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1500 questions
26
votes
4 answers
What does "Rabbit hole" mean?
I've found this phrase appears more than twice. Ted-ed at 1:15
So, to use matrices, we need to learn how they work. It turns out, you can treat matrices just like regular numbers. You can add them, subtract them, even multiply them. You can't…
Rain
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26
votes
5 answers
'to' versus 'in order to'
Is it always possible to just use 'to' instead of 'in order to'?
What is actually the additional information provided by 'in order to'?
I understand in order to as meaning that the aforementioned action comes first (in order) and thus enables the…
mr.gaussian
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26
votes
18 answers
What is a non-vulgar synonym for this swear word meaning "an enormous amount"?
How do I say "shitload" or "shit-ton" without cursing?
Ideally, I'm looking for a term for casual conversation but without any cursing, the word you can use with kids and teens, or just adults you want to be friendly with without being vulgar.
I…
Teleporting Goat
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26
votes
1 answer
What is the English name for the palm's spots of the "working hands"?
People who are used to going to the gyms, after sometime they get thick skin in the palm — under each finger — because they work with their hands a lot.
What are these hard spots called in English?
When I put the word callus into my dictionary it…
Virtuous Legend
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26
votes
2 answers
"Add-in salt to injury"?
I've never seen "Add-in salt to injury" but I know "Add insult to injury" exists. I had a grammar exercise that asked for the most suitable idiom
or proverb for expressing:
To make something bad become worse
So I wrote "Add insult to injury". But…
Mohd Zulkanien Sarbini
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26
votes
12 answers
When people brag about their abilities and belittle their opponents before a battle, competition, etc
I'm writing an article about a myth in which two epic heroes facing each other before a single combat. The part I'm at now is when the two heroes start bragging about their abilities and things they've accomplished while at the same time they try to…
Yuri
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25
votes
6 answers
"She dressed like/as an owl." Which is correct?
She dressed like an owl.
She dressed as an owl.
"As" or "like"? Which one is more appropriate? My brother said that the second one is correct. He said that first one means "she dressed like an owl does."
user25493
25
votes
4 answers
Do most Americans pronounce 'months' as 'mons', and 'clothes' as 'clos'?
I am watching a video course which teaches American accent (The video course is called 'The American Accent'). The teacher inside it says that most of Americans actually omit the [th] sound and pronounce 'months' as 'mons' and 'clothes' as 'clos',…
Hua
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25
votes
3 answers
Sorry for your loss. But why?
There are many times when at the time of giving condolence or showing sympathy to someone, we say "Sorry for your loss". What does the word "Sorry" signify here? Why it is "Sorry for your loss" and not," Sad to know about your loss"? The word sorry…
Bharat
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25
votes
2 answers
How to pronounce the "s" in "apples" in English and American English?
I remember my teacher told me the "s" in "apples" should be pronounced as /z/, but in some American teaching programs, I heard it be pronounced as /s/.
Which one is correct? Does it follow the same rule in English and American English?
Update:…
Freewind
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25
votes
8 answers
Should I say: She is 'no' student or She is 'not' a student?
I'm always confused with that issue. Should I say
She is no student
or
She is not a student
Or are both of them equal? If they are, what is the difference between them?
Virtuous Legend
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25
votes
7 answers
Does "take a second" mean "take a second look"?
This one drives me insane, and it’s become extremely common among bloggers. All it takes to avoid this error is to take a second and think about what you’re trying to say.
Source:…
bart-leby
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25
votes
4 answers
"The bass drop is so sick!..." - What does it mean?
Being a fan of a dubstep music, I often see comments like this:
"Looooove this tune! The bass drop is so sick!..."
To my understanding, sick has negative connotation. Merriam-Webster defines this word as "affected with a disease or disorder",…
Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
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25
votes
15 answers
Why is "a road" incorrect in this test?
I apparently made a mistake in this text: http://www.learnenglish.de/games/articles/articles.html, where you have to fill in "a", "an" or "the" in the blanks.
The relevant parts are:
Looking out of {a/an/the} window I can see {a/an/the} young man.…
Hey
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25
votes
2 answers
What's the pun in "Clowns divorce. Custardy battle.”?
What is the pun in this joke?
Clowns divorce. Custardy battle
by Simon Munnery
Mrt
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