122
votes
Accepted
What do you call the act of drinking a whole bottle of, say, water in one go?
I would call this chugging (to consume a drink in large gulps without pausing, per Webster). It's commonly used to describe rapidly drinking beer but applies equally to other beverages.
This is the ...
106
votes
What do you call the act of drinking a whole bottle of, say, water in one go?
In addition to what has been suggested, "chug", you also have other options
You can use the verb down. Here is an example on YouTube of people downing drinks. For example, you can say
He downed ...
90
votes
Accepted
Why is it correct to say "me busy."?
It's wrong. This is deliberate on the part of the game designers. Peons are not known for being highly educated or well-spoken.
However, babies sometimes speak this way before they learn the ...
87
votes
What is the brown cardboard covering coffee cups called in English?
It is called a "sleeve." Although the primary meaning refers to that part of clothing which covers the wearer's arms in part or in whole, by analogy it has come to mean a tightly fitting, tubular ...
73
votes
Accepted
When should I use 'thaw' and 'melt'?
As I understand it, "melt" implies a phase change from a solid (often a frozen) state to a liquid or near-liquid state.
An ice cube melts when it warms and turns from a solid into a liquid.
...
61
votes
Accepted
The origin of 'feed' in 'line feed'
Back in the old days, when the world was black and white (at least on TV), telephones had wires attached to them and "mail" involved a lenghty process of applying ink to paper as well as a delivery ...
61
votes
Accepted
Is there a noun for a man who wrote a best-seller book?
There is no single word for this concept, but you can call a man (or a woman!) a best-selling author.
52
votes
Is PC used as an English expression for a computer in English speaking countries?
Yes.
"PC", standing for "Personal Computer" (pluralized "PCs" when abbreviated), is a valid English phrase, and does refer to both desktop and laptop computers. Indeed, ...
50
votes
Accepted
What is the grandchild of a parents's siblings called?
The naming of different types of cousins is referred to as “ordinals and removals”.
If you share the same grandparents, you are “first cousins”. If you share the same great grandparents, you are “...
41
votes
What do you call the act of drinking a whole bottle of, say, water in one go?
In Australia, the term used is "Sculling" (Or "Skolling", as the Macquarie Dictionary felt so inclined to consider as an alternative) - https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/blog/article/258/
38
votes
Photo Vs. Picture Vs. Image : What is the difference between them?
A photo, short for photograph, is always taken with a camera.
A picture is the most general term for any representation of a person, an object or a landscape. It can be a painting or a pencil drawing,...
38
votes
What is a proper synonym for 'keep somebody/something away'?
If I study alone, I can avoid potential distractions or interruptions from other students in the study group.
That is the simplest way to say this.
34
votes
Accepted
Does the idiom «to cross the pond» exist?
The idiom here is "the pond."
This phrase means the Atlantic Ocean. It is sometimes jocularly used to refer to differences between usages in Great Britain vs the United States, including ...
34
votes
Is there a difference between "spectacles" and "glasses"? Is there a US-UK English difference or is it just preference for one word over other?
To my ears, "spectacles" sounds rather dated. "Glasses" would be my preferred term for both corrective and protective eye wear.
Cambridge dictionary marks "spectacles" as ...
33
votes
Accepted
What does "I am all stomach" mean?
To a native English speaker, "I am all stomach" obviously references back to the phrase "I am all ears", which means "I am ready and eager to hear what you have to say".
...
32
votes
What do you call the imprinted pattern left behind a car in mud?
In AmE, they would be called "tire tracks". Possibly also "tread marks" but that would more likely be used for marks left on a hard surface like concrete or pavement.
32
votes
Accepted
Difference between "uptown", "downtown" and "midtown"
This depends on what city or town you're talking about. Since you mention the US in your question, I'm going to answer from that point of view.
Manhattan, a part of New York City, famously has all ...
32
votes
Accepted
What does the believoisie mean?
It is a recent coinage, with very little currency. I.e almost nobody will know the word, and you won't be understood if you use it. The earliest use I can find on the internet dates from 2005, by ...
29
votes
Accepted
What do you call the imprinted pattern left behind a car in mud?
It's mostly called a "tyre tread/track mark" or a "tyre tread pattern", also a "tyre track" and a "tyre print", for instance: tyre tread pattern in mud, tyre track mark in mud or tyre print in mud
In ...
28
votes
What does "I am all stomach" mean?
I think that it's a play on words similar to the idiom "I'm all ears", meaning that person "b" is eager to eat, or eager to hear or know what they are eating or going to eat.
27
votes
Accepted
Broken patches on a road
Those are potholes.
A pothole is a hole in a road surface that results from gradual damage caused by traffic and/or weather (Cambridge dictionary).
You may have noticed, we can say that those are ...
25
votes
What do you call the imprinted pattern left behind a car in mud?
The phrase you are looking for (in BrE at least) is tread marks. They can also be called tyre tracks.
These are not specific to tread patterns left in mud, but can also be used if a vehicle leaves ...
25
votes
Accepted
Does "legal poaching" exist?
Poaching is always illegal, so the adjective "illegal" is redundant. There is a (rare) word to describe this kind of redundancy: "Pleonastic". It means using more words than needed.
Many style ...
25
votes
When should I use 'thaw' and 'melt'?
Something frozen will THAW to a solid state.
Something frozen will MELT to a liquid state.
So ice would melt (being frozen water), a frozen sausage would thaw (to a sausage).
To be confusing, frozen ...
25
votes
What is the grandchild of a parents's siblings called?
The grandchild of your parent's sibling is your first cousin once removed. (You are also their first cousin once removed.)
Here's another attempt at a diagram, simply because this form works better ...
25
votes
Accepted
Is "drawable" a correct word?
English is fairly flexible and open to the creation of 'new' words and compound words from familiar prefixes and suffixes, "-able" being one such example.
A Google search finds quite a lot ...
24
votes
Accepted
Is "obey" a stronger word than "observe" in the following sentence?
I agree with the teacher. "Obey" is stronger, and may imply legal sanctions backing up the requirement. "Observe" is less official.
So, while "obey" means "observe&...
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