30
votes
Accepted
Does the phrase "Tom has been seeing Mary for a while" always imply they have a romantic relationship?
Without any context, the sentence "Tom has been seeing Mary for a while" would strongly imply that they had a romantic relationship. In the dictionary entry that you cite, the only example ...
- 15.3k
15
votes
Can we say "Mike has a date with Mary tonight" when they have been a romantic couple for years?
While I agree with the comments and answers saying that the word date can be used for a pleasant planned encounter by a married couple, in American English the word is often used with a hint of scare-...
- 2,220
13
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Can we say "Mike has a date with Mary tonight" when they have been a romantic couple for years?
You can have a romantic date with your spouse.
It's the location and the purpose of the romantic appointment that counts. A date can be anywhere and at any time of day; a cinema, a theatre, a small ...
- 26k
12
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In which situations do we say "Bob flirts with Mary"?
It can be used in all of the above. It doesn't rule out any of those three, or imply a particular one of those three. However, the word "flirt" has the connotation of something light; that ...
- 750
12
votes
Does the phrase "Tom has been seeing Mary for a while" always imply they have a romantic relationship?
Depending on context "seeing" could be in a professional capacity i.e. Mary is a psychiatrist or doctor. However, lacking additional context, I would assume romantically, as it is the most ...
- 229
8
votes
Tone and meaning of phrases that start with "I thought I said"
The tone is usually negative, and sarcasm is involved. When the TV that cost £1000 is smashed, and I say to my son, 'I thought I told you not to play football in the house', I am pretending not to be ...
- 69.3k
7
votes
In which situations do we say "Bob flirts with Mary"?
Ditto @gotube when he says that flirting is an action and not an intention.
Flirting means making casual romantic advances. Like telling someone that you think they are attractive, laughing at their ...
- 60.8k
7
votes
Tone and meaning of phrases that start with "I thought I said"
It does generally carry a negative tone, but not always. One can imagine a young couple in love and one of them looking adoringly at the other, saying, “I thought I said I didn’t want any birthday ...
- 2,741
6
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Tone and meaning of phrases that start with "I thought I said"
Other answers have talked about the meaning in your examples, but I just want to add that it can also literally mean what it says, that is "I was under the impression that I said something [but ...
- 372
6
votes
Accepted
Can we use "from head to toe" to express the direction rather than "completely"?
'From head to toe' is so commonly used as an idiom for completeness that it might confuse someone to use these words in the context of air movement. Perhaps saying 'let the fan blow at your head, ...
- 417
6
votes
Does the phrase "Tom has been seeing Mary for a while" always imply they have a romantic relationship?
Yes, "seeing" means "having a romantic relationship with". Well, unless the context calls for it to be taken literally. Like, "Once he got new glasses, Tom could see Mary.&...
- 60.8k
4
votes
In which situations do we say "Bob flirts with Mary"?
Flirting is the act of making romantic advances; this is true no matter the intent behind those advances.
However, these advances are "not meant to be taken seriously" in the sense that ...
3
votes
In which situations do we say "Bob flirts with Mary"?
Flirting is an action only, not an intention or desire, so 1 and 2 are not examples of flirting because they aren't even actions. Bob may want some kind of relationship with Mary, but do nothing at ...
- 43.7k
3
votes
In which situations do we say "Bob flirts with Mary"?
Strictly speaking, flirt describes situation 3. (I would use Bob behaves towards Mary rather than says to.)
It definitely doesn't mean situation 1; it implies that you don't have real romantic ...
- 47.5k
2
votes
Accepted
Does "play nice" mean "pretend to be nice"?
'Play nice' is an idiom. It means to not cause trouble; to play without arguing; share your toys.
It's a common expression for a parent to children who are squabbling.
As noted in comments - if this ...
- 16.1k
1
vote
Is it correct to say "I screwed the tap onto/into the pipe"?
I would say you screwed it onto the pipe.
Screwing 'into' something could imply drilling a hole into something for a screw, or even drilling into it with the screw. Here, the pipe has a threaded end ...
- 94.1k
1
vote
It is not like/that she hit him very badly yesterday. - are they the same in meaning?
You have 3 choices here: (1) like, (2) that, (3) as if.
It's not like I didn't want to talk to her. Here I am denying the idea that I didn't want to talk to her; I'm saying that the opposite is true. ...
- 1,850
1
vote
Accepted
arrived to a pair of unexpected discoveries
arrive to means "to be greeted by", in the sense that the object of the preposition to is what "greets" you when you arrive, "greet" there being used in a figurative ...
- 2,220
1
vote
Accepted
Keep is as as is?
The "is as" in the sentence is wrong and sounds very unnatural. The correct sentence is:
"Should we give a big hand to each beauty contestant as she is introduced, or should we wait ...
- 750
1
vote
Can we say "Mike has a date with Mary tonight" when they have been a romantic couple for years?
The term "date" does not itself imply novelty, though it is often used that way.
The question is whether you will be understood, and a lot of that depends on context and audience. If you are ...
- 11
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