Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Proofreading Services Retired

We’ve officially closed our proofreading services. You can probably guess why. With AI tools like ChatGPT now doing the job for free (and instantly), the demand for human proofreaders has all but vanished. If you still prefer a human touch, you're part of a rare—and shrinking—breed. We're now back to our roots: a forum for nitpicking the finer points of the English language. Thanks for your past support. We appreciate it.

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Latest Posts

Where did the “wire” come from?

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What does “and of” add to this phrase? That is, what is the difference between:

“I agree. Islam isn’t evil in and of itself.” and “I agree. Islam isn’t evil in itself.”

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What is the difference between these two questions?

“What is his motive?”

“What is his motivation?”

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If over-the-counter drugs mean drugs that you can buy off the shelf, then why is it called over the counter? Prescription drugs are the ones that you purchase over the counter literally. It should be “off-the-shelf” not over-the-counter. Don’t you think?

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If you say “five of ten” in the context of time, you mean 5 minutes to 10 o’clock. But, why is this? “of” is a possessive preposition, so one would think that “five of ten” would be 5 minutes that belong to 10 o’clock. That is: 5 after 10.

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I would think that “went to the extreme” would be more natural. Why plural?

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How did this word come to mean “a usually inferior work of art or literature produced chiefly for monetary return”?

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What does this mean?

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I hear this expression every now and then, and I understand it as “screwed”, but it seems odd to say “the best”. Why not “all of him”? What does “the best” imply?

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What does this mean? And where did it come from?

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