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1500 questions
13
votes
13 answers
What do you call a desperate attempt unlikely to succeed?
What do you call a desperate attempt unlikely to succeed? For example, when other ideas have failed and you have one final go before giving up
Sergey Zolotarev
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13
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4 answers
Why is the correct phrase "to come on the trip" and not "to come to the trip"?
I wrote the following:
I was surprised Mary had agreed to come to the trip.
A native English speaker told me I should write instead:
I was surprised Mary had agreed to come on the trip.
I admit it surprised me. I could have sworn it was to. Why…
alexchenco
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13
votes
5 answers
Are 'ass' and its derivations considered vulgar words?
I have seen in several movies that instead of "fuck" they use the words which are less vulgar, but I have repeatedly seen that they feel free to use "ass" or words like "jackass" or "asshole" or even the expression of "watch your ass", as what I…
user141755
13
votes
3 answers
The sentence is talking about "a candidate" and "an election", why does it use the plural form "chances"?
The following sentence comes from "Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd Edition
By Thomas H. Cormen, Charles E. Leiserson, Ronald L. Rivest and Clifford Stein"
A political candidate may want to determine where to spend money buying campaign advertising…
WXJ96163
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13
votes
1 answer
What do you call a squeezed up fruit?
Let's say I buy a bunch of fruits like bananas or something soft and put them in a bag. By the time I take them out of the bag they have been spoiled because I pressed my back against the bag when I was travelling.
What would I call these fruits (or…
Max
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13
votes
5 answers
Does the usage of "gross mistakes" sound rude to native speakers?
I'm having an argue with my colleague about the phrase he wrote. I suggest, it can sound extremely rude to native speakers.
The context: my colleague accidentally spotted errors in certain programming code and tried to inform the maintainers of the…
guest
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13
votes
1 answer
Is there a difference between "spectacles" and "glasses"? Is there a US-UK English difference or is it just preference for one word over other?
I recall that "spectacles" would be the preferred word when I was growing up. It was often shortened to "specs".
"Glasses" were the ones you wore either in the sun (sunglasses) or while driving or to protect your eyes from wind or dust. "Glasses"…
Madhur
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13
votes
7 answers
Is it correct to say "I can not watch TV because you are in my sight"?
I am watching TV and some kids are walking in front of me and happen to block my vision and I can not watch TV.
Is it correct to say "Could you get out of my sight? I can not watch TV" or "You are in my sight"?
The same way to say "get out of my…
Tom
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13
votes
7 answers
What does 'do steak and chips' mean?
The sentence I took from my English course exercise:
'What are we going to eat?' 'Well, I can do steak and chips.'
I don't think that do steak and chips literally means the speaker will make those foods (I'm not familiar with those either). I…
user516076
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13
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4 answers
Is it rude to say "Speak of the devil- Here is Grandma now!"?
I saw the movie "Love Hard" yesterday. In the film, the little brother hates his big brother.
The little brother is at home and suddenly he hears his big brother's voice when the big brother visits him.
The little brother says "Speak of the…
Tom
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13
votes
6 answers
What is it called when somebody's words sort of echo in your mind?
What is it called when somebody's words (that were spoken in the past like grandmother's childhood advice) sort of resound in your head/mind(in the present time). What words/phrases can be used to express that echo type effect?
Can I say: Her words…
Learner
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13
votes
3 answers
Is "I will never know what makes the rain to fall?" correct?
I'll never know what makes the rain to fall.
I have read a post about make something to+verb /make something+verb?
The answers shows the above sentence is correct, but when I paste it to a grammar checker website, it prompts to delete the infinite…
fitz
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13
votes
6 answers
Can we put 'just' before 'on time'?
I was reading a text-block in my book regarding the difference between in time and on time, and I noticed before in time, the writer (of the book) put just in 2 different examples.
Here are the sentences:
We arrived just in time to hear the Prime…
user516076
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13
votes
9 answers
Is it correct to say "I fixed the towel with a peg"?
I have a bath towel but it is not long enough for me to to tie a knot in the towel or let me tuck its edge in the bath towel itself.
For that reason, I need to use a peg to get the towel in a fixed position.
Is it correct to say "I fixed the towel…
Tom
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13
votes
4 answers
What is the meaning of "incandescent"?
But this time the machine has made the opposite mistake, detecting a
virus that is not there in routine swabs taken from people who have
come in with other problems – an overdose, a heart attack, a urine
infection – and this doesn’t sound like such…
Seulgi So
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