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1500 questions
66
votes
2 answers
Rhetoric vs. Mathematics: ellipsis/ellipse, parable/parabola, hyperbole/hyperbola
Do ellipsis, parable, and hyperbole from rhetoric have anything in common with the geometric curves ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola used in mathematics?
There are three geometric curves known as conic sections:
Ellipse: a curve on a plane…
Honza Zidek
- 4,025
65
votes
22 answers
The company I work at has this thing we have to say every morning. What is it called?
The company I work at (a US branch of a Japanese firm) has a thing we have to say every morning. We stand up and each take turns reading a line from the poster on the wall. It goes like this:
We meet challenges with courage and creativity to…
MindS1
- 769
65
votes
3 answers
How do you pronounce "Git"?
How do you pronounce Git?
Because I don't live in a country that uses English, I haven't heard it yet.
In my country, some people use [ɡɪt] and others use [d͡ʒɪt].
Which is the one that most people use?
Benjamin
- 1,829
65
votes
5 answers
"Pregnant" as a taboo word
This recent article from The Sun states that the term pregnant, in this specific case referred to Meghan Markle, is considered vulgar by the Queen.
According to a recently-resurfaced Us Weekly feature, the term is one of Her Majesty's pet…
user 66974
- 67,349
65
votes
11 answers
Is there a general word or phrase to describe the things you do after getting up, such as face-washing?
I'm looking for a more general word or phrase to describe the things like face-washing, tooth-brushing and gargling together.
The word or phrase is to these things as doing sports is to playing basketball, playing football and so on.
Is there such a…
Mengfan Ma
- 777
65
votes
3 answers
What does the idiom "batteries not included" mean?
In a comment on a Stack Overflow answer to my question, somebody said that "it is a very 'batteries not included' approach":
it doesn't look like there's any easy way to make a strict RFC 4627-compliant parser using just the builtin modules. In…
ichbinblau
- 629
65
votes
10 answers
What's the difference between the adjectives "strategic" and "tactical"?
I recently read this sentence:
It was a strategic move rather than a tactical one.
I have trouble interpreting it. Can someone help?
harithski
- 1,363
65
votes
4 answers
How did Americans greet each other before "Hi"?
I had assumed that "hi" was a somehow abbreviated form of "hello," but though both of these words appear to have originated from a noise to attract attention, hi actually predates hello. These words both appeared in the mid- to late 1800s, and seem…
Kit Z. Fox
- 27,819
65
votes
7 answers
If cow = beef, pig = pork, and deer = venison, then where is the word for human = [flesh as food source]?
Maybe it's the season of Halloween, because it's kind of a grim question, but I have seriously wondered from a language point of view - is there a word for human as 'food-meat', or has there ever been, in English or related historical…
Corbinne
- 691
65
votes
20 answers
What is the name of a small unluxurious restaurant?
Is there a name for this kind of restaurant? Searching Google, I can't find any synonym of restaurant. I've tried to search for images of unluxurious restaurant, small restaurant or mundane restaurant, with no satisfactory result. The restaurant I'm…
Ooker
- 3,086
65
votes
6 answers
What is the correct plural of "octopus"?
What is the correct plural of octopus:
Octopi?
Octopodes?
Octopuses?
Something else?
eruditass
- 1,715
65
votes
7 answers
What is the correct way to pronounce 'router'?
Merriam-Webster lists both ˈrüt and ˈrau̇t as possible pronunciations for route but only
ˈrau̇-tər for router.
Is it really wrong to pronounce router as 'rüter ?
stacker
- 3,793
64
votes
4 answers
Is there a reason behind the ordering of letters in the English alphabet?
Is there a reason behind the ordering of letters in the English alphabet? i.e. why are we taught “A,B,C,D,E,F,...,Z”? Why not “L,A,S,U,I,Z,...,C”?
I am asking this because, in some of the languages I know, I am told that the ordering of the letters…
user3910
64
votes
9 answers
You quench your thirst. What do you do with your hunger?
What is the equivalent of "quench" when speaking of hunger? Is it appropriate to say you quenched your hunger?
Nick Chammas
- 733
64
votes
11 answers
Is there a proverb to express "You are too late and it's your own fault."?
In Lithuanian language there is a proverb that translated word-for-word would say "The train does not wait for the shitting ones."
While sounding somewhat rude, it is perfect for expressing: "You are too late, and that's your own fault."
Is there…
april
- 751