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1500 questions
18
votes
4 answers
'learning the ropes' should be followed by which prepositions?
I am trying to use the idiom "learn the ropes" in a sentence as below:
I am learning the ropes of my new job.
Somehow, this doesn't "feel" right, and I think it should be:
I am learning the ropes on my new job.
Which usage is correct/better?
An…
Masked Man
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18
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2 answers
Past tense: learned/learnt, dreamed/dreamt?
In my very first question, Carlo made an edit stating that learnt is a rare past tense of learn. I am accustomed to using learnt for past tense and learned as an adjective (as in He is a learned scholar.) I checked into a couple of dictionaries and…
Sultan
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18
votes
2 answers
What does "80-odd" mean?
http://underscorejs.org/ has a paragraph:
Underscore [library] provides 80-odd functions that support both the usual
functional suspects: map, select, invoke...
What does '80-odd' stand for? From the context it looks like it means 'approximately…
Dmitriy
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18
votes
6 answers
How do you read these mathematical expressions aloud?
(both above are from Wikipedia.org)
Listenever
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18
votes
4 answers
"I did a few mistakes" vs "I made a few mistakes"
What is the difference between:
"I did a few mistakes."
and,
"I made a few mistakes."
Are they the same or not?
My question is about the collocation: Can I use "made" for the word 'mistake' or not?
Ice Girl
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18
votes
5 answers
differences between dependence and dependency
In Merriam-Webster learner's dictionary, "dependence" is defined as "the state of being dependent"
and dependency as "the quality of being dependent; dependence".
According to the meaning, I think "dependence" is more likely to be used in concrete…
April
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18
votes
3 answers
Haven't {eaten / ate}?
While chatting with somebody, I first used haven't eaten, then I thought that it was wrong, and switched to haven't ate.
Apparently, haven't ate is the one which is wrong.
Can someone explain the logic behind this? Verb tenses are still something I…
hjpotter92
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18
votes
5 answers
Why is there no plural 's' after "hundred" or "thousand" in cardinal numbers?
Let's say we have the numeral "12,345". Why is it pronounced as "twelve thousand three hundred and forty five" as opposed to "twelve thousands three hundreds and forty five". Are 's's omitted while pronouncing numerals to make the whole thing more…
user132181
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18
votes
5 answers
Usage of "Rain check"
From time to time I hear the phrase rain check. For instance
I have to take a rain check on that.
I would say that means
I have to get back to you on that issue.
How do I use that phrase?
What does it mean?
Where does it come from?
I always…
juergen d
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18
votes
4 answers
Is the phrase "I read that in Spock" correct?
This context comes from a part of Stephen King's book "The Shining" in which Wendy, Jack's wife, speaks to him about Danny, their son. She thinks Danny isn't eating enough lately and spending too much time trying to teach himself how to read (which…
Static Bounce
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18
votes
1 answer
Why is it "need" in "it need not be thus" instead of "needs"?
But it need not be thus
This sentence boggles me. I expected to see "it needs not" or "it does not need to". What am I missing?
akond
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18
votes
3 answers
Is "molten" the past participle of "melt"?
Longman tells me that melt is a regular verb, and molten is simply an adjective. But in the irregular verb appendix of the Shanghai High School English Exam Vocabulary word book, molten is the past participle of melt, which leads me into…
Thomas Peng
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18
votes
2 answers
How do you pronounce "f/4.5"?
How do you pronounce the part in bold?
The camera has a 32mm lens with a maximum aperture of f/4.5.
Sergey Zolotarev
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18
votes
3 answers
Is 'sarcasm ill becomes' a grammatically correct phrase?
Such sarcasm ill becomes anybody on the shaky ground that Goldschmidt here treads.
Shouldn't ill be before sarcasm?
Rayhan
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18
votes
3 answers
What is meant by "latte-shaming"?
In this headline:
"Millennial women are turning to influencers for financial advice, free of latte-shaming."
I can't figure out what "latte-shaming" is. Would that be the shame of taking advice from someone younger?
Lynera pintcho
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