New answers tagged word-usage
1
"Food" is a non-count noun. For example, you could say "I like food", and that could mean food in general. As soon as you add a determiner like 'some', then it becomes specific food.
So, "let's eat Italian food" is really just an expression of the cuisine you want to eat. It sounds like a suggestion from which you could go on to ...
0
Good question. "A friendship between students on different teams" and "a friendship between students from different teams" are both valid.
I would say on is more neutral; it simply says that the students are part of different teams.
From perhaps takes the perspective of somebody who is trying to pick out individuals from existing groups (...
3
"Mortal" is simply describing what the "monumental" thing was made into. That part of the sentence does not actually refer to a statue, it refers to some monumental thing in general.
Consider an easier example:
Eating berries made her tongue purple.
Her tongue was made (caused to become) purple. What caused this? Eating berries.
Your ...
3
I do not think you're interpreting it right - in your interpretation (the) mortal is a noun and monumental is an adjective modifying it, but while this is grammatically sound it does not really make sense in context.
Instead, (the) monumental functions as a noun, and mortal is an adjective. As such, the earthquake takes the monumental (something grandiose, ...
1
The discussion in comments pointed me to the word decent:
conforming to standards of propriety, good taste, or morality
While still a rather positively-loaded word, it doesn't have the same implications of approval as wholesome or healthy - with those words, there's a heavy implication that the lack of alcohol and flirting is the right way to do things, ...
2
wholesome
As FumbleFingers said in a comment above:
Healthy sounds to me like a rather tub-thumpingly "loaded" term for the intended sense here. For no reason I can put my finger on, near-synonymous wholesome company / venues / pursuits / friends seems a much better choice. Perhaps it's just that wholesome is more often used "semi-...
2
Here is a good summary of intonation patterns in English for learners:
intonation
Here are the main intonation patterns in English:
There are two basic patterns of intonation in English: falling
intonation and rising intonation. In the following examples a downward
arrow (➘) indicates a fall in intonation and an upward arrow (➚)
indicates a rise in ...
5
You're right about intonation - it refers specifically to changes in pitch, ie. the "ups and downs" of the voice in the context of a sentence.
Inflection is a tricky word in that it has two very distinct meanings. One of those meanings (the one you've brought up in your post) has nothing to do with prosody or spoken language - instead, it refers to ...
0
Grammatical inflection has nothing to do with sound changes, it has to do with changes in the form of the word indicating person and tense.
Present:
I come
You come
He comes
They come
Past:
I came
You came
He came
They came
Future:
I will come
and so on. Irregular verbs have more complex inflection such as:
I am
You are
He is
They are
I was
You were
...
1
The imagery is of a ladle dipping into a liquid and taking some out. The verb "dip" is transferred from the ladle to the thing being removed.
4
In New York at least, we'd often call such a person a "schlemiel". If that doesn't work for you, then I'd recommend a thesaurus, as Ethan Bolker suggested. E.g., there are plenty of synonyms here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/schlemiel
2
A coffer is a like a box or a chest for holding valuables. Imagine a box full of gold coins. Now someone is dipping their hands in to the box, taking out handfuls of these gold coins. Of course, companies today store their money in banks. But the idiom has lived on.
1
"All thumbs" might do for physical ineptitude. Not so much for "making money or dealing with the unprecedented.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/all--thumbs
26
In his novel Herbert make a lot of effort to portray water as the single most valuable commodity to the natives of Arrakis. This is significant to the story. Water is held as a communal resource by the Fremen and when a shar of that resource is needed, a portion is dipped from the cistern (collective water storage) to the individual.
To the galactic ...
1
With "programs" the sentence suggests structure to me - perhaps the organization offers regularly scheduled classes with training for particular jobs.
Without "programs" the promise is less focused. Without "for adults" it might even refer to on the job training.
Which way to write the sentence depends on what you want your ...
50
"Dipping into the coffers" is a standard idiom for employees or other individuals taking money for private purposes from an organization's funds.
"Dipping from" has the same meaning but sounds a little odd to me. Searching for it found only "dipping into".
https://ludwig.guru/s/dip+into+the+coffers
1
In the context you describe (YT video sponsorship/support) they have different connotations.
