@cornbreadninja麵包忍者 y'know (that's the phrase of the week) the questions listenever asks are actually what one would think are the canonical questions for a site like this.
@tchrist I don't think I'm being weird wen I say ' people couldn't take road kill if they wanted already'? I mean it's their choice. Is the worry they might be hit by a car when retrieving the poor thing?
Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.
—Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Is ‘being’ a passive auxiliary verb or a progressive one?
'stepped on'. What is she British or something? That really needs to translated to English. You know, as she is spoke.
But a flag that says 'Don't step on me' just sounds kind of ...pleading. "Don't step on you? Fuck it, I'll step where I damn well please and your face is next'.
It was drawing to an end now; but the evening was even warm, and I sat
at work in the schoolroom (1) with the window open. (Jane Eyre)
Presently the chambers gave up their fair tenants one after another:
each came out gaily and airily, (2) with dress that gleamed lustrous
through th...
Martin considers [Tim a creep.] Greg painted [the wall] red.
(Bas Aarts, English Syntax and Argumentation)
Aarts says, in first sentence, [Tim a creep] is a small clause,
and this is the object – a preposition - of ‘considers.’
For the second one, [the wall] is the DO, and ‘red’ is the a...
Why is that any different from the following?
I was late getting to work this morning.
We thought we got away without being seen, but were soon getting our comeuppance from Mrs. Ainsworth.
I was crazy thinking I could pull the wool over their eyes.
All of these are normal, grammat...
Liam is very ill. (English Syntax and Argumentation, Bas Aarts)
Traditional Grammar says ‘very ill’ as a subject complement.
And the book says ‘very ill’ as a complement for verb be.
Do I have to accept the remark as ‘Liam is’ can’t complete a sentence,
so the verb needs a complement. Or th...
Neither. The phrase is very ill is a verb phrase. Ill is a predicate adjective, modified by the emphatic adverb very. The logic (ignoring very) is ILL (LIAM), showing the predicate adjective. The term complement adds nothing to the discussion and should be dispensed with, since it doesn't have a useful definition. — John Lawler2 days ago
I carefully pried open her mouth. (The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s
Bag)
When intransitive verbs are followed by adjectives, they seem to call these adjectives as subjective complements or adjuncts. But the example has transitive verb [pried] before an adjective [open]. In this case, do...
First, forget everything you've learned about "adjectives"; it is, regrettably, apparently, completely wrong. Next, look up the term phrasal verb; look up and pry open are phrasal verbs. Any English word can be many different things; open is a verb and an adjective and a phrasal verb particle, and it can appear in many constructions. Don't use the term adjunct at all. — John LawlerFeb 6 at 15:55
But she keeps using adjunct even after he told her not to. Sigh.
Her teeth gleamed white against the tanned skin of her face.
It seems ‘white’ is an adjunct modifying gleamed, while it’s not a complement for it’s not necessary to complete the meaning. But I’m wondering if adjectives can make adjuncts modifying verbs. My question are two: (1) Is ‘white’ a ...
It's not helpful to think about "adjectives making adjuncts modifying verbs". Part of speech is governed by use in constructions, not the other way around. And adjunct is a question-begging term; if one's audience knows and believes all the same answers to the questions it begs, then it's safe to use. But I doubt this is the case on EL&U. — John LawlerFeb 2 at 19:21
Although I now forget why we know. But it came out at one point.
@KitFox Isn’t Forking the old Pinyin romanization scheme now considered politically incorrect? Perhaps that’s the problem: everybody who’s anybody knows you have to call it Voorjing these days.
Also this 'thing' (blog) is on -Facebook-. First, it's facebook, second...what the hell is a blog on facebook for. Is this all part of googles plans? getting rid of reader, will make Facebook take over all the blogging, then Google and Facebook will do a mutual corporate takeover of each other.
What word would be used on a form where one is asked to stipulate if a school accepts only boys, girls or is co-ed?
We are creating the form, and the word I am looking for would be used for a drop down that has the three options "boys only", "girls only", "co-ed".
As an adjective, the word coed, short for coeducational, indicates an institution that teaches both males and females. However, as a noun, it can only mean "a young woman who attends college". Why is this so and how did this come about?
mush [mʌʃ], v.[entry#2] dial. Also 9 mosh.
Etymology: Onomatopœic alteration of mash v., suggestive of duller sound made in pounding something soft. Cf. the earlier mush sb.[entry#1]
trans. and intr. ‘To crush, pulverize, crumble; to mash, to reduce to pulp; to crumble or decay away’ (E.D.D.).
1781 Hutton Tour to Caves (ed. 2) 93 - Mush, to crush, or crumble.
1848 A. B. Evans Leicestershire Words 58, - I thought that she would have moshed her children then and there.
1855 Robinson Whitby Gloss., - To Mush, to crumble, to moulder.
But 'mush' should be pronounced that way, I'm just saying there's another word 'moosh' pronounced like [mʊʃ] that is close to meaning of 'mush' but not exactly. It's only a verb.and it means to squeeze together, not to break down in a squishy way.
and with that...I have to prepare for time to turn into tomorrow. by closing my eyes for a number of hours.
Oh, God. That is a lot. That's the only good thing about snow: people simply drive slower, so, yes, there will be more accidents, but they will all be less serious.
Yes. But now look: John Glenn used our *mush*: mush [mʌʃ], v.[entry#4] colloq. Etymology: f. mush sb.[entry#1] (def#3). Const. in. To sink into a soft surface. 1948 N. Shute No Highway ii. 41 - The landing was a hazardous one because of the alternate thaw and freeze: the skis [of the aircraft] mushed in beneath the icy crust. 1962 J. Glenn in Into Orbit 13, - I..skimmed right over the top of a rice paddy-almost mushing into it.
Those are the top three funniest book titles this year, in order.
> Also shortlisted for the award this year was a study of Adolf Hitler's health titled "Was Hitler Ill?", "Lofts of North America: Pigeon Lofts", and a guidebook titled "How to Sharpen Pencils".
In computer science, satisfiability (often written in all capitals or abbreviated SAT) is the problem of determining if there exists an interpretation, which satisfies the formula. In other words, it establishes if the variables of a given Boolean formula can be assigned in such a way as to make the formula evaluate to TRUE. Equally important is to determine whether no such assignments exist, which would imply that the function expressed by the formula is identically FALSE for all possible variable assignments. In this latter case, we would say that the function is unsatisfiable; otherwise...
@tchrist well, yeah. He should have asked for the female version of a the name for a man who treats men and women equally. I gave that word for such a female.
Obviously we now need a word for a man who doesn't ask for a word for a female who treats men and women equally.
I am not remembering it right, but there's a phrase like "And what are you bringing/adding to the plate?" or something. Anyone know the actual phrase/idiom? (Tried googling.)
As a humorous neologism, you might call them polyparses.
Why is that any different from the following?
I was late getting to work this morning.
We thought we got away without being seen, but were soon getting our comeuppance from Mrs. Ainsworth.
I was crazy thinking I could pull the wool over their eyes.
All of these are normal, grammat...
As an adjective, the word coed, short for coeducational, indicates an institution that teaches both males and females. However, as a noun, it can only mean "a young woman who attends college". Why is this so and how did this come about?
English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…
English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…