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1500 questions
32
votes
6 answers
What is the noun to refer to the 64- or 32-bit -ness of an operating system
I know that "processor architecture" can be used to refer to whether the processor is 32-bit or 64-bit (or something else), but what word can be used for the operating system? Note that it's not necessarily the same as the processor architecture,…
Fitri
- 451
32
votes
2 answers
What were scientists called in England before the word "scientist" entered the vernacular?
T.H. Huxley famously complained that the word "scientist" was a "vulgar Americanism." This was in the 19th Century!
Query: what did they call Sir Isaac Newton in the 18th Century?
Ricky
- 20,450
32
votes
3 answers
"Each other" vs. "one another"
When should I use each other and when should I use one another?
Ivo Rossi
- 2,266
32
votes
5 answers
Where did the third syllable of the letter W in WD-40 go?
Today, I was taking a look at how to pronounce the name WD-40.
A quick google search dropped me here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8SwN_qw3AA
My Spanish ear is very new to the English language, but I can assure you I heard "double D forty"…
Tomás
- 479
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- 7
32
votes
5 answers
What is the difference between a dieresis and an umlaut?
In my personal experience, many native speakers of U.S. English are familiar with the term "umlaut" as referring to the double dots above a letter, though they are not generally aware of its actual effect on pronunciation. They are typically…
M. Justin
- 973
32
votes
4 answers
Is it appropriate to put a comma before "which"?
On Server Fault, we were discussing this question in chat. There are non-native speakers in the chat and somehow we got on the topic of grammar and proper use of commas.
The sentence of interest:
I have just got a new Ubuntu LAMP VPS server, which…
MDMarra
- 471
32
votes
17 answers
What's a word for the exact opposite of regret?
I know you can say you were "super glad you did something," but I'm looking for a word that expresses this in nominal form, i.e. the opposite of "my biggest regret." (my biggest ___ ) Does a word like this exist?
Cole
- 321
32
votes
6 answers
Which one is correct? "Explain me" or "Explain to me"?
Which of the following expressions is correct?
Explain me.
Explain to me.
I know that explain it to me is correct, but I want to know which one of the above is valid.
Mehper C. Palavuzlar
- 35,654
32
votes
6 answers
Is "must" ever grammatical as a past tense verb?
I have seen uses of must that appear to be in the simple past tense. Sometimes these seem grammatical, but sometimes not. Examples that help illustrate my confusion:
He knew he must go to New York - sounds fine to me.
He went to New York because he…
alcas
- 4,902
32
votes
5 answers
Parenthetical pluralization of words ending in '-y'
Sentences constructed with a word written in the singular and parenthetically in the plural are straightforward when that word does not end in -y, e.g.:
List all applicable employee(s).
How does one handle words ending in -y? Is this correct:
I…
fordareh
- 435
32
votes
6 answers
Sleepy tired vs physically tired
I'm trying to figure out if there is a better way to distinguish between being sleepy-tired, and being physically tired.
Scenario A: You didn't get much sleep last night. It's only 10am so you've not done much today, but you keep nodding off. You…
Smock
- 1,838
32
votes
4 answers
Why we capitalize all race names but our own
This question about alien species and planets brought up something I've been thinking about on and off for years.
We capitalize names of alien races like Vulcan, Timelord, Cylon (well, maybe not alien), Krell, Nox, Minbari, and so on, but we never…
Tango
- 447
32
votes
5 answers
Does "pass" mean OK or not OK?
Today, I received a folder of Recruiting candidate CVs from one of our HR. In this folder, there is a sub-folder named "pass". Question is does this "pass" mean the CVs inside are OK (i.e. that they have passed the current stage of the selection,…
pootow
- 439
32
votes
10 answers
What is a word for fake seriousness, especially when you are intending to be funny
I'm looking for a word that means saying something with an insincerely serious tone, usually for comedic effect. I feel like the word facetious is close to what I'm looking for, but not exactly.
"Surely, you can't be serious," they said.
"Of course…
Dumpcats
- 759
32
votes
2 answers
Why is "myrrh" spelled the way it is?
The question I am asking is about the -rrh sequence at the end of the word. About that 'h' especially.
The word is of Semitic origin but entered Latin (and then English) via Greek (according to Wiktionary). As far as I am aware, Greek alphabet does…
user7945753
- 429