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Results tagged with american-english
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user 46805
This tag is for questions specifically related to the English language as spoken and written in the USA. If you are interested in a difference between American English and British English, please use transatlantic-differences.
2
votes
Is "square up" a natural expression in conversational English?
The sentences are OK and natural. Take care with the preposition. You square up to someone you are ready to fight, and square up with someone you owe money to, or for something you have received but a …
- 75.6k
58
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "behavior" and "behaviour"?
They mean the same thing; behaviour is the British English spelling; behavior is the American spelling. The definitions say the same thing in different ways.
- 75.6k
4
votes
Accepted
What does "ain't but" mean?
"Ain't but" (is not but) is an American rural dialect colloquialism meaning "is only". The speaker could also have said "it is but five miles" with the same meaning. Consider "but" to mean "only" when …
- 75.6k
1
vote
What's the meaning of "Bought it up"
To "buy it" can be used idiomatically to mean die, or be killed
- 75.6k
1
vote
Get a change of $50
"Change", meaning "money given to someone because they paid for something that cost less than the amount they gave", is a non-count (mass) noun. So we do not say "a change". Using the example given, w …
- 75.6k
3
votes
Accepted
What does "take a steam" mean?
A 'steam' probably means a steam bath or sauna, where people are undressed. Ross has a lascivious imagination. 'Personal Best' is a 1982 movie in which two women athletes have a gay affair, and which …
- 75.6k
3
votes
Accepted
What does "buckle together" mean?
Buckle can be used as an intransitive verb, meaning to start a job or task with vigour and determination, usually followed by 'down', e.g. I had to finish my homework by 9 PM so I buckled down and wro …
- 75.6k
-1
votes
Meaning of "of something"
The repetition of 'of' in 'of - of something' indicates hesistancy or uncertainty. James wants to play one more game, but does not know which one, so he just says that they should play another game of …
- 75.6k
5
votes
How to politely ask people to give up their seats on a train in the USA?
You could say "Could you please move, so that we can sit together?". Be prepared, in Britain, at least, for people to consider the request rude, no matter how you phrase it, and to say "No. Go away" ( …
- 75.6k
0
votes
Accepted
What does "subject + to + infinitive" mean?
What you saw is a 'headline'. These appear in large type at the top of newspaper stories, and as headings over online news stories. It is desirable for them to take up as little space as possible, and …
- 75.6k
2
votes
What does “a'walking” mean?
To prefix a verb gerund with a- is an archaic dialect form.
It existed from the 16th century and these days survives mainly in rural dialects in the USA, in which many of Elvis Presley's songs were su …
- 75.6k
4
votes
Lightning vs Thundering
You don't say "the sky starts lightning'. Lightning is a noun, meaning an electric discharge between a cloud and another cloud, or a cloud and the ground. Thunder is the sound you hear because the air …
- 75.6k
5
votes
Do British people often use the word lightning conductor?
As a British person, I would say that American people often use "lightning rod" when they are talking about what we often call a 'lightning conductor'. This is usually mounted at the highest point of …
- 75.6k
7
votes
Mixing up British and American English
For any kind of formal or academic work, it is desirable to use only one type of spelling in a piece of writing. American students who come to study in the UK are sometimes told to learn, and use, Bri …
- 75.6k
2
votes
Do a subject at a university (is it used in AE as well?)
Rare but not completely unknown.
Some would say they are nearly British at Harvard, but still...
- 75.6k