Questions tagged [meaning]
This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.
17,242 questions
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What's the meaning of "by nothing"? [closed]
I found a sentence:
I meant '\keys_set:nn'. By 'nothing', I mean 'nothing the latex people would approve'.
I'm not very clear the meaning of "by nothing", please help explain.
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although I say it
What does the bolded phrase mean from the book The Lady's Maid by Rosina Harrison?
The staff at the Tuftons’ was one of the happiest I ever knew or saw, and when we all went up to Appleby Castle we ...
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What does it mean to “toss balls”?
A notorious incident in Bentley family history is when William, the first Bentley in America, murdered his neighbor Thomas Godby on February 9th, 1628.
The incident was detailed at trial. A witness ...
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1
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Difference between “service” and “consultation”?
I keep seeing the words “service” and “consultation” used in different professional settings, but I’m not sure what the actual difference is.
Does “consultation” just mean giving advice, while “...
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9
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1
answer
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Unexpected "would" that doesn't feel right in this context
From 'All Creatures, Great and Small' by James Herriot:
“They [pigs] belted out through the yard door at full gallop.”
“The yard door was open then?”
“Too true it was. I would just choose this one ...
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0
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practice/internship/practical training/on-the-job training/academic training/placement
Which collocation or word is usually used in universities/colleges (especially medical ones) to refer to the kind of classes where:
students stay at their university/college to work on their ...
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5
answers
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What term describes a person who always remains ill?
What term describes a person who mostly/always remains ill due multiple factors, such as being surrounded by multiple diseases or due to an incurable chronic disease?
Can I simply call that person as ...
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3
answers
131
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The meaning and cultural context of "popped his membrane" in GTA San Andreas dialogue
I encountered an unusual expression while playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. During this dialogue exchange, The characters say:
– Hey, Old Reece still run the barber shop?
– Like a ragged-assed ...
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6
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0
answers
798
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What's the point of "I shan’t try to hit two balls" joke? [migrated]
I am reading Ethel Lina White’s novel Fear Stalks the Village, written in 1930s, and came across this passage:
In spite of her short sight, the novelist was the best tennis player
in the ...
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0
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143
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Is there a specific term that describes a person's inability to determine another person's age?
I have never been able to determine a person's age. Aside from knowing they're a child, adult, or a mature adult (grey hair, wrinkles), I cannot determine an actual age. A 19-year old can look 40 to ...
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2
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Does something need to be delayed by a significant amount of time to be considered "postponed"?
Our Science teacher called about tomorrow's mock science quiz - it's not cancelled. It's scheduled from 3:00 p.m.
to 5:00 p.m. instead of 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The mock science quiz planned for the ...
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2
answers
688
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What is the meaning of “mantle” in this sentence?
In a visual novel written in American English, I have found the following passage, as a character is describing the contents of his room, which is themed around car racing (emphasis is mine):
Damon: ...
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1
answer
91
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when "that's ok" means 'no' and when it means something else
I'm trying to give advice to a foreigner about how to use "that's ok" but I want to make sure I'm not spreading disinfo. If you're given an offer and you respond with "that's ok", ...
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3
answers
118
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What is the meaning of the word "kind" in Sonnet 30 of Edmund Spenser's Amoretti? [closed]
The full poem:
My Love is like to ice, and I to fire:
How comes it then that this her cold so great
Is not dissolved through my so hot desire,
But harder grows the more I her entreat?
Or how ...
4
votes
4
answers
2k
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Difference between "hunger" and "appetite"?
This question popped up in my mind when I read following text from a Textbook of Medical Physiology, Guyton and Hall:
The amount of food that a person ingests is determined principally by an ...
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5
votes
2
answers
375
views
Usage of the phrase "to take your school"?
I recently read the children's book Mr Mole Takes Charge (1967) by Jane Pilgrim.
It includes the following line.
"You will not be well enough to take your school on Monday," he said.
I ...
