Is it proper to say ‘show special treatment’ for example in “He showed him special treatment.”? I know it sounds more natural to say, “He took a special interest in him because of his background.” but is it weird to say “He showed him special interest and treatment because of his background.” Answer More natural … Read more
We could solve a problem, obviously. Is it possible to use “break”, “beat”, “hit”, “crack” with the meaning of “solve”? I’m trying to find some more emotional equivalent. Answer overcome : 2. To prevail over; surmount Example usages from Wordnik: “In fact, the very first hurdle most writers have to overcome, is to shout down … Read more
In academic writing, it is common to refer to or prove properties about the main object of an article. If I prove a property for (some object), I know I can use the phrase: Property X holds for the object Y. But, can an object hold a property? Furthermore, object Y holds some additional properties. … Read more
I was watching an NBA game. After Omer Asik missed an easy shot, the commentator said that Omer was not much of an offensive threat. I used to say offence threat often. Which usage is more established or more correct? Answer Offensive threat is the correct one. It is used in this phrase as per … Read more
Assume that somebody has created a test/quiz like this one. Has he developed the test? put it together? wrote it? something else? What verb would you use? Answer To me, “wrote the test” implies he took the test, not that he developed or otherwise created the test. “Compiled” implies he put the test together from … Read more
Which is the preferred usage — “to stop a loophole” or “to fix a loophole”? Answer Neither. The verb you are looking for is close. Just to demonstrate that that’s what people actually use, here are the stats from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) and the British National Corpus (BNC): COCA BNC [close] … Read more
Is news depressing or depressive? In what situations would you use these two words? According to dicionary.com: depressive – tending to depress depressing – serving to depress; inducing a state of depression That’s why I’m asking. Those 2 explanations are very similar. Perhaps it’s the difference is in intention? Answer Depressive mood and depressing scene. … Read more
Would it be correct to use My minor endeavors in this sentence: My minor endeavors through my high school kept up my curiosity in computers. If not, please suggest an alternative and it would be great if I could know the reason why it is wrong. P.S.: My reasons for asking are purely interest-based as … Read more
I am not sure whether to use in, on, or for after the word demand in the following sentence: The continuing demand on high-quality software that is reusable and easy to maintain and modify after it has been released was a driving force throughout the 1980’s How should one deal with this demand in/on/for issue … Read more
In general sense of the language we would say that a door “opens” or “closes“. But I am looking for a one-word answer (preferably) that would indicate its motion around the hinge. Does it swivel, swerve, flap? (you get the idea) NOTE: I am not talking about spin doors that revolve or sliding doors, just … Read more
