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1500 questions
68
votes
7 answers
Which is the correct spelling: "grey" or "gray"?
What is the difference? Or is there any? Which would be more British English?
Wok
- 1,549
68
votes
7 answers
Was "man" a gender-neutral word in common usage at some point?
I've seen some times the claim that in the past "man" was a non-gendered word, with "wifman" referring to female individuals and "wereman" referring to male individuals. I've found some indications that "wifman" was either a predecessor or a…
LordHieros
- 741
68
votes
8 answers
Which term correctly identifies those who enjoy programming/technology: "geek" or "nerd"?
Which term correctly identifies those who enjoy and are involved with programming and technology, geek or nerd?
Moshe
- 2,165
68
votes
5 answers
Help, the "onus" is on me! What do you call whatever it is I'm supposed to do with it?
We all know the phrase: "The onus of proof is on you" or "The onus is on you to do some thing or the other."
Ok, so the onus was put on me and I have done that thing or the other. Now, with respect to the onus, what have I done? Have I "carried the…
einpoklum
- 3,464
68
votes
6 answers
Origin of "the beatings will continue until morale improves"
What is the origin of the phrase the beatings will continue until morale improves?
There is a Metafilter and a Quora out on it, but they are inconclusive, and the phrase does not appear in the dictionary.
Jesse Hufstetler
- 831
68
votes
4 answers
When to use & instead of "and"
Are there rules of usage when using the ampersand "&" instead of "and"?
Are they completely interchangeable?
The ampersand seems more casual, but I'm not sure.
OneProton
- 4,199
68
votes
10 answers
When should I use "shall" versus "will"?
Which is the correct use of these two words, and in which context should one be used rather than the other?
Truemilk
- 819
68
votes
16 answers
What is worse than "mediocre"?
What is worse than mediocre? Is it bad, or is there a level between mediocre and being pure bad?
Is mediocre slightly better than bad, and bad better than pathetic?
I want to use this in my prose in a context as:
The condition of roads was worse…
ring bearer
- 939
68
votes
9 answers
Are there any simple rules for choosing the definite vs. indefinite (vs. none) article?
I can’t for the life of me figure out where to use a and where to use the — and where there is no article at all. Is there a simple rule of thumb to memorize?
The standard rule you always hear:
“If a person knows which item you are talking about…
serg
- 5,101
68
votes
4 answers
"There are no comments" vs. "There is no comment"
Which is correct?
There are no comments.
There is no comment.
Which would you use for a web application, i.e. what to display when a blog post or an article has no comment attached?
Actually, I am trying to fix an application that says:…
augustin
- 1,021
68
votes
12 answers
What is it called when someone says something like: "I'm not a racist, but..."
Other examples are:
I'm not sexist but (sexist comment)
Not to be a dick, but (dick comment)
No offense, but (offensive comment)
And so on... where they are trying to excuse themselves from what they are about to say?
What is the name of these…
ian
- 631
67
votes
8 answers
What is it called when you search for something on the internet and end up looking for other and it goes in endless meander?
What am I doing when I search for something on the internet and the search provides for some other interesting stuff apart from what I was looking for and I end up opening an infinite number of browser tabs and browsing more and more it goes in an…
AMN
- 3,094
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- 52
67
votes
8 answers
"The Dude abides" — what does "abide" mean in that context?
I'm unfamilar with the word "abide" which is famously used the the movie quote "The Dude abides" (The Big Lebowski).
Looking it up in a German/English dictionary makes me believe it's "The Dude lives on", but I heard the word used on a way that…
Michael Stum
- 989
67
votes
4 answers
Why do Wh question words in English so consistently map to Q words in Latin?
Who, Quis
What, Quid
When, Quando
Where, Quo
How, Quomodo
Why, Cur
There's one exception on each side, but otherwise this pattern is pretty consistent. Is there a linguistic or etymological reason for this?
Sparr
- 1,271
67
votes
20 answers
Phrase for a small, legitimate fix for part of a system so broken the fix is unimportant
Looking for a phrase/metaphor describing a situation where a proposed solution, though valid, is targeted for one of many problems in an entity plagued by so many problems as to render the individual solution unimportant. An example would be…
Richard Border
- 779