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3
answers
101
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Use of the conjunction “before”
When the word “before” is used as a conjunction, does it take a relative clause after it? For example, in the sentence “a phenomenon never witnessed before which could be driven by rising temperatures,...
9
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3
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"She talked to him like a child"
Given the sentence
She talked to him like a child.
Could it be interpreted both ways:
She talked like a child.
and
She talked to him as if he were a child.
Or is it only the former?
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71
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"The opportunities of acquiring an abnormal thirst had been here limited"
What does this sentence mean? What is it referring to?:
"The opportunities of acquiring an abnormal thirst had been here limited"
I'm reading Dracula by Bram Stoker via Dracula Daily, and ...
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3
answers
237
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Meaning of "If that doesn't cry"
In the comedy video at 3.41 the comedian says "If that doesn't cry I give up ... I don't know what does." Can someone kindly explain what the meaning of 'cry' in this situation, or the ...
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1
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118
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What is "road drift"?
From Bleak House:
There was a light sparkling on the top of a hill before us, and the driver, pointing to it with his whip and crying, “That’s Bleak House!” put his horses into a canter and took us ...
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1
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What is the derivation of 'fly' as used in the term 'fly plaid'?
The 'fly', generally, in relation to clothing, designates the flap of cloth which covers the zip or buttons at the front of trousers.
But the word is also used to designate the 'fly plaid' a piece of ...
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Could you justify your opinion?
If I wanted to say
'Could you explain why this is your opinion?'
could I say
'Could you justify your opinion?'
Or would that either (i) be wrong or (ii) convey a different meaning?
To my ear the ...
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2
votes
2
answers
253
views
The meaning of baking off of something
I was watching stand up comedy (https://youtu.be/Mdw2b_RJeCA?si=CfXUDe7vSTQnxDcE), and at 0.40 I heard the comedian say “my daughter came down the stairs and you could smell the urine baking off of ...
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100
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Game Over: What is the philological term for "Over" when used with opposite meanings (game was over, game starts again)? [duplicate]
When I played pinball and lost, the screen would flash "Game Over." But I thought it meant I earned a new game and could play for free (the exact opposite): What is the philological term for ...
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2
answers
510
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What does "aubaud" mean in Samuel Adams' "The Divine Source of Liberty"?
Around the time of the American Revolution, Samuel Adams wrote a poem "The Divine Source of Liberty" whose first stanza runs as follows:
All temporal power is of God,
And the magistratal, ...
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1
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73
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Unclear meaning of "but for that" at the end of an article [duplicate]
In one of the recent The Economist issues there was an obituary of Fauja Singh, a famous centenarian runner. For context, he kept running until old age, after having lost a wife, daughter and son. ...
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Heretofore I think I have been using 'heretofore' incorrectly
I was looking into the definition of the word 'heretofore' and I think I have been using it incorrectly. I was hoping to get some clarification.
Based on googling the definition I get, for example,
&...
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1
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109
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What does 'to' mean in this sentence? [closed]
What does "to" mean in this:
Roared out by hundreds of voices to the tramp of marching feet, it was terrifying
From 1984
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2
answers
533
views
What does 'For let a space be never so little' mean in this Hobbes passage?
I am analyzing a passage from Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan (1651) and require expert clarification regarding the precise grammatical function and semantic interpretation of a specific phrase within this ...
4
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2
answers
433
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What does "sodale" mean? [closed]
In an article in the London Review of Books of 26th June 2025, Jonathan Meades writes
Schad's minutely rendered subjects were freaks, transexuals, cripples, deviants, whores, priests of the night: ...
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3
answers
190
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use of the word 'and' instead of 'or' means opposite?
Question regarding the meaning of a sentence. Does the below sentence indicate that a house which has a crawl space and an attic is EXCLUDED?
Homes without basements, crawl space systems, attic ...
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What does "I'll be bumped" mean?
