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1500 questions
105
votes
21 answers
How to say that food is hot (temperature) without the listener thinking that I mean "spicy"?
There is an excellent discussion of spicy vs. hot at this question.
However, having read it, I did not see any answer that tells how to say unambiguously that food is hot (temperature) without being misunderstood.
If I say that my food is spicy, a…
Vivian River
- 1,901
105
votes
3 answers
Should I use a comma before "and" or "or"?
Is using a comma then an "and" or an "or" after it proper punctuation?
Example:
I fell over, and hurt my knee.
Should I go, or not?
Nunya
- 1,053
104
votes
2 answers
Why is embassy spelled with E but ambassador with A?
It seems both words are related to each other through French roots (ambassade, ambassadeur), both of which are spelled with an "A" in the front.
Why and when was the initial letter of "embassy" changed to "E"? Does this also occur in other…
DK2AX
- 821
104
votes
13 answers
Is there English counterpart(s) to Japanese old saying, “Present salt to your enemy.”?
We have a popular Japanese saying, “敵に塩を送る” — literally, “present (supply) salt to one's enemy”, meaning ‘play fair and square, not taking advantage of the weak point of your rival.’ It’s different from an act which serves the interest of the enemy…
Yoichi Oishi
- 70,211
104
votes
3 answers
What is the correct possessive for nouns ending in "‑s"?
What is the possessive of a noun ending in ‑s? Are these both right, or is the second one wrong?
the boys' books
the boss' car
apaderno
- 59,185
103
votes
2 answers
Are the dual transportation and learning meanings of both "coach" and "train" just a coincidence?
In a learning context, you have one individual who "coaches" and another who "trains".
In a transportation context, "coaches" and "trains" are both methods of transport.
Is this just a coincidence or is there some root to both words which can…
Kidburla
- 845
103
votes
10 answers
How to pronounce "tuple"?
A recent question has reminded me of something I’ve been wondering about for a while: what is the correct way to pronounce tuple?
NPE
- 1,756
- 4
- 13
- 13
102
votes
6 answers
What's the difference between a graph, a chart, and a plot?
A graph, a chart, and a plot can all refer to the same thing. Is there any even somewhat consistent distinction in these three words?
(I mean, in this particular sense of the words; it is not relevant that a chart is also a nautical map, a plot is…
Kevin Reid
- 1,144
101
votes
6 answers
Should there be a comma after "i.e."?
If I remember correctly from English class, then one should put a comma after "i.e.", i.e., the Latin abbreviation for id est.
But lately I've seen the comma after "i.e." dropped in books. So what is the rule or consensus here if any?
Michael
- 1,257
101
votes
12 answers
What is the difference between an Emperor and a King?
I was at a loss when I was asked recently by my grand-daughter who is a school girl about the difference between Emperor and King. She asked me why Great Britain has King and Queen, while Germany and Russia had the Emperors, and France had both…
Yoichi Oishi
- 70,211
100
votes
7 answers
"Compared with" vs "Compared to"—which is used when?
Is only one of them correct? Are they used in different situations? Or are they interchangeable?
x3ja
- 1,139
100
votes
14 answers
A word for a value between 0 and 1 (inclusive)
I'm a programmer. I'm so sick of writing documentation for things that should be explainable in a word.
When you write a function in a programming language, you get to name its parameters. Most things I can name easy enough, such as "Name" or "URL"…
user81993
- 1,145
100
votes
9 answers
"A few" vs. "few"
I have few friends.
I have a few friends.
I thought "few" means just one, two or even none. "A few" typically means more than two. However it seems to me some people say "few" when they really mean "a few", am I right?
grokus
- 3,674
100
votes
13 answers
Are collective nouns (and in particular companies) always given a plural verb form, or are certain ones treated as singular?
I'd say Microsoft have a way of bending the rules and I know that McLaren have won the championship. While this sounds strange, I believe it is correct English (sorry, I'm not native).
But when it's a small company, would you still use it this way?…
Abel
- 1,894
99
votes
9 answers
History of "X is dead. Long live X"
What is the history of "X is dead. Long live X"?
For example,
Location is dead. Long live Location.
JavaScript is dead. Long live JavaScript.
I feel like I'm missing out on a joke.
tyndall
- 1,115