsdictionary say it means "tolerate".
However, that's not the meaning/message/idea I want to ...
- 2,186
0
votes
1
answer
146
views
Any other phrases similar to "Now I can die in peace"?
I picked this expression from the title of a book written by Bill Simmons (a famous sports personality.)
I am looking for similar expressions, which natives use, like the title of book above Now I can ...
- 8,484
2
votes
1
answer
61
views
Is it correct to say "we thread the bolt into the nut snugly"?
I asked this question on Quora
How do we say "we screw the bolt into a nut in such a way that the thread of the bolt and the nut fit well together"?
Quora is not a smart system. Whenever it ...
- 20.7k
2
votes
1
answer
127
views
What is the British word for the American word "pop quiz"?
According to many dictionaries, "pop quiz" (American English) is like a surprise informal test without warning in advance to test if a student has studied at home.
In Britain, one beautiful ...
- 20.7k
2
votes
2
answers
58
views
Is it correct to say "Do not touch the rim of the toilet" or "Do not touch the lip of the toilet"?
My children sometimes touch the the rim of the toilet bowl as shown in the above picture as they have no idea how dirty it is.
We often use "the lip/ rim of a cup/ a pot...".
I am not sure ...
- 20.7k
-1
votes
2
answers
58
views
Is it correct to say "You must get on/off the motorbike from the left side"
When my children get on/off the motorbike, I want them to start doing it by standing on the side that doesn't have the tailpipe or exhaust because the tailpipe might be very hot especially when the ...
- 20.7k
-1
votes
1
answer
51
views
Using "impulse" instead of "reason" in "for some reason"
Can I use the expression "for some impulse" similar to "for some reason"? It doesn't sound right. How to use "impulse" correctly, when I want to mention the urge and not ...
- 131
9
votes
5
answers
2k
views
What is the phrase expressing that someone promised to meet you, but then canceled the meeting without telling you in advance?
You friend promised to meet you, but he didn't turn up. Or a boy promised to pick a girl up at school but she waited and waited but he didn't come.
This happens in many situations but we often see it ...
- 20.7k
2
votes
1
answer
19
views
Clinical investigation?
In Portuguese, it is common to say that a patient is "undergoing an investigation" of their disease (meaning: the physician is trying to diagnose what they have, i.e., is "investigating&...
- 497
1
vote
1
answer
30
views
Idiom for describing when you feel heavy and uncomfortable
I am asking for an idiom to describe follow feeling (It is called '찌뿌둥하다' in Korean):
'When we feel a little heavy and uncomfortable because of body aches and colds'
- 13
0
votes
1
answer
106
views
Is it called a water shadow?
The sun light or bulb light shines into the water in a pool and causes some moving pictures on the wall or ceiling.
Is it called a water shadow?
- 20.7k
1
vote
0
answers
27
views
Is it natural to say "Turn the bike so that you and it are side by side"?
Looking at the above picture, I am sure we can say "the woman is sitting on a chair and there is another chair opposite the woman"
Now:
...
You were sitting at a table.
Your child parked ...
- 20.7k
1
vote
1
answer
33
views
Do we have a verb expressing that we take out things that are floating on water?
After I squeeze juice out of an orange into a bowl. Some of the orange pips floats on the orange juice.
If we don't take all the pips out then we have to check for pips when drinking the juice.
Do we ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
1
answer
49
views
Is it correct to say "I pressed the wrong button in panic/ in confusion"?
I had this situation today.
I went into an elevator while a man was running towards the elevator. According to "elevator etiquette", I was supposed to press the button "<>" ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
1
answer
26
views
Do we have a phrase expressing that you have to look around, back, down and up to make sure you won't fall, trip, sleep, or bump into things?
When my children walk on a road or a place with many objects around, I often tell them to:
look down: to make sure they don't trip over or slip on something.
look up: to make sure they don't bump ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
Is it natural to say this to a child "hold out your hands under this box to disinfect them"?
We are living in a building block and at the entrance of the building, there is a box like this
When I press it, it sprays alcohol-like liquid, which is not thick and sticky like gel.
When we about ...
- 20.7k
1
vote
2
answers
57
views
What is the word used to say the roads are very convenient for you to go because you don't have to changes lanes or many lanes?
If you don't have to change lanes or just have to change few lanes when going from A to B, it is very easy for you because changing lanes are dangerous and not convenient.
When I look for a school for ...
- 20.7k
1
vote
1
answer
31
views
What kind of sentence is this?
“I had the plumber fix the trap”.
If had is being used, why fix is not in past participle? It is a special structure to commend something? Then the followings sentences are good? What is the name of ...
- 111
-2
votes
2
answers
146
views
What is the disapproving word that expressed a woman who wears too much make-up?
When my son grows up, I want to advise him to stay away from women who wears too much make-up.
What is the disapproving word that expressed a woman who wears too much make-up?
For example, "Son, ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
What are small tiny pieces of paper of different colors that people often throw into the air at a wedding or when celebrating?
What are small tiny pieces of paper of different colors that people often throw into the air at a wedding or when celebrating?
Do we call these pieces "glittery tiny paper"?
Also, there are ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
1
answer
52
views
Can we say "you're taking it so simply"?
We have this phrase
take somebody/something seriously
to believe that someone or something is worth your attention or
respect
As a teacher, it’s important that the kids take you seriously.
It’s only ...
- 20.7k
6
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Better style for "Is there..." questions
I noticed that in writing I very often phrase questions in the following manner:
Is there a setting for the time delay [in the app]?
Is there a reference to Colonial influence in Australia [in a book]...
- 161
0
votes
3
answers
73
views
Can we say "The mom is hatching her premature baby"?
Normally, we say "the hen is hatching its eggs".
I am not sure if we can say "The hen is hatching its chick".
A mom, who has a premature baby, needs to hug her baby all the time on ...
- 20.7k
-1
votes
1
answer
45
views
Is it correct to say "Do you want to have your photo with your classmates taken?"?
I have a daughter studying at kindergarten.
One day her teacher said to me that the class was taking a photo of its students (like a photo of a group of students in the same class. it seems like ...
- 20.7k
1
vote
2
answers
37
views
Do we say "The man is bowing" in this situation?
When seeing a king, a peasant has to go down on his knees and bow like this.
Do we have a word to express this action?
Or Do we just say "The man is bowing"?
But if we say "The man is ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
1
answer
28
views
What is the verb expressing that a child just wants their mom to be exclusively for them?
Now, a woman has a 5-year-old daughter and now she has just had a newborn baby. The daughter starts to get jealous of the baby because she just wants her mom to take care of her only not the baby.
...
- 20.7k
8
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What do we call a group of people who holds hostage for ransom?
I have watched the 2 films "Plane" and "Shotgun Wedding".
In these films, there is a group of people who holds hostage for ransom. And people in the films call them "pirates&...
- 20.7k
0
votes
1
answer
27
views
Do we have a phrase expressing that you missed doing something but you decided to move ahead without getting back?
You packed your stuff for a trip to a place.
When you are half way to the place, you realized you forgot to take your ipad with you.
But you decided to keep on the trip rather than returning back home ...
- 20.7k
0
votes
1
answer
30
views
What is the word expressing the study of the connection between human physical appearance and human characters?
According to Chinese or some Asian old knowledge, there is a connection between human physical appearance and human characters.
For example, a person who has high cheek bones tends to demand things ...
- 20.7k