Discussion Forum
This is a forum to discuss the gray areas of the English language for which you would not find answers easily in dictionaries or other reference books.
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Latest Posts : Expression
Is there any meaningful difference between “fair enough” and “good enough?” Is “fair” in this context a degree of quality (good-fair-poor-bad) or does it denote fairness in a judicial sense?Thank you!
Hallo, Could you please explain to me the meaning of the expression “jigsaw evidence” as I really don’t have a clue what it can mean. It is apparently a figurative expression, but its meaning is all vague to me. The sentence runs as follows: Adopting the cost–benefit analysis technique could be a useful analytical framework for presenting the final jigsaw of evidence.
thank u :)
I know that the expression “State of the Art” means “the best or most up to date” but does anyone know how this phrase ended up with this meaning ?
If you break down the words within the phrase it seems to have no bearing on its current usage ie it could be reconstructed to say “what state is the art in”, as in what condition is the art in but there is no word within the phrase that implies good quality or the best of ?
Any suggestions ?
Johnson, Samuel
Has anybody ever heard of ‘zorbing’? It’s supposed to be the name for a new type of an extreme sport. Could any x-treme sport lover explain to me what it is and where this kind of sport is done, please? It must be a sort of a neologism, I guess, as it’s not listed in the majority of dictionaries.By the way, does anyone know where this word comes from?
Hello!
I’m hoping someone can help me with this one. I’m searching for the origins of “Jiggs Dinner”. In Newfoundland this is the traditional Sunday dinner consisting of peas pudding (yes, from the old nursery rhyme, salt meat, cabbage, carrot, turnip, and potatoes, all cooked in the same pot). In case anyone is wondering, it is delicious. ;-)
My question is: Who is Jigg and why are we eating his dinner? No one here seems to have any information on the origin of the name.
Thanks much,
Which one(s) is (are) correct? Which one(s) would you use?
Stumbled upon Stumbled accross Stumbled on Stumbled into Stumbled in Stumbled onto
Hello, everyone! Pardon my ignorance, but could anyone tell me what a “die theater” or “die party” mean? There’s no context. It’s just a phrase from a grammmar book. (I went to die party last night). So, maybe it’s a misprint? And they intended just the article “THE”? I did not find anything on the Net, they suggest that it’s German!!! (’die’ is an article in German), so who can explain it, please? Thanks to everybody.
What is a “double header” on Memorial Day? Is it 2 baseball games in a row (who can stand to watch 2 games in a row?) I found the expression on page 5 in Philip Roth’s latest novel “The plot agsinst America”
Hello everybody there! A few days ago a friend of mine asked me a question like this: ‘is it possible to say in English ‘’See you laters'’ with the ‘s’ attached to ‘later’ ‘? She claimed she had heard it from an English native. As a humble non-native speaker of English, I was a bit puzzled and found no answer. And how do YOU feel about this?
One thing that often makes me stop and think is when people use the following type of statement: “I don’t think you told me to pick up milk.” Is it true that I don’t think? No. It is true that “I think you didn’t tell me to pick up milk.” But because of my lifetime speaking habits, I don’t even take the time to speak this way. And it even sounds slightly snooty. How do other people feel about this?
