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Andrew Leach

 Discussion on question by RokeJulianL…

Imported from a comment discussion on english.stackexchange.co...
Andrew Leach
Jan 30 16:48
What do you mean by an antonym here? Something which means "huge difference"? Can you give a sentence where your word would be used?
 

 Discussion on answer by Dale M: How d…

Imported from a comment discussion on law.stackexchange.com/qu...
Andrew Leach
Oct 9, 2024 19:43
I still can't see how the collection of information in the circumstances described is "free expression" (which I do see is protected by the First Amendment). I don't see that this answer answers the question. Bear in mind that I'm not in the US: you may need a more basic and more thorough explanation for someone who is not subject to US law and Constitution.
Andrew Leach
Oct 9, 2024 19:43
So the First Amendment protects freedom of speech by making it unconstitutional to restrict that (I'm in the UK, but I think I knew that :-) It doesn't appear to touch collection of information at all, and it's the absence of a constitutional right to privacy which allows that.
 

 Discussion between Lambie and Andrew …

Discussion between Lambie and Andrew Leach
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:22
Mods can make such a room mod-only (with invitees) if necessary.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:20
It can be best to bite one's tongue publicly, vote anonymously and then invite a mod to chat about a specific thing, particularly if you can ask a question like "I don't understand how question X can stand in the light of Meta post Y. What makes it acceptable? Even highly upvoteable?" Don't say it's crap; ask to learn why it isn't.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:13
Note even there I originally had "You can't do nuance..." in the General-You meaning, but I changed it so it couldn't be the You-Specific-You meaning.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:12
Terseness doesn't always come over well. It's not easy to do nuance in writing tersely.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:11
ELU may be slightly more easy-going because language is an art not a science (even if there are rules). And we have to be able to discuss all sorts of things like four-letter words, so skins might be a bit thicker.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:09
Mods can't do anything about answer ticks, of course.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:09
@Lambie Honestly, if you're not a mod on the site, don't sweat it. If it's really bad, you could flag for quality and even cite the Meta post if that helps. Let mods deal with exceptions where votes don't match quality.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:07
As for criticising an OP for choosing the wrong answer, that's not really on. Upvote the answer(s) you like; downvote those you don't. The OP will choose an answer based on what they think is most useful to them.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:05
Probably better just to downvote and leave it at that.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:04
But you are saying "I think this is a poor question -- how could you upvote it?" so you are judging the question as well.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:04
So yes: that could be perceived as a criticism of the asker, even though it's actually directed at the voters themselves.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:03
Oh. That's completely the opposite!
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 16:02
Hm. If you're asking as a comment "Why is this question so poorly received?" it implies that you don't think it was poor. That's actually a compliment and hardly hurtful to the asker.
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 15:58
I'm often reminded that it's good there's only one of me :)
Andrew Leach
Jun 21, 2024 15:57
@Lambie Let's try this. Hopefully I've found the right Lambie.
 

 Discussion on question by Vun-Hugh Va…

Imported from a comment discussion on english.stackexchange.co...
Andrew Leach
Mar 14, 2024 20:20
OED lists hentai as "Sexually explicit or pornographic manga and anime, often of an extreme or outlandish nature," and shows that it has that meaning in Japanese with an etymology of "< Japanese hentai (in e.g. hentai-manga and hentai-anime; compare manga n.² and anime n.³), (as simplex) abnormal sexual behaviour or tendency, perversion, pervert (1931 or earlier)." OED doesn't list ecchi, etchi or any other variant I can think of. However, it appears that hentai was used to mean hardcore in Japanese in the 1930s.
 

 Discussion on question by DJohnson: W…

Imported from a comment discussion on english.stackexchange.co...
Andrew Leach
Mar 14, 2024 20:16
@DJohnson Could you rearrange your question into a question, please? The addendum is rather unhelpful. It might also help if the question title was more of a question, rather than a simple (and contestable) assertion.
 

 Discussion on question by PoliteShark…

Imported from a comment discussion on workplace.stackexchange....
Andrew Leach
Oct 1, 2023 11:16
What jurisdiction? In the United Kingdom, if you are made redundant you are obliged to seek legal advice on any confidential no-further-claim severance package like this (I was) and the company has to pay for that (mine did).
 

