I’ve looked it up on phrases.org.uk, which gives the following quote as the first usage: This began life in the USA, in the late 19th century, with a slightly different meaning from the present one. It then meant to bluster. Farmer and Henley Slang and Its Analogues, 1888: “Dis is only a bluff dey’re makin’ … Read more
I am not a native speaker of English and I was having a casual conversation with my friends in the US. I asked them, “Where do you stay?” (which is pretty common in India, as far as I know) for which they gave me a surprised look and told me that people generally don’t use … Read more
When one pronounces the phrase a gorgeous young model in a very normal way (without any special stress to emphasize a specific meaning), which word will be said in the highest pitch, which word will be said in the lowest pitch and which word will receive the middle range? Information added later: Yeah, I mean … Read more
thanks in advance for answering the following question. I am trying to figure out which one would be correct. I am in process of writing documentation on a technical subject and I was asked to replace ‘accepts’ with ‘accept’. But not sure why. Both ‘right-click’and ‘double-click’ accept 2 parameters Both ‘right-click’and ‘double-click’ accepts 2 parameters … Read more
As in, He commanded you to go to hills. But I countermand you to go to the hills. (to convey the “go to the hills” order being revoked/overridden) I know the use of countermand in this context is awkward, but grammatically, is it correct? Or perhaps I should ask — does the second sentence “make … Read more
I tried to find it’s meaning on but I didn’t. Please tell me which is correct and what’s the meaning of first one? Answer I “never wanted to be found” means, that sometime in the past, at a specific event, occurrence, one wanted not to be found, as in, not seen, not heard, so that … Read more
Often used in conjunction with panic-inducing situations, what does the “it” reference in the phrase “keep it together”? The closest established phrase would be “keep your wits together”. When and how did the phrase “keep it together” evolve and come into widespread use? Answer Depending on the context, it can refer to many things. For … Read more
I am currently developing a software with my team. After reviewing all the texts in the product, I noticed that we use the word “please” a lot. Some examples: Please take a look at the documentation to see how to connect a new domain. Please fill this form… Is this a bad habit? Thanks Answer … Read more
Is this question written correctly? Has the problem been solved already? or maybe is this way Has the problem already been solved? are both correct? Answer Yes, both are grammatically correct, although the first one seems in a negative sense (like you’re shocked or disappointed/angry that the problem has been solved). The second one seems … Read more
The other day I was speaking to a neighbor, and he mentioned he was running a camp and had several kids signed up. His daughter piped up and said “I interested them in signing up”, to which her father corrected her “You can’t say ‘I interested them’. Say ‘I got them interested’”. I still haven’t … Read more
