Questions tagged [word-in-context]
The word-in-context tag has no usage guidance.
0
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1answer
19 views
What's the meaning of the expression “get handed” in this phrase?
What's the meaning of the expression "get handed" in the following passage?
I only told my wife a few days ago that the reason I bought the house we now live in was because of the building I saw in ...
0
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1answer
18 views
“all them”, “all of them” “them all”. May I use any of them in this phrase?
"Can you see that row of barriers in the cinder track? Well, you may find it difficult to believe, but I could jump 'all them' / 'all of them' / 'them all', even the highest ones, when I studied here."...
1
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1answer
36 views
Need help with the expression “to have your work cut out for you”
When someone says something like "He will have his work cut out for him when he gets there" is it somehow implicit that the person who is saying it doesn't believe that the person he is talking about ...
0
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1answer
28 views
“Begin” or “Beginning”… which one should be used?
The text bellow is part of the lyrics of a song from a Brazilian singer called Raul Seixas - The name of the song is "How could I know":
"Reformulation, rearrange the game you're in
Let us start ...
0
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1answer
20 views
What's the meaning of the expressions “take no issue with” and “starting beef over”?
However, when it comes to making a complaint in a restaurant, our national propensity for politeness seems to short circuit. A recent study found that 49% of Brits feel uncomfortable sending food back,...
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1answer
12 views
Is this use of the expression “very far from” grammatically correct?
I wouldn't say that it's not a good hotel, but it's very far from being as elegant and charming as it used to be.
0
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1answer
30 views
Which word would be a good replacement for “office” in this text?
This is a literal transcription of a text in Portuguese:
The judge understood that the sergeant could not be found guilty of things that he was obliged to do in the exercise of his office.
Is the ...
0
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2answers
28 views
To have some sort of thing for something… what does it mean?
What's the meaning of the phrase "I have some sort of a thing for owls and trees lately". I tried to translate it for Portuguese but all I get is literal translations and it doesn't make any sense. ...
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2answers
31 views
“Worked the bars and sideshows along the twilight zone”… What does this mean?
The phrase above is the first line of the Rolling Stones "Before they make me run" song lyrics. Here's the complete verse:
Worked the bars and sideshows along the twilight zone /
Only a crowd can ...
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0answers
27 views
Is this use of “more and more” before and gerund after the expression “drowning himself into” acceptable?
He has been more and more drowning himself into drinking.
Does this phrase make any sense?
8
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4answers
834 views
Is this use of the expression “long past” correct?
None of those boys could be considered a good soccer player actually, but it was amazing to see how one of them could kick the ball long past the corner.
Does this phrase make any sense? I'm trying ...
0
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1answer
37 views
“I sit and watch the children play”… is that correct?
Is the phrase "I sit and watch the children play" in the Rolling Stones song "As tears go by" correct?
I mean, the correct wouldn't be to say "I sit and watch the children to play"?
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1answer
22 views
Does it sound awkward if you use the same word two times in a text to express two different things?
In this case I'm using the word "look" to express two different things. Does it make the text sound unnatural or awkward?
Look how every man in the party are extremely kind with her. That's something ...
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2answers
41 views
American and/or British English usage of the word “really”
Can a native American or British English speaker tell me how the word "really" is to be understood in the following context:
Person A: I have something to show you. It's about how I decorated my ...
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2answers
25 views
“Thank you for the invitation / suggestion” is a correct in this context?
My friend asked me today: "What fruit would you like to eat?" and I pondered which phrase will be correct in such situation. "I don't think I want a fruit now, but thank you for the suggestion / ...
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2answers
55 views
In Haruki Murakami's “Barn Burning”, I don't understand a quote involving the phrase “a priori” which I also only barely understand
Here's the quote:
“I was married, but that didn’t matter, either. She seemed to consider
things like age and income and family to be of the same a priori order
as shoe size and vocal pitch and ...
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0answers
13 views
telephone introducing myself (not name)
Good morning, when we do a call, usually we introduce ourselves or answer using "this is Name" or "it's Name". But if I should say that I am the father/friend/colleuge/mother etc of the person who the ...
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1answer
20 views
How to say in different/ better way?
I have completed the certification program, but after 24h I do not have the badge yet?
Can you assist?
Is is correct word formation and can I express my thoughts in better more natural American ...
0
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1answer
32 views
Do I have private lessons or classes with a private teacher?
Let's suppose I have a private English teacher. Do I have English lessons or English classes with him or her? Is the word class used only to talk about a group environment? Or can I use it for ...
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3answers
2k views
Question: “Are you hungry?” Answer: “I feel like eating.”
I read a conversation book in which the answer for the question "Are you hungry?" was: "I feel like eating."
My question if this phrase of "feeling like" when talking about a normal situation in ...
2
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1answer
22 views
Recall Vs. remember
In this context recall and remember would be the same?
"I recall myself when I was 5 years old in my family house, it
was an amazing time for me".
"I remember myself when I was 5 years old ...
1
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2answers
271 views
Thank you for your interest / question / inquiry
My friend that I didn't saw for some time sent me a message and asked me "Hello friend, How are you?". What's the most appropriate / acceptable or natural way to answer him if I want to thank him ...
1
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1answer
38 views
What is the meaning of “co-opted” in this sentence? [closed]
I am reading Anthology for Music in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries, and on page 173 I get stuck in understanding this sentence:
In some cases national and political connotations were an ...
1
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1answer
36 views
“Back here again in two years” or “Back here again after two years”
Which one's correct?
"Back here again in ( ) years"
or
"Back here again after ( ) years"?
9
votes
1answer
1k views
What do you see if you enter 'clip' in the Windows 10 Search Box or Cortana?
I thought I made a mistake and inputed the word 'clip' in the search box and I saw that I hit the snipping tool which was really what I wanted.