"Sponsored by" suggests that the entity doing the sponsoring has paid the full cost. They are primarily responsible.
"Supported by" suggests less involvement. They approve, may have provided some financial support, but are not as directly involved....
1
Here, "line" likely means "route".
Trains run along lines because that's where the tracks are. Buses have "lines" because they always go the exact same route. Regular trucking routes are also often referred to as "lines", as in the name of the major truck brand, "Freightliner".
From Merriam-Webster, with my ...
3
Yes, they living it up is grammatically incorrect.
Poetry and songwriting do not always follow "standard" rules of grammar or even usage; the meter and the "feel" of the words are more important. Never assume that any given song lyric is good English.
0
Both are grammatically correct, quoting from an answer to "Usage of no ... nor":
(1) Data are neither generated nor transferred.
(2) No data are generated nor transferred.
In a straight answer to your questions, (2) is grammatically fine, but not idiomatic.
The construction no … nor is certainly understandable but not common. On the other hand, (...
0
There is nothing grammatically wrong with it, but I would advise against saying it. I think it sounds slightly disrespectful.
It’s not exactly that it sounds impatient, but rather it sounds like the student is trying to take control of the pacing of the class, which is disrespectful to the teacher, who is supposed to be in charge.
10
It probably means 'die by drowning', famously the fate of 68% of those on board the ship, and the certain fate of those who remained at their posts until the ship sank. There is often sand at the bottom of the sea, or on beaches where drowned corpses are washed up by the tide. The expression sounds like a variant of 'bite the dust' which can mean 'die'. ...
1
Google Ngram Viewer shows that until the 1970s, 'palpitation' was used more commonly than 'palpitations'. The M-W you quote may be an older edition which doesn't reflect that change. Part of the reason for the change was probably that 'a palpitation' sounds too much like one single instantaneous event, while 'palpitations' sound more like an ongoing series ...
0
As you've already explained in the comments, "possible" is a postpositive adjective, here modifying "the quickest way".
From wikipedia:
Certain adjectives are used fairly commonly in postpositive position. Present and past participles exhibit this behavior, as in all those entering should ..., one of the men executed was ..., but at will ...
0
Frankly, the clearest thing to say would be "underside of the bed".
There are different types of beds that have different types of "undersides". A "platform bed" is one that has some sort of flat surface or frame that you can rest the mattress on directly. A "frame bed" has a rectangular frame that you sit a boxspring ...
1
It might be a bed frame, bedboard or box springs. An image search will quickly show you which best describes that particular bed.
3
Colloquially, they have different meanings:
"The husband walked away from his wife," could be used in stage directions (blocking), expressing a short-term action. It is less common to use that phrasing for a long-term relationship change.
"The husband walked out on his wife," on the other hand, is almost exclusively used to mean he ...
3
As Kate alluded to in a comment, "up the line" or "down the line" usually refer to a railroad line. The meaning is: some [possibly specified] distance along the route. Whether "up" or "down" is used depends on context (elevation, direction relative to a large city, direction relative to the train's direction) and the ...
2
"Speak of the devil" would be an insult, except that in modern conversation, it is almost always said sarcastically, just to note to coincidence of someone appearing just as you're speaking about them.
The sarcasm needs to be obvious, and you should only say this about someone if you're in a position to gently, sarcastically chide them.
You could ...
0
Squash is also a drink of any flavour bought in a plastic bottle "usually Robinsons" that a little is poured into a glass or beaker and diluted with tap or bottled water. It is also called - example orange juice, but it is not the same as concentrate or not from concentrate or freshly squeezed juices usually drank at breakfast time or to get a ...
3
The literal meaning of the word is 'nameless', so its principal sense is to refer to a person or place whose name is not known. By extension, it can be used to describe a person or place lacking any distinctive characteristics to make them memorable, or noticeably different from others.
0
The opening sentence says that the phenomenon where 'a filler metal ... (>10s)' i contradicts classical fluid flow theory. And Eq.14 is an expression of classical fluid flow theory. So the 'such cases' is those where 'a filler ... (>10s)'.
2
A "careers adviser" would be my preferred term.
