Most Popular
1500 questions
38
votes
8 answers
How should "midnight on..." be interpreted?
From what I understand, the word "midnight" is usually interpreted incorrectly.
Midnight is written as "12am" which would imply that it's in the morning. Therefore, it should be at the start of the day. On the other hand, both Dictionary.com and…
Damovisa
- 523
- 2
- 5
- 8
38
votes
8 answers
"Trainer" is to "trainee" as "mentor" is to what?
What do you call someone who is being mentored? Is it mentoree or mentee? Does the term student or pupil imply a context outside the business environment?
Chris Dowdeswell
- 509
38
votes
19 answers
Is there a word for a message that is intended to be intercepted by an adversary?
There is a kind of message in espionage that is meant to be intercepted by an adversary for the purpose of spreading false information: For instance, by sending a letter stating that troops are moving north when they're really moving west. As an…
RaceYouAnytime
- 22,413
38
votes
4 answers
"My colleague's body is amazing"
My colleague's body is amazing:
She's comfortable wearing sleeveless clothing while the rest of us are shivering in jumpers
She can travel halfway around the world for two weeks, then come back and work the full workday immediately with no visible…
Allure
- 765
38
votes
4 answers
Difference between "response" and "reply"
As far as I understand, replies are a subset of responses: A reply is a response in words or writing. However, responses can take many different forms, e.g. when a country responds in force to some perceived aggression.
Is this correct? What is the…
Urs Reupke
- 713
- 3
- 8
- 12
38
votes
5 answers
At what point did "gross" come to mean "disgusting"?
The first time I heard "gross" being used to mean "disgusting" was probably around the late 1980s, and at the time I felt it was some sort of a corruption of "grotesque"...
I'm wondering if there is a longer history of this usage, or am I right in…
Brian eyre
- 467
38
votes
11 answers
What is it called when words are deliberately spelled incorrectly but pronunciation is kept unchanged?
For example,
Night -> Nite
Through -> Thru
The -> Da
Though -> Tho
Nite even appears in some dictionaries as having the same meaning as night.
What is it called when words are deliberately written incorrectly but the pronunciation and…
Mehper C. Palavuzlar
- 35,654
38
votes
6 answers
Is there a difference between “arse” and “ass”?
From a comment here, in frequent usage, arse and ass are often interchangeable when used to refer to buttocks or to a person of dubious charms. However, although “to arse about” has a vague connection to “make an ass of oneself”, many of the threads…
mfg
- 2,554
38
votes
13 answers
Which word describes an identity that can be filled by more than one individual, but only one at a time?
I'm looking for a word to describe a role or an office or something like that, which is filled by one person at once, but that person can change. Sort of "moniker" but in reverse. Think "James Bond" or Doctor Who", where the identity continues,…
Jules
- 503
38
votes
8 answers
Why are the French pejoratively referred to as frogs?
As the title says - why frogs?
A common answer is that the French eat them - but I'm not convinced by that, because it's only become specific to France in recent times, with the rise of gastronomy and tourism (both in the 19th century).
I have read…
boisvert
- 521
38
votes
8 answers
Can or should "ask" ever be used as a noun?
"The ask is that you provide me with..."
I started hearing "ask" being used as a noun a few years ago. Is this a recent trend? Is it an East Coast thing, unique to North America, or just unique to the in-house vocabulary of telecommunications…
ukayer
- 2,382
38
votes
16 answers
Verb meaning "to alter someone's famous saying"
I'm looking for a single verb, or at least a succinct way of saying that you are slightly, but intentionally, modifying a famous phrase.
For example, if I were to refer to Alexander the Great's campaigns as "blood, sweat and spears", this would be a…
38
votes
12 answers
Proverb or expression for a situation with two choices, both leading to a different kind of trouble
I'm searching for a proverb or expression that describes a situation which has two choices or two ways out (that is, somewhat of a forced choice) where both lead to some kind of trouble (but not the same trouble).
As an example: Let's say that you…
Speldosa
- 943
38
votes
2 answers
Use of “f ” instead of “s” in historic, printed English documents
I was at a museum in London yesterday, and one of the items on exhibit is a document from the eighteenth century. It uses the letter f a lot where s should be used—for example, in Majefty.
Did the letter f once have the same sound as s today, or…
Paul Stovell
- 507
38
votes
14 answers
A derogatory term for a book or other printed material
I am looking for a contemptuous or belittling word or phrase that would describe something that has been published (not necessarily a book) but is of inferior quality, and a waste of paper. It can be a slang/informal term.
Specifically, I'm NOT…
natka_m
- 473