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1500 questions
23
votes
9 answers
How to understand "don't code today what you can't debug tomorrow"?
It's a title of a blog. In my option, I absolutely can debug my code tomorrow which I wrote today. So how to understand that?
Sayakiss
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23
votes
3 answers
Tap, faucet, spigot - what are the differences?
What are the differences between tap, faucet and spigot?
Are they regional variants?
(ngram isn't particularly helpful in determining that, due to other, more popular meanings of 'tap').
SF.
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23
votes
7 answers
"I bought this shirt offline." Is this correct usage of the word 'offline'?
"I bought this shirt offline." Is 'offline' okay to use to refer to something that was bought at a brick-and-mortar store? If not, what's the preferred way to say it in everyday conversations?
user19057
23
votes
4 answers
Is it necessary to use commas in lists before the conjunction?
I have seen many sentences like this:
"Capitalism, Socialism, and Anarchism"
and this:
"She was happy, and cheerful"
Do we have to use a comma before "and", or is it incorrect? If it is not, then why?
Digerkam
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23
votes
4 answers
First, second and third conditional
On grammar.ccc Rob De Decker, who (as it is written there) teaches English at a Flemish grammar school in Belgium, explains the so-called first, second and third conditional.
Instant English, a best-seller, by John Peter Sloan, has a lot of pages…
user114
23
votes
3 answers
In cartography, what do you call the line that separates land from water?
I am discussing cartographic conventions. For instance, "rivers should be blue" and "country borders should be black".
In such a discussion, how should I refer to a line that separates land from a large body of water?
I am looking for a single term…
Nicolas Raoul
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23
votes
6 answers
Does "49er" mean "A 49-year-old man"?
Is it right to say "I was talking to a 49er" to aim that "I was talking to a 49-year-old man"?
I know that it's meaningless to say it, but my question is:
"Is (age)er = (age)-year-old man"?
Mohamed Hamza
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23
votes
3 answers
"Aim" vs "Goal" whats the difference?
Is there any difference between "Aim" and "Goal"?
I often seen while filling the Resume or Bio-data, there were two fields as:
Aim:
Goals:
Prasad Jadhav
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23
votes
6 answers
Should it be "IS" or "ARE"? --- "The only thing we haven't seen ARE locusts."
This is from an article published on CNBC:
"The only thing we haven't seen are locusts, said CEO Jim McCann in an interview." CNBC-A rose is still a rose
The subject of the sentence is "The only thing", which is clearly singular. So, the auxiliary…
Yunus
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23
votes
3 answers
Why "was" not "were" in "Nearly £20 was taken from my bank account"
I've always said "$100 were taken" not "$100 was taken" because I thought $100 is plural. Could you explain why "was" not "were"? Any other helpful notes about the issue would be appreciated.
Nearly £20 was taken from my bank account
learner
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23
votes
8 answers
"I lied" is this expression often used?
When someone said something wrong and realized that instantly so wanted to correct that, is this expression often used?
for example)
"Take a left at the corner. Oh I lied, you should take a right."
If it is not usually used, please let me know…
kr H
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23
votes
4 answers
What is the meaning of "dog-food" here?
I was watching a programming course ("Kotlin for Java Developers" on Coursera).
The instructor of the training course said:
"We focused on the use cases we knew about from our everyday work and from what other people told us. This is one of the…
Shayan Poursadeghi
- 710
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23
votes
7 answers
What to answer to "you're too kind"?
I told a guy I knew that he looks good in a pink shirt. He told me: "Thank you, you're too kind". What is the appropriate English answer in this case?
Also I'm not sure if the guy's answer means that he doesn't believe me or he think otherwise or he…
Daisy
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23
votes
7 answers
What is the word for "searching for leftovers" in a destroyed minimart in a zombie infested world?
I am trying to write a short story in English to practice my English. I remember there's a word for "searching for leftovers in a destroyed minimart in a zombie infested world" which in my memory sounds like "scouring for food" or "scourging for…
Chen Li Yong
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23
votes
6 answers
Why should "rip a man apart like a rag doll" be read "... like [it can rip apart] a rag doll" instead of "... like a rag doll [can rip apart a man]"?
A tiger can't win a mental fight with a man, but it can rip the man apart like a rag doll.
Why is the sentence above read as?
A tiger can't win a mental fight with a man, but it can rip the man apart like [it can rip apart] a rag doll.
But not…
user126190