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8 answers

What is the antonym of "assemble a team"?

in the context of the computer software industry, what would be the opposite of "assemble a team"? a colleague of mine (who is a native english speaker) suggested "dissemble", but looking up the word meaning yield: Dissemble Conceal or disguise…
Eliran Malka
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38
votes
7 answers

(k+1)th or (k+1)st?

Mathematicians commonly have to form ordinals from variables: you might look at the kth element of a sequence, for example. When the variable is a single letter, the ordinal is always formed with the suffix -th. Thanks to the unwritten conventions…
Ross Churchley
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38
votes
7 answers

Explanation of "must needs"

Recently I ran across the sentence: "Just why the law prescribed thirty-nine lashes instead of forty or forty-one and so on, must needs remain unanswered." How did a plural verb like "needs" wind up as an adverb? Is it alone in this phenomenon,…
UtopiaLtd
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38
votes
7 answers

Generic word for uni-, bi-, tricycle, etc.?

Is there a generic word for bicycle-like vehicles that may have 1,2,3,4 or more wheels? I want motorcycles excluded; only pedal-driven vehicles should be included.
Anixx
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38
votes
5 answers

Clinton's “wonky”

Until today I would have said that wonky means to be unstable, a word similar to wobbly. Any piece of furniture on legs can be wonky, it usually means one of the legs is slighter shorter than the others, but you can even have a wonky computer or TV…
user193059
38
votes
3 answers

Is there a name for an adjective that cannot precede a noun?

I accept that my premise may be incorrect, but here it is. The word alone, when used as an adjective, seems only to fit in sentences of the form: The X is alone. and not in the form: The alone X... I can't think of any other adjectives that…
Dancrumb
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38
votes
5 answers

Why are "sugar" and "sure" pronounced with an SH?

As far as I know, those are the only two. They should be pronounced Soogher and Soor, shouldn't they? I looked them up on Dictionary.com, and their etymologies reveal no trace of an SH, except where the listing for sugar had: Middle English…
Daniel
  • 57,547
38
votes
3 answers

What is the collective term for "Daily", "Weekly", "Monthly" and "Yearly"?

I am developing a business application in which the user can select from one of these options, namely "Daily", "Weekly", "Monthly" or "Yearly", for scheduling appointments. I need to create a field in the database to hold this value, but am at a…
mydoghasworms
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38
votes
11 answers

Positive variant of "taint"

I want to use taint in a positive context, something along the lines of: I will have the opportunity to taint my life with the culture and experiences of others. What would be a better word for this purpose?
Najm Sheikh
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38
votes
8 answers

Is it appropriate to use the salutation "Dear All" in a work email?

I have observed that in my work place, whenever a mail is sent to more than one person( like an information, meeting request or a notice etc.), the mail starts with the salutation "Dear All". This, somehow, doesn't seem correct to me. For me, a…
Vaibhav Garg
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38
votes
2 answers

Is there a term to describe an event which happens every 18 months?

Obviously every year is annual. Every two years is biennial. Does the English language have a term for every 18 months?
planetjones
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38
votes
9 answers

Why is 'Where's it' Grammatically incorrect?

I want to explain to the Spanish developers of a website why this text label sounds wrong: If your column isn't country data, where's it? IMHO, you have to say "Where is it?" - but I don't know why. EDIT For context, the meaning of "where's it"…
Steve Bennett
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38
votes
9 answers

What are the similarities and differences between "irony" and "sarcasm"?

This seems to be one the long-standing arguments between people on the internet. When is something "irony" and when is it "sarcasm"? And can a quip be both at the same time? Dictionary definitions don't seem to help much: irony — the expression of…
MrHen
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38
votes
14 answers

Is there a word or an idiom for people who only spend their families' money and fool around?

Is there a word or an idiom for rich people who spend only their families' money and do not bother to work, just fool around?
irishmist
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38
votes
3 answers

"fine by me" vs "fine with me"

So, fine with me is the standard way to say it. But fine by me is ok, and dictionaries confirm that. The only mention that it should not be used is here: https://english.stackexchange.com/a/37205/19577 But what is the background of fine by me? Is…
c69
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