 English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer…

Not for the faint of heart or those easily triggered by Englis...
5
51
Andrew Leach
Sep 10, 2023 08:21
(But of course, explaining those results will give the game away)
Andrew Leach
Sep 10, 2023 08:20
I'm intrigued how you got your first two rows.
Wordle 813 3/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Andrew Leach
Jul 22, 2023 14:22
And another one.
Daily Sequence Quordle 544
4️⃣6️⃣
8️⃣9️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
Andrew Leach
Jul 22, 2023 13:57
Daily Quordle 544
6️⃣7️⃣
2️⃣5️⃣
m-w.com/games/quordle/
Never come across that game before. Interesting concept.
Andrew Leach
Apr 4, 2023 17:09
...Which may seem odd, but I guess a priest in a cassock might be misidentified.
Andrew Leach
Apr 4, 2023 17:06
@Mitch Google Translate thinks it's Bulgarian. If you translate "Дълго си мислех че в действителност той е италианска вдовица" as Russian, it comes up with "For a long time, I don’t think she’s really an Italian widow" although the dialogue (and the Bulgarian translation) says "For years, I thought he was an Italian widow".
Andrew Leach
Apr 3, 2023 14:01
@Mitch And you end up talking baby-talk and being fed milk. Oh, hang on... Which end of "old" are we talking about?
Andrew Leach
Apr 2, 2023 09:52
@CowperKettle Same in British English. And whereas French tends to stress the final syllable, English follows its normal pattern /ˈkɒmbat/
Andrew Leach
Aug 12, 2022 15:02
@Mitch As if there was any other way to serve coffee.
Andrew Leach
Aug 12, 2022 12:37
user image
Andrew Leach
Aug 12, 2022 12:34
@CowperKettle It's not a hole saw, because it's impact-driven. Saws are rotary.
Andrew Leach
Aug 11, 2022 12:31
@FaheemMitha Generally, we are. That may not always have been the case, and there are particular situations even now which need more careful characterisation. But generally, what David Cameron said is right: British citizens who murder people deserve to have the book thrown at them and the key thrown away.
Andrew Leach
Aug 9, 2022 08:25
@M.A.R. The "God particle"?
Andrew Leach
Aug 5, 2022 07:59
@CowperKettle I didn't realise that that Duke of Clarence was third in line to the throne (the Prince William of his day). That explains the various memorials I've seen in cathedrals: there must have been public grief — at least, grief as it was expressed in those days.
Andrew Leach
Aug 3, 2022 08:53
Quite what the guys have to do with a bowline, I have no idea.
Andrew Leach
Aug 3, 2022 08:53
@CowperKettle To "man something" means to put a man to work on it. If something is manned, it has people there and available. See Lexico, verb (not the archaic use; although that has echoes lingering in "Man up!")
Andrew Leach
Aug 3, 2022 08:15
@Vikas "Future in the past" The are some questions available about that.
Andrew Leach
Aug 2, 2022 14:28
@Mitch The outside, not the inside. But that does sort of assume that your average punter will be able to visit.
Andrew Leach
Aug 2, 2022 14:26
@Mitch The government will sell it, in small portions. Buyers will be able to do anything they physically can when visiting their share, except harvest or charge for the energy collected by their portion.
 

 Discussion on question by user22542: …

Imported from a comment discussion on english.stackexchange.co...
Andrew Leach
Jul 3, 2023 23:42
I doubt that it's "visual onomatopoeia," but more the onset sn- and sm- which have the particular connotations. Prof Lawler has written on that subject. Definitely one for him.
 

 Discussion on question by Sepp A: Is …

Imported from a comment discussion on english.stackexchange.co...
Andrew Leach
Feb 9, 2023 00:17
You still haven't said how this will be used. In a book? In a conversation? Please follow all the advice given in the help for this tag. For what it's worth, "He disappeared behind a tree for a moment or two" is eminently understandable!
Andrew Leach
Feb 9, 2023 00:17
You need to say what the context is. You have provided a number of possibilities without explaining why they are not suitable. Please edit your question to show what you actually need.
 

 Discussion on question by kmp: What i…

Imported from a comment discussion on english.stackexchange.co...
Andrew Leach
Dec 26, 2022 18:08
Note: Call My Bluff took single words from OED and provided two spoof and one true definition for a team to guess which was correct. The answer will be a single, obscure word (and I've no idea what!)
 

 Discussion on question by Michael: Ho…

Imported from a comment discussion on english.stackexchange.co...
Andrew Leach
Nov 12, 2022 09:47
@Michael Please see our help for single-word-request questions and our help for translation questions. Currently this question does not match the criteria for either tag.
 

 Discussion on answer by David Hammen:…

Imported from a comment discussion on politics.stackexchange.c...
Andrew Leach
Nov 8, 2022 09:28
This answer doesn't seem to answer from a particularly neutral stance. Is that not required here? Perhaps that's a question for Meta.
 

 Discussion on question by Arunabh Bha…

Imported from a comment discussion on english.stackexchange.co...
Andrew Leach
Nov 5, 2022 20:36
The word language is written with two gs. The second is modified by e to become /dʒ/. Note that the first is followed by u and retains its hard-g sound /g/, just as gust does and gustice would if that were a word. Perhaps that's the answer you're looking for.
Andrew Leach
Nov 5, 2022 20:36
This question is not particularly focused, but I concur that the duplicate probably answers what is being asked.
 

 Discussion on answer by jcaron: Time …

Imported from a comment discussion on travel.stackexchange.com...
Andrew Leach
Nov 1, 2022 12:47
@MichaelHarvey Not just French train drivers. In my case, in the UK, workers rostered for a shift from 10pm to 6am (8 hours) work nine and get the hour's overtime automatically; in March, they only work 7 hours for that shift but still get 8 hours' pay (because it's not their fault that hour has simply vanished).
 

 Discussion on answer by user6726: Is …

Imported from a comment discussion on law.stackexchange.com/qu...
Andrew Leach
Sep 25, 2022 22:47
Downvote. Not is the first sentence incorrect, but the prudent course of action is to comply with the request.