But the question arises:
Are clip and snip in this ...
1
vote
1answer
27 views
How to write on an academical essay that a certain professor helped to do it?
What's the common way to write on a academical work / essay / research / thesis / PhD that a certain professor helped me to write it? Would the word "directed" is normal in such context?
Directed ...
2
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2answers
51 views
What’s the difference? [closed]
Is there a difference between “no place to go” and “no place left to go”?
e.g.
There is no place to hide.
There is no place left to hide.
2
votes
2answers
376 views
Should I use “key” or “a/the key”?
The word key is both an adjective and a noun meaning something is important. But which is the preferred one to use in terms of different territories? For example, should I say
The hint is key.
or
...
1
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2answers
72 views
Is it acceptable to use “For example” and “e.g.” interchangeably
As a general rule I know that I should maintain consistency if I choose some style, etc.
But I am not sure about this: Is it acceptable to use the phrase "For example" and "e.g." interchangeably in ...
0
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1answer
17 views
How to use in points or score in context of exam result?
If I had exam and I was asked about my result and I want to refer to it, then what is the correct way for that purpose?
I've got 95 score out of 100.
I've got 95 points out of 100.
Is it ...
1
vote
1answer
29 views
What word do we use for necessary but unspecified stuff?
Here's the question
where did you go on the holiday?
Nowhere. I stayed home and did some overdue job/task/work/....
Overdue is not necessary here, other words may fit.
I want to talk about ...
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2answers
223 views
“story” without article meaning “past”
Some dictionaries say that the word "story" as a general noun means "past, past event, part of what was before". Does it mean we can use it abstractly to mean "history, what is past" without an ...
1
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1answer
77 views
Sensitive, cranky, irritable, touchy
I get angry very easily by other people. I'm a very sensitive person.
How do I describe this kind of personality ?
Sensitive, cranky, irritable, touchy, mean. I got these words from the dictionary,...
0
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1answer
29 views
Understanding this entry for “pushover”
The Online Etymology Dictionary has this for pushover:
also push-over, 1900 of jobs or tasks; 1922 of persons (bad boxers and easy women), from push (v.) + over (adv.).
I'm not sure I understand ...
1
vote
1answer
49 views
using “as far as” or “to as far as”
I have a sentence:
I am fascinated by traveling, but I did not imagine that I could go to
as far as America
Or
I am fascinated by traveling, but I did not imagine that I could go as
far as ...
2
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1answer
820 views
pacing the room
What's the meaning of "pace the room"?
On Cambridge Dictionary pace means "the speed at which someone or something moves, or with which something happens or changes", but what relation this can get ...
4
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1answer
48 views
The use of “since” in “The Empire had long since fallen to the Barbarians”
Although Justinian’s reign started inauspiciously, he still enjoyed astonishing success. Rome and Western Empire had long since fallen to the Barbarians. But he and Theodora set out to recover the ...
0
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1answer
840 views
Wide variety or wide choice (in context)
Fill in the Blanks
We offer a wide ....... of classes in this school.
case
variety
part
choice
For me a wide variety of classes imply that we have various classes (in different ...
0
votes
1answer
70 views
To put/take/place your finger in/into/inside your nose
Which word do you think is appropriate for the following context?
"Jim is very rude. He always puts/takes his finger in/into/inside his nose."
Or, should I say, "He always places his finger inside his ...
0
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3answers
84 views
“White-side” meaning “from all flanks”?
ContextReverso website, when I input "со всех флангов" returns an English translation "white-side" (possibly as adverb), which they state means "from all flanks".
Is it a special military term or is ...
1
vote
1answer
50 views
Energy vs Power
When do we use "power" and when "energy"? I often ask myself: What is energy and what is power?
One game developer company asked me to translate their browser game into English and edit some of the ...
0
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1answer
162 views
Relevance & Purpose Question
I am really confused with question number 12. Options A and D both make sense.
Option A because the gardener has a direct reference and is receiving gift, which is also a food. The information thus ...
0
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1answer
52 views
“Help toward reaching a goal”: Why use “toward”?
I've read this from Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
avail: help toward reaching a goal
The word "toward" confuses me. Why doesn't the author use "for" or "in"?
avail: help for ...
0
votes
2answers
20 views
The word “little” inferring the meaning of something important, big or critical
I may have made it up but it seems to me that the word little on some occasions infers the opposite of its intended meaning in certain contexts:
Those guys are going to pay for what they've done. We'...
0
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1answer
4k views
Involved to or Involved in
Read this context:
Reading all of your speech from a note may give you confidence and ensure that nothing is forgotten or omitted, however it is the least interesting option for delivering your ...
3
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3answers
847 views
a book “said”…? Which expression do you use when you refer from books?
A few weeks ago, one of my friend and I talked about tomorrow's traveling course. I said, "my guidebook said a city walking course."
But books can't say anything. So I thought "said" was a wrong ...
0
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2answers
71 views
Feel the difference between words
I am trying to feel the difference between these words: vacant, unoccupied, spare and free.
If we are talking about locations that aren't controlled by military forces then which of the above words ...
4
votes
1answer
442 views
Case of “more” and “else”
I know that both "more" and "else" can be used in the meaning of "besides". Well, at least I think so. Here are examples:
I have told you all I know. What else do you want with me?
I have told you ...
0
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1answer
44 views
“Bake” with textures and visualisation
I often hear the word "bake" used when speaking about textures and visualisation in films, video games and 3D modeling. I don't want to sound silly but I can't quite understand this particular word in ...
0
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2answers
43 views
What does now refer to in this sentence?
I got a message from my bank after doing an online transaction of €110
You have now paid €110 to xxx.
Is this sentence correct?
What does now mean here?
Does it mean recently? I am confused ...
