Suppose a friend of mine are talking with his girlfriend about Kevin Durant, and I also like watching NBA, so I join in with them, how should I say? I know Kevin Durant. This means I am familiar with KD, and vice versa. I know of Kevin Durant. This means I just hear about him. … Read more
What do you call a subcategory of a subcategory? Is there any particular term that can be used or should I use any other words such as group, set, collection etc.? Edit: For Example if A is a category, B is a subcategory of A and C is a subcategory of B, what do you … Read more
I used to think Devil’s Advocate meant the defense lawyer, though it actually means someone who, given a certain argument, takes a position they do not necessarily agree with, for the sake of debate. My question is, does an idiomatic phrase, or euphemism exist, meaning ‘Defense Lawyer’? Answer They’re all pretty dated slang terms, but … Read more
I want to write about the following achievement in my resume: I made presentations on a certain software X, which led to 10 people deciding to start using it. This is the first draft of my sentence. Presented effective use of software X on Y-type projects, leading to 10 people starting to use it. (X … Read more
When you are speaking to someone and this person is speaking at a low volume and you almost can’t hear it, usually you would ask something like this: Could you please speak louder?. What if the situation is the opposite? The person is speaking too loud and you want it to lower the volume? I … Read more
For married women, this scheme is very helpful. For unmarried women, this scheme is not useful. These sentences are clear because we have a term unmarried. I face difficulty describing the same thing whilst talking about the herb that increases the breast milk (of course, in mothers) but then it does not mean that women … Read more
There is the algebraic expression a+b+c. If we replace under the rule {a->b, b->c, c->a}, the expression is left unchanged. But for expressions like 2a+b+c, the replacement will change the expression. What is the word to describe this kind of symmetry? Thanks Answer The term for it is Cyclic Expressions. I just found a good … Read more
I’m searching for the term (and trust me, I had read it somewhere) that refers to a person who checks emails too frequently. It’s a sort of obsessive compulsive disorder. I want this term because I come across such people too frequently these days. After all, mails are now available on smartphones. Answer Thanks a … Read more
Is there a noun for people who have already completed their work and have free time? They are about to help others in other activities. I thought of idle people/idlers but that word seems to suggest the person it refers to deliberately avoids work. Answer Actually, I think good-old “free” is the best choice, as … Read more
You can say that I value someone’s appearance (or look) over intelligence (or brain) But how to say that in a general way? In my country we would translate as “appearance vs substance”. Is there a correspondent idiomatic word in English? Answer A common phrase is “form over function.” It’s not usually used to relate … Read more
