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1500 questions
33
votes
4 answers

What's the difference between "egotism" and "egoism"?

I am interested in the difference between these two seemingly synonymous terms.
gangleclums
  • 433
33
votes
4 answers

Can “due to” and “because of ” be used interchangeably?

Is it fine to use due to in place of because of ? How about the other way around? Are any of these sentences ungrammatical? He was lost because of the storm. He was lost due to the storm. He lost his way due to the storm. He lost his way because…
Tragicomic
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33
votes
4 answers

"Sit in a chair" vs. "sit on a chair"

What is the correct usage? I know you sit 'on' a sofa/couch. What about chair?
Vaishak Suresh
  • 433
33
votes
7 answers

Punctuating question tags: A question mark is always required, isn't it. (Well, isn't it?)

Consider the sentence: You didn't leave the dog in the car, did you? In spoken English, this statement may be given with a rising intonation or a falling one. If the former, it suggests that leaving the dog in the car is a bad thing, and might…
Robusto
  • 151,571
33
votes
13 answers

"May" & "Might": What's the right context?

I may not be coming in tomorrow... I might not be coming in tomorrow... When should I use "may" and when should I use "might"?
Ramprasad Prabhakar
  • 1,165
33
votes
6 answers

"Runtime", "run time", and "run-time"

The CLR under .NET is referred to as the "Common Language Runtime." It seems that the convention is "runtime" for a noun and "run-time" for the adjective. Is this correct or should it be "runtime" also? I'm inclined to think it should be like the…
John Dahle
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33
votes
11 answers

Slang word for "police station"

For a story I'm writing, I've stumbled over a word and dictionaries aren't much help (if they turn up anything at all, they don't give me a good feel for either the exact meaning or usage). I need a slang word with the meaning of "police station",…
Divizna
  • 561
33
votes
5 answers

"I and someone", "me and someone" or "I and someone we"

Possible Duplicate: When do I use “I” instead of “me?” A friend of mine asked me for advice about an e-mail he was writing. There was a sentence like this: I and my partners we are interested in investing in your product. I figured it was…
brandizzi
  • 637
33
votes
10 answers

What is the word to describe "the gaining of full control over an ability or power you already have"?

For example, a Jedi is born with powers, but must learn how to control them in order to use them. What's the one best word for this? I have _ _ _ my power. The word is in the back of my head but I can't pull it out. It also means to have a full…
trusktr
  • 509
33
votes
2 answers

Why is the zh (ʒ) sound so infrequent in English?

I've always heard that the "zh" (ʒ) sound (e.g. in "vision", "usually") was an uncommon sound in the English language. A quick Google search returns multiple results (The Relative Frequency of Phonemes in General-American English, Most common…
M. Justin
  • 973
33
votes
13 answers

Alternative term for 'cargo cult'

In my line of work as an IT Security Engineer it is common to come across articles written by prominent technology companies describing their practices and processes. It is then also common for another organisation to some time later adopt those…
Matt Copperwaite
  • 469
33
votes
18 answers

Word for "software with a large size"?

In Portuguese, we use "software pesado", which translates to "heavy software", but it doesn't sound right. How can I say: "this software has a large size"? When its size is over many gigabytes for example. Is there an adjective for this in English?…
Orlando
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33
votes
7 answers

What is the 'female equivalent' of a sausage fest?

The term 'sausage fest' is quite often used when you talk about a group of which most (or all) members are male. What would be the term for a female dominated group of people? I have looked online, but most answer seem quite silly. Even though…
SirDuckduck
  • 489
33
votes
4 answers

"Could you please" vs "Could you kindly"

I am a non-native speaker of English. When communicating with a professor, would it be better to use could you kindly send me the document or could you please send me the document? I know both are correct, but which one shows more respect?
nemoy
  • 451
33
votes
2 answers

Meaning of "I have often seen Essex cheese quick enough"

John Heywood (c. 1497–1580) once wrote: I never saw Banbury cheese thick enough But I have often seen Essex cheese quick enough. 1 2 The first line alludes to how a Banbury cheese was very slender after you took off the rind. What does the…
Quuxplusone
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