Can somebody please explain this expression from a Mark Twain story: ‘Sedgemoor trade-mark, white sleeve badge’? Here is the context: Among other things he said that my character was written in my face; that I was treacherous, a dissembler, a coward, and a brute without sense of pity or compassion: the ‘Sedgemoor trade-mark,’ he called … Read more
In the discourse-guidelines there are multiple bullet points of what to avoid to improve conversation. One of these points is Knee-jerk contradiction. Now I know what a knee-jerk is and I know that (in a conversation) it usually means a reflexive answer or behavior without reflecting the actual conversation. But what does a contradiction has … Read more
I have a problem in understanding the sentence Alpha indicates the IoU (Intersection over Union) for neighbouring candidate boxes; step sizes of the sliding windows are determined such that one step results in an IoU of Alpha. What I understand is: The value of Alpha (which is step size) is actually the IoU (Intersection over … Read more
Bob Dylan’s first electric tour, the Velvets’ Exploding Plastic Inevitable, the Pistols and Buzzcocks in Manchester ’76. Some gigs continue to resonate for decades after the band leaves the stage. The Pink Floyd and The Soft Machine launching radical paper the International Times at the Roundhouse on October 15th 1966 is right up there. I … Read more
So much has been written about that night in the years since that fact and myth have become intertwined. Regular power-outs, a guest list of Beatles and Blow-Ups, acid casualties stalking dirt-floor stalls dosed up on acid-laced sugarcubes handed out on the door. What does Floyd drummer Nick Mason recall from that night, 50 years … Read more
From Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Gringotts, chapter twenty-six: It was now packed inside the beaded bag, which, Harry was impressed to learn, Hermione had protected from the Snatchers by the simple expedient of stuffing it down her sock. I am unable to understand the word expedient and its use in this context. And … Read more
I was reading a book and came across the following (emphasis was mine) Those words have a rare ring to them, don’t they? What is the meaning of the expression in bold? Answer The first part rare has the typical meaning unusual. The second part ring is given by Lexico as ring² NOUN 2 A … Read more
Is there a term or concept that describes instances where an author/speaker intentionally or knowingly uses wrong spelling/pronunciation/grammar because it better conveys the intended meaning, and is therefore used by the author/speaker in place of the correct spelling/pronunciation/grammar, exclusive of instances of the author simply quoting someone else? (e.g. a character who uses incorrect grammar … Read more
What is the meaning of the phrase ‘shade off into’? Is ‘off’ a preposition here? Here, Rajasthan and Gujarat are States of India. Answer Much of Rajasthan is the Thar desert and extremely arid. If you look at an aerial view, you will see that the transition to Gujarat in the south is gradual, in … Read more
I can’t understand the meaning of the word ‘enclosure’ in the context: “This client reads one or more RSS feeds, queues up the enclosures for download, and processes several downloads in parallel using threads.”. Can you explain me please the meaning of it. I read it in the python docs – https://pymotw.com/2/Queue/#using-queues-with-threads Answer In general, … Read more
