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1500 questions
22
votes
3 answers
Do kidnappers only kidnap kids?
As I read at http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kidnap, the etymology for kidnap is
kid (“child”) + nap (“nab, grab”)
Can an adult person also be kidnapped? Would it sound funny to say so? The definition mentions person, not child, but I'm not sure.…
nuoritoveri
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22
votes
4 answers
How is "better off" different from just "better"?
By definition of Cambridge Dictionaries Online
The word 'better' means
comparative of good: of a higher quality or more enjoyable than someone or something else
By most dictionaries, better off means better economically.
For example:
"The…
Sean Klaus
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22
votes
11 answers
In the sentence "She says she has no friends," the number of friends is zero, why is "friends" still plural?
In the sentence
"She says she has no friends"
even though the number of friends is zero (less than two), why is "friends" still plural?
I learnt the rule that if a countable noun is two or more, it is written in the plural form. Therefore, the…
Flower Power
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22
votes
7 answers
“I have little money” vs. “I have a little money”
What is the difference between “I have little money” and “I have a little money”?
Are they the same?
Mohamed Hamza
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22
votes
3 answers
I can downplay. Can I upplay?
I can downplay something.
Can I thus "upplay" a thing or not? What do you think?
Anixx
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22
votes
2 answers
Strange omission of "to be": "The ground was hard and the rime thick and crisp on the grass."
I encountered this sentence in Cambridge Dictionary:
The ground was hard and the rime thick and crisp on the grass.
I can't figure it out why there's no any verb after "the rime". It just doesn't make sense to me.
"The ground was hard" - that's…
George Glebov
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22
votes
6 answers
Can native English speakers read Dickens easily?
I'm Japanese and I can read Dickens' works now, but with a great deal of effort. It can't be helped, I'm willing to admit btw.
I'm wondering how easily native English speakers can read his works. Is a dictionary necessary because they contain a lot…
Ampan
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22
votes
7 answers
What phrase would American English speakers use in place of "Tom, Dick and Harry"?
In Indian English, the phrase "Tom, Dick and Harry" is very prevalent, is used quite frequently in media, movies etc.
On the other hand, I don't see it being used as frequently, in American media.
What phrase would an American use in its…
Max
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22
votes
1 answer
Why say "Wait your turn" but "Wait FOR..." everything else?
Why in English is the word "for" not used in the phrase "wait your turn?" Wouldn't it make more sense to say "Wait for your turn" as for other things on which one waits?
Wait for the stop light not Wait the stop light.
Wait for (until) Tuesday not…
Flimzy
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22
votes
4 answers
What does "secular" mean in "secular ... shifts in investor behavior"?
Han, 2021, said that
For example, the model suggests that a shift in the social acceptability of talking about one’s successes,or of discussing personal investments more generally, can have large effects on risk taking and active investing. This…
Phil Nguyen
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22
votes
5 answers
Why is it that when we say a balloon pops, we say "exploded" not "imploded"?
Sometimes I wonder, when a balloon pops, we say:
Oh the balloon exploded!
Instead of:
Oh the balloon imploded!
When a balloon pops, it becomes smaller. As I see it, the meaning of "imploded" is:
collapse or cause to collapse violently…
U13-Forward
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22
votes
3 answers
"All the beach bodies were sold out"? Can a body be sold?
I've watched a video of Trevor Noah (Obama Calls For People To Vote Early In The Wake Of Postal Delays | The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, ~3:56), and get confused this sentence: "but then all the beach bodies were sold out".
Noah explains that some…
Aquarius
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22
votes
9 answers
What's the English saying for "That the ancestors are successful is inferior to that the descendants are successful"?
There goes a Chinese maxim "前人 强 不如 后人 强".
前人= former generation, ancestor;
后人= later generation, descendant;
强= strong, powerful;
不如= not as good/well as, inferior to, less desirable than.
The sentence literally means "That the ancestors are…
Zhang Jian
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22
votes
5 answers
How do you pronounce 2×4 (board)
Recently, I found "2x4" as a weapon in a game I played.
I found that it's a common standard for lumber board.
I tried to pronounce it as "two multiplies four" but it feels really weird.
How should I pronounce this word?
eth4io
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22
votes
2 answers
How can I remember the difference between "lay" and "laid"?
I often confuse lay and laid. For instance, in selecting the appropriate word in these contexts:
She lay/laid a hand on his arm.
He lay/laid across the bench lazily.
We lay/laid down our heavy load.
Is there a common mnemonic for…
Kit Z. Fox
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