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1500 questions
37
votes
7 answers
What's a word for a 'thing that makes one sleepy'?
I'm imagining the sleep equivalent of words like aphrodisiac, appetiser, etc.
For example:
Oysters are an aphrodisiac
Hot drinks are a {thing that makes one sleepy}
thesaurus.com doesn't give anything which leads to a suitable noun.
TSwire
- 391
37
votes
6 answers
Why is the term "depressed" often used to describe a button which is pressed?
In several books that mention GUI, keyboard, or mouse buttons (e.g. the book Programming Windows by Charles Petzold), the authors refer to the state of a pressed button as depressed. Why is this term used instead of the word pressed, which has a…
Andrej Mitrović
- 473
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37
votes
10 answers
"By foot" vs. "on foot"
Which one is correct?
I go to school by foot.
I go to school on foot.
Are there instances when the expression by foot is preferred?
My last question is the following:
Why is the singular noun, foot, used?
If a person goes to school by…
aliya
- 1,541
37
votes
4 answers
What's the difference between "recall" and "remember"?
As an example, in a legal setting:
Do you recall what color the car was?
Do you remember what color the car was?
Which would be more appropriate?
Sandra Perez
- 401
37
votes
5 answers
Is "legit" a legitimate word?
Is legit an actual word, or is it a slang word that has been shortened from legitimate?
Haeden_Jearn
- 485
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37
votes
2 answers
Title in a letter to an unknown person
Many times when writing a letter asking to a department of my university, I'm hesitating for the appropriate title.
Say I want to email "Student Insurance Office" to ask about insurance coverage. Here are some example I can come up with,
"To whom…
anecdote
- 481
37
votes
1 answer
Origin of "-ing"
What is the origin of the suffix -ing used to form gerunds and present participles?
Why is the suffix the same in both cases?
apaderno
- 59,185
37
votes
2 answers
What does "wrt" mean?
What is the meaning of wrt in the following text?
I think this is an excellent idea, but I'd like to see this explicitly reframed under the banner of providing Drupal.org data through publicly-accessible APIs. We started kicking off at least one…
apaderno
- 59,185
37
votes
21 answers
What is the word for the emotion I feel when I see someone being humiliated?
When I see someone else being embarrassed/humiliated (for example, a singer forgetting their words in a concert), I would say something like "I feel embarrassed for them". But is there a better word to describe this feeling?
I would say it's a mix…
tenfour
- 6,661
37
votes
9 answers
"have" vs."have got" in American and British English
I have looked through several questions and answers on EL&U, and often there is an indication that American English prefers "have" while British English prefers "have got". In addition, there are several references to "have got" being more informal…
37
votes
3 answers
What's the origin of the idiom "to cut your teeth on something"?
I understand that it means to acquire a new skill, but what does it refer to? It makes me cringe every time I read it!
Fylke
- 481
37
votes
9 answers
Which one is correct to say: "It's me" or "It's I"?
I was taught at school that the following expression is not grammatically correct:
Who is there? It's me.
The correct one is:
Who is there? It's I.
Can you let me know which one is accurate?
Here is a good explanation about both forms.
Muaz Khan
- 528
37
votes
3 answers
Why is a "splash screen" so called?
Wikipedia describes a "splash screen" as such...
"A splash screen is an image that appears while a game or program is loading."
and its purpose...
[Splash screens] are typically used by particularly large applications
to notify the user that…
Urbycoz
- 15,698
36
votes
3 answers
Why do we say "to boot"?
Here's an example of the phrase "to boot":
My wife made a disgusting looking dinner, and it tasted awful to boot!
The implication of the "to boot" is that the fact that the dinner tasted awful was as disappointing (or perhaps more so) than the…
Andy F
- 4,540
36
votes
7 answers
When a word has both English and 'Latin' plurals, which style should I use?
Many 'Latin' words in English have both Latin-style plurals and English-style plurals:
referendum – referendums, referenda.
minimum – minimums, minima.
gymnasium – gymnasiums, gymnasia.
aquarium – aquariums, aquaria.
amoeba – amoebas,…
Sid
- 2,782