Is there a usual, widely used word (a noun) in English that can mean a nice/cute/etc cat and a nice/cute/etc guy as well (internet slang, maybe)?

In my language I have a phrase/wordplay about a guy surrounded by cats: “I see just a bunch of _____” I need a hypernym that is a word for the cute cats and the cute guy, in a playful way. In my language it’s just a diminutive of a word for cat. Answer pussycat humorous: … Read more

increment/decrement: is there a neutral noun like “crement”?

If a value (e.g. in mathematics or information science) can either decrease or increase let’s say by one, does there exist a neutral expression based on increment and decrement which covers both cases? Here’s an example: The number of players may only increase or decrease exactly by one. Here’s my phantasy English sentence: The negative … Read more

Single word to describe “fixed” and “variable”?

In economics there are things such as “fixed” and “variable” costs. In math there are “fixed” and “variable” slopes. Is there a single word that’s best to describe both of the terms at once? I’ve come up with measurability, gradient, and quantifiability, but I don’t feel super comfortable with any of them. An example in … Read more

Hypernym for all substances that can make one high

Alcohol, weed, poppers, … etc. All those different substances produce feelings of pleasure and happiness. Do they share a hypernym in English? Answer “Intoxicant” covers all of your examples. It has a root in “toxic”, poisonous. Intoxicant is commonly used in legal parlance. “Drug” is commonly used for all of your examples except alcohol, although … Read more

Hypernym for “pertaining to (body part)”?

What is a hypernym for the adjectives which describe various body parts or systems? For example: eyes : ocular lungs : pulmonary ears : aural How would I best phrase asking for such words, for example, if I wanted to know the equivalent word for the skin? (just an example, please don’t respond with “cutaneous”). … Read more

Open-ended concepts in Chinese usually be alluded by listing specific examples. Would native English speakers find it hard to grasp the connotation?

In Chinese and Vietnamese sometimes a word is made up by listing its examples. For example, “table-chair” means furniture, “month-year” means time, “land-water” means country, “spring-summer-fall-winter” means the cycle of time, “birth-old-sickness-death” means the cycle of life. Of course words for “furniture” or “time” exist, but by using “table-chair” or “month-year”, the alluded concepts are … Read more

Hypernym for climbing/descending stairs but not walking on even ground

Writing a concept description for a product, I’m trying to describe the possible modes of operation tersely. One of those modes of operation is “Walking on even ground”, another is “Ascending or descending stairs, holding hand rail”. I was wondering, is there a hypernym I could use instead of “ascending or descending stairs” that describes … Read more