In The Tower Treasure, the first Hardy Boys book, Frank and Joe Hardy solve the mystery, showing up Chief Collig, the chief of police. Presented with evidence that they had arrested the wrong man and ...
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1
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What is a 'sawyer'?
Studying woodworking techniques such as various methods of sawing trunks into timber (NAE: lumber) I came across the following Merriam-Webster unexpected [almost certainly non-default; see other ...
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But, she realized, she wasn’t not one, either
Could anyone explain the meaning of the second sentence?
She wasn’t the racist, egocentric monster he had made her out to be.
But, she realized, she wasn’t not one, either.
2
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2
answers
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Meaning of "Deal In Air"?
There was a book by Sigmund Freud, the king of the subconscious, called Beyond the Pleasure Principle. I was thumbing through it once when Ray came in, saw the book and said, "The top guys in ...
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1
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Dad was at the birth when I was born
The sentence on the title was taken from Duolingo, Spanish course. I'm wondering as to what it means, since, to me, it sounds redundant. Also is the phrase "to be at the birth" grammatically ...
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1
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445
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What does 'baconschteam' mean on page 461 of Infinite Jest? [closed]
I'm reading Infinite Jest and came across a word I cannot comprehend: baconschteam. The scene involves the German tennis coach Schtitt, who is giving the tennis academy boys a hard time during morning ...
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1
answer
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Is there a difference between "elegant solution" and "simple solution"? [closed]
In academic and technical writing, I often encounter both phrases: "elegant solution" and "simple solution".
They sometimes seem interchangeable, but at other times, the ...
4
votes
4
answers
765
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"Verify you are human"
Some websites prompt, "Verify you are human". Is that a correct statement in English? To me it appears to be a phrase in imperative mode (in contrast to "verification you are human"...
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€15 will be presented to the leading filly, if not first [closed]
What does this mean?
€15 will be presented to the leading filly, if not first
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0
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Meaning of "after a while" : long or short time? [duplicate]
After a while, according to the Merriam Webster dictionary, means that "some time has passed".
However, according to this Grammarphobia post, it can mean a "short time or moderate time&...
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2
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When using "some" as a determiner before plural nouns, does it technically mean one or more, or two or more, of a quantity?
The webpage https://wordtype.org/of/some explains how to use the determiner "some". "Some" is often used before a plural noun to indicate an unspecified number of something:
"...
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1
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Interpreting answers to questions with “in particular”
In academic/scientific texts where they use “in particular” in a yes/no question and then answer it, do they answer only the second part?
For example:
Did the students find the lecture helpful? In ...
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2
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Could the phrase "died eating something they shouldn’t have" contain a veiled hint at drug consumption?
I'm wondering if the phrase "died eating something they shouldn’t have" could contain a veiled authorial hint at drug consumption.
Here is a fuller excerpt:
Felicity (a journalist)... did ...
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1
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127
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Are “translator” and “interpreter” interchangeable when referring to oral interpretation?
Are “translator” and “interpreter” interchangeable when referring to oral interpretation? Is “interpreter” more suitable and idiomatic? Is “translator” wrong or just less used? Would people think I ...
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"The old blow" in Elton John me Official Autobiography
This is the follow-up question to https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/old-blow.3654203/ but I have problem with "old" here.
The source: https://archive.org/details/9781509853311_202206/...
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Should vs must: respectively meaning expectation vs strong certainty
What is the difference between these two sentences:
He should be at home now. (expectation)
He must be at home now. (strong certainty)
I don't really understand the difference between expectation ...
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3
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What does "deadly" mean in "deadly whisper"? [closed]
"Have you any idea how worried I have been?" Said Mrs Weasley in a deadly whisper.
I looked up the dictionary for the word deadly but it has a dozen meanings and I can't seem to fit the ...
1
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2
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Difference between "human male" and "male human"
Could you please help me settle an argument? It's regarding the semantic difference between "human male" and "male human". Despite the different ordering of adjective and noun, I ...
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