Most Popular
1500 questions
29
votes
6 answers
What is the document called that parents have to sign so their underage children can take part in something?
When you're a kid and you want to go to some event or a school excursion you have to bring a document signed by your parents saying that they've given their permission. What is this document usually called?
Arthur Corenzan
- 401
- 4
- 6
29
votes
5 answers
Assigned to a job I know nothing about it - is there an idiom for that idea?
I'd like to know an idiom that let me express the idea of being assigned to a job/task you have no clue at all. My first language is Spanish, and we have a cool idiom for this situation (rough translation: I was sent straight to war!), but I don't…
dmoya
- 401
- 4
- 6
28
votes
5 answers
What is the word for a property no more necessary but still present in a object?
As an example the small ring in the maple syrup bottles: now too small to be usefull but still present
maborg
- 776
- 1
- 8
- 13
28
votes
10 answers
Is 'no more' used to mean 'dead' in English?
Do the English or the Americans use no more to mean 'dead'? For example, do they say "He is no more" to mean "He is dead"?
Ajmal
28
votes
4 answers
"You've earned the 'Nice Answer' badge" vs. "You've earned a 'Nice Answer' badge"
From the StackExchange notification system:
Can we use a instead of the here?
You've earned a "Nice Answer" badge (Answer score of 10 or more) for "In English literature" or "In the English literature"?
or would this use of "a" will be…
CowperKettle
- 36,282
- 16
- 126
- 224
28
votes
6 answers
Difference between 'One to One' and 'One on One'
I have been confused about the difference between "one to one" and "one on one".
Which one is more appropriate of the following?
We will have one to one meeting?
We will have one on one meeting?
Just_another_developer
- 413
- 1
- 4
- 7
28
votes
1 answer
Canonical Post #1: When to Trust Your Grammar Checker
Canonical Post #1: When to Trust Your Grammar Checker
This sentence looks right to me, but my grammar checker says it's wrong. I don't see any problem with it, so I'm not sure how to fix it. How can I tell where the error is?
This is a Canonical…
WendiKidd
- 14,471
- 4
- 42
- 67
28
votes
2 answers
Meaning of the "On guard!" exclamation
I recently watched the very epic ending of the Shrek 2, and when the cat draws his rapier, he shouts "On guard!" to the castle guardians.
I perfectly understand the meaning from the context, but was unable to find the exact usage situtaion in any of…
Denis Kulagin
- 2,353
- 7
- 36
- 54
28
votes
2 answers
What's the child doing in this picture? Is it called tongue twister?
In the picture the child is having fun with her tongue. Is it called a tongue twister?
Numerical Person
- 529
- 1
- 6
- 11
28
votes
6 answers
What does "One CPU is going to 'smoke' another CPU" mean?
I faced the following sentence:
You really can’t say a 4.1GHz FX-8350 is going to smoke a 3.5GHz Core i7-3770K because in a hell of a lot of workloads the 3.5GHz Core i7 is going to dominate.
I can guess that 'smoke' is similar to the word 'win',…
Furcht
- 399
- 3
- 7
28
votes
6 answers
Why it is called 'Black Friday'?
In the Western countries like USA and Canada, there is a shopping fest(festival) called Black Friday, I wonder why the word 'black' is added to it?
I think the 'word' black denotes some negativity or darkness. Why not call that Friday a Green or…
Dragut
- 551
- 1
- 5
- 10
28
votes
4 answers
"An (obvious) problem" or "a (obvious) problem"?
Suppose I want to add a qualifier to a noun that isn't necessary for understanding, so I decide to put it in parentheses. If the adjective in parentheses would change whether I use "a" or "an" as an article, which one is correct?
For example, as in…
anderas
- 383
- 3
- 8
28
votes
4 answers
What's the name for non-bribe payments taken forcefully and illegally?
In my national language Hindi, there's a term for it. Let me describe it.
Corruption is a nuisance in India. However, corruption is of many types here. For example, if you give some money to a traffic policeman, he'll let you go even though you have…
Maulik V
- 65,222
- 105
- 299
- 447
28
votes
4 answers
I have "a doubt" about whether this phrase is acceptable English
To my (British) ear, it never sounds correct to say you have a doubt about something.
I expect that doubt to be pluralised, even if there's only one specific thing that I'm doubtful of, in one specific way, so I would always say "I have doubts about…
FumbleFingers
- 62,560
- 3
- 82
- 176
28
votes
5 answers
Two consecutive gerunds? -ing -ing?
I am considering to set up a cyber cafe.
I am considering setting up a cyber cafe.
I think it should be version #2 where the verb considering is followed by the gerund setting. But it sounds unnatural to me.
Can we use a gerund after "Verb+ing"?
starun008
- 1,695
- 21
- 52
- 71