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1500 questions
25
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10 answers
Is calling a woman "madam" offensive?
I have read the meaning of "madam" on Google and it is said to be a respectful title for a woman, or a woman who runs a house of prostitution:
A woman who is running a brothel where prostitutes work for money is an example of a madam.
Please…
Richa Tyagi
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25
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8 answers
'Out of curiosity' means I'm not curious at all. Isn't it?
I was reading some other forum and came across the debate on 'curious' word. The senior member responds telling all of below mentioned sentences mean the same thing.
Just for curiosity´s sake, ....... Just for the sake of curiosity, ... Just out of…
Maulik V
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25
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3 answers
What does "Yes, you can. But you may not." mean?
In a cultural function, some seats were reserved for the distinguished persons. But an ordinary spectator wanted to have one of those reserved seats which were empty. He said to the guard, "Can I sit there?"
The guard replied, "Yes, you can. But you…
Sandip Kumar Mandal
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25
votes
3 answers
"The girl I love hates me" or "The girl who I love hates me"
The girl I love hates me
Is the sentence grammatically correct?
My teacher says it should be
the girl who I love hates me
Edwin Cooper Van Dyke
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25
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6 answers
The correct capital G and J in cursive
I've come across two versions of writing a capital G and a capital J in cursive. I cannot understand which one is correct because Wikipedia shows that the capital G from my textbook is, in fact, the capital J from Wikipedia and vice-versa.
Is it a…
Let
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25
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5 answers
Is "Ram married his daughter" ambiguous?
Ram married his daughter is ambiguous because:
Marry means marry somebody to become a spouse.
The second meaning is perform the marriage ritual as a priest.
So, if Ram is a priest he can marry his daughter.
I don't think native speakers ever say…
Jvlnarasimharao
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25
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5 answers
Is the term 'Invalid' applicable for human beings?
As I was reading a novel 'What Katy Did', I came across an interesting mention of the word Invalid.
His wife was said to be an invalid, and people, when they spoke of him, shook their heads and wondered how the poor woman got on all alone in the…
Bharat
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25
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11 answers
Is there an idiom that means that you are in a very strong negotiation position in a negotiation?
Is there an idiom that means that you are in a very strong negotiation position in a negotiation? If there's no such idiom can you think of an idiom that means that you are in a stronger position than someone or something else? I am thinking of…
blackbird
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25
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7 answers
Why do my "How to" questions often get renamed to "How do I"?
On the other hand the edit that fix mistype in "How to" got though community approval.
What is the rule about "How to" and "How do I"? Why are some tutorials called "How to"s?
Vi.
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25
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2 answers
What does "Bless you" mean in this context?
“What's that?” said Ron, pointing at a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding.
“Bouillabaisse,” said Hermione.
“Bless you,” said Ron.
“It's French,” said Hermione, “I had it on holiday summer…
dan
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25
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6 answers
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is (not?)
I've bumped into the following expression a few times already:
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
To me, the correct way to say it would be:
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is not.
The reasoning being…
Pedro A
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25
votes
2 answers
it VS. this Vs. that
Iv'e never understood what is the difference between the subject pronoun "it" and the demonstratives "this" and "that".
To be precise, I understand well the difference between those two demonstratives ("this" and "that"). "this" is used for when…
Virtuous Legend
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25
votes
7 answers
What is this mop-like tool called in English?
What this pictured object is called in English?
I was googling for mop and squeegee and got confused since based on the pictures in google images the most mops and squeegees look different. Then what is the accurate name for that?
Virtuous Legend
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25
votes
7 answers
"to fart" in child language
What is the appropriate word for "to fart" regarding babies?
As "to fart" is declared as impolite in the most dictionaries there needs to be another word for it regarding babies? Like "pupsen" vs. "furzen" in German.
Min-Soo Pipefeet
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25
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5 answers
Which one is correct, "in the USA" or "in USA"?
I want to know, what are the differences between "in the USA" and "in USA"? When to use "the" before a nation's name?
user48070
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