Student counsellors give advice on student wellbeing (such as dealing with anxiety). "Study counsellor" is not a term I recognise. I see it used mostly on Scandinavian websites as a synonym for "student counsellor"
However "Careers adviser" is recognised job. They give ...
-2
Look For Irony
As it is, yes, this is often rude, as you're equating the presence of this person with the presence of the devil: unwanted and unfortunate. However, this saying in modern contexts is often said ironically, particularly about a good friend.
So we're stuck looking for additional context clues. Was this muttered out of earshot of the person in ...
13
Your tone of voice, the relation with the recipient and the events prior to the appearance of said person determine whether it's acceptable to use that phrase.
It can be considered rude or offensive when the person in question wasn't actually being discussed, but something or someone else. For example:
Some work isn't getting done on time, because you're ...
40
This phrase comes from a very old superstition that naming the Devil would cause him to appear — see The Phrase Finder.
Over the centuries it has developed into a light-hearted saying that doesn't imply hatred of the person arriving, though it would depend on your relationship with them (and the tone in which you said it) whether you thought it was ...
2
Here, "crap" is slang and means "stuff" or "things". So the man is saying, "I'm going to run home and grab some things."
2
The consequences of the economic downturn will certainly affect people's lives in every society.
This version has the least nuance. It just means what it means: the consequences will have some impact on people's lives. It's mildly understated.
The consequences of the economic downturn will certainly impact people's lives in every society.
This version ...
6
The more idiomatic phrase using rule and exception is to say that something is the exception rather than the rule. This means that the thing you're talking about is exceptional in the sense of being rare and unusual, as opposed to the more typical case (the rule).
This is a less idiomatic formulation of a different situation: saying that something that ...
1
An appropriate single word simply won't be found. The closest you might come would be "manna from Heaven" but that refers to food alone; nothing else.
It might help if you could clarify the contrast between "… the word 'gift' isn't listed in my bilingual dictionary…" and "I looked up the word in my bilingual dictionary and the ...
2
Generally, the difference between been to America and gone to America is that the first implies and has come back and the second doesn't.
(This is a special meaning of been - it doesn't work with any other form of be, so you can't say I want to be to America.)
However, in this case, the never neutralises the difference. As Kate Bunting says in a comment, ...
2
Baby spinach is young spinach (Spinacia oleracea) that has been harvested during the early stages of plant growth, generally between 15 and 35 days after planting. The smaller leaves are more tender and have a sweeter flavour than mature spinach. So similar in meaning to 'unripe', in that it is harvested early in the plant's growth, except that baby spinach ...
1
We have certain words that mean to kill by way of. Strangulation is one of those words. If I say someone strangled someone else, I mean they choked that person until they were dead.
If I tell a group of twenty people that's what strangulation means a large percent will make the incorrect argument that you can use strangle to mean choke. People misuse ...
0
No, we can't know for sure, since both words can be used in both ways, but strangle is more often used if we mean that the person was killed.
The most potentially confusing thing in the definition that you found is that strangle is given as a synonym for choke. As is often the case with synonyms, it isn't an exact match, and has connotations that the other ...
2
choking or strangling may imply killing, but do not necessarily lead to it. You would have to say "choked to death" to show killing, otherwise the meaning depends on context
6
One could perhaps use grace here; after all, etymologically it is something to be grateful for. As Merriam-Webster puts it, it is an "unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification".
Hey! You should be grateful for the grace bestowed upon you! Some people were born with blind eyes.
OK, "bestowed" is ...
2
While the word 'labour' ('labor' in the USA) can mean heavy manual work, the term 'labour market' in economics (otherwise 'job market') refers to the supply of, and often the demand for, all types of paid employment, as any easily available economics reference or dictionary will show. –
What Is the Labor Market?
The labor market, also known as the job
...
3
As you noted, "to back off" is a verb, distinct from its component parts which may be prepositions or adverbs. Using the structure you are looking at, the correct phrase is "I waved the car back" without including "off".
If you wish to use the exact phrase "back off", you will need to change the structure and add some ...
3
As "Keep your eyes on the road" is a set phrase and an idiom, it has come to express the idea of "pay attention to where you are going" more than the literal words of "look at the road". I have also seen the phrase used in an entirely metaphorical sense, meaning to pay attention to what is happening in your life. This meaning ...
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