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1500 questions
36
votes
5 answers
The times they are a-changin'
I have always been intrigued by the word usage in the title of this Bob Dylan song. Wikipedia mentions that the song was influenced by Irish and Scottish ballads:
Dylan recalled writing the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change…
Jaime Soto
- 1,895
36
votes
11 answers
What is the correct pronunciation of the word "route"?
I have always used both "root" as in route 66 and "rooter" as in the networking device. The latter has gotten me funny looks often, however I could not bring myself to accept the inconsistency. Today I heard "rowt" used for a path of movement by a…
jamesson
- 471
36
votes
4 answers
What does the "s" in "thanks" mean?
I'm teaching English in a non-English-speaking country where plural "s" and third-person "s" get confused a lot with no "s" at all. The dialogue in the textbook was explaining how you should respond when someone compliments you:
Mike: For example,…
Rebecca
- 361
36
votes
3 answers
What does the term "a free concert in the mud" mean in this sentence?
I came across the following sentence in a The Atlantic article:
Even when a seismic event—a war, a technological leap, a free concert in the mud—plays an outsize role in shaping a group of young people, no single factor ever defines a…
Mr. X
- 533
36
votes
2 answers
'I get it' vs. 'I got it'
When someone tells me something, how should I respond, "I get it" or "I got it"? I have a feeling that "I got it" means "I already knew the thing before you told me," and "I get it" means "Now I know the thing, because you just told me."
Is that…
Yousui
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36
votes
13 answers
Is there a word like apathy but with positive moral connotations?
Consider the following two people:
Alice obsessively watches the news and feels horrified by the constant bad news she sees. She takes up smoking to deal with the stress, and experiences panic attacks.
Bob also watches the news, but he realises he…
Little Libarian
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36
votes
5 answers
Regional dialect or just improper grammar? Eating on leftovers or just eating leftovers
On several occasions I have heard white people from the deep south part of the United States (Louisiana to Georgia) say that they will be eating ON leftovers, instead of just eating leftovers.
For example, I would normally say: I'm going to eat the…
Devil07
- 4,046
36
votes
15 answers
What is a word to describe a lifestyle of few possessions?
I think there is a word that exists, though it won't quite come to me, that describes the life of someone who purposely leads a sparse existence, materialistically, and has few, if any, possessions. The only word that comes to me is "monastic," but…
bubbleking
- 595
36
votes
4 answers
"Your fly is open" "You mean my flies?"
Apparently, when a gentleman has forgotten to zip his pants, in the US they remind him thusly
Your fly is open
Dictionary.com lists the noun fly meaning: 20. a strip of material sewn along one edge of a garment opening for concealing buttons,…
Mari-Lou A
- 91,183
36
votes
7 answers
How bad is the f-word, really?
I am confused: on the one hand, many of my native-speaker friends keep telling me that the f-word is very, very bad. Much worse than the s-word for example. On the other hand, I see it being used everywhere; for example, in the blogosphere, even by…
vonjd
- 3,669
36
votes
6 answers
Difference between "theorem" and "theory"
What is the difference between a theorem and a theory? The two words seem to be used to describe very similar things, but yet do not seem to be interchangeable.
For example, we have Pythagoras' theorem and Einstein's theory of relativity.
Urbycoz
- 15,698
36
votes
5 answers
Is there a word that combines aerial, aquatic, and terrestrial?
I know that something suitable to both land and water is called amphibious but I am looking for a word that describes something that is suitable to land, air, and water. I don't believe such an animal exists but I am still curious as to whether…
SemperAmbroscus
- 575
36
votes
18 answers
Are there any words whose spelling was deliberately changed to make them non-offensive?
I am looking for some examples of words that, possibly due to their non-Latin origin, would have sounded offensive if they went through the English language rules. For example, if a specialty Bohemian medical practice sounded like "rap" then people…
Mossi
- 527
36
votes
2 answers
Why did Blake spell "tyger" with a "y"?
In the poem THE TYGER by William Blake:
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Why is "Tiger" spelled Tyger, with a y?
If it's just a difference in the…
user1383058
- 1,096
36
votes
8 answers
"President" is to "presidential" as "moderator" is to what?
What word, if any, best completes the analogy?
Example usage (feel free to fiddle with this context/setting as desired):
Behavior was unbecoming of all participants in last night's prime-time [Presidential] debate.
Neither candidate appeared…
WBT
- 3,544