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Questions tagged [meaning]

This tag is for questions related to definitions and nuances of meaning of a word or phrase.

0 votes
0 answers
15 views

Is the word "smacking" only used when slapping someone on the buttocks? [closed]

I'm reading a book where the narrator says he wants to "smack" someone. I don't understand if he intends to slap the face or the buttocks. Can smacking only be used when someone is slapped ...
Andreia Carmo's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
34 views

meaning of to drive out between trains

I am reading Edith Wharton's famous 'Afterward' (1910). Which is a struggle for me since many of her sentences and words are beyond my understanding. (English is not my native language) Anyway, today'...
user58207's user avatar
  • 1,531
8 votes
1 answer
516 views

Is "farfel" an idiolectical quirk/part of a familect?

My whole life, my family has used "farfel" to refer to anything small, unwanted, usually fabric-based, and out of place (i.e., on the floor; not in the trash). Lint, a few millimeters of ...
Ben A.'s user avatar
  • 193
0 votes
1 answer
57 views

Historical use of "reading" for Transportation

Seen in a print advertisement for D. & C. Line, dated 1914: YOUR RAILROAD TICKETS, reading between Detroit and Buffalo or Detroit and Cleveland, are available for transportation on D. & C. ...
Robert Chapin's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
103 views

Need an accessible explanation on nitty-gritty details of how semantical distinction between count vs uncount nouns works in English

Sorry if this question has been answered before, I have been unable to find anything remotely adequate on this website. What I want: to learn patterns that allow to be better at guessing (and/or ...
KarmaPeasant's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
37 views

What's the meaning of "burrish"? [closed]

As the title said, I wonder what's the meaning of burrish ?
PurpleMonky's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
37 views

What does ´added twist´ mean? [duplicate]

in the sentence : He performed his experiments with patients , this time with an added twist . it differs from ´with a twist´
moghadasi mohamadreza's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
36 views

Miscellany vs. Miscellanea [closed]

What is the difference between "miscellany" and "miscellanea"? From what I read about, it seems that a book that consists of short stories can be called "miscellany" but ...
jsx97's user avatar
  • 301
0 votes
2 answers
72 views

What is a Word for the Repetition of a Theme Song throughout a Show [duplicate]

What is a word to describe the theme song of a show, such as a movie or cartoon, in which it recurs often, but in a toned-down mode such as played softly by a single horn or string instrument. The ...
Ross Bush's user avatar
  • 133
1 vote
2 answers
65 views

Deck as verb and the accompanying preposition

As per Cambridge dictionary and others, the word 'deck' in its verb form means to decorate or add something to something to make an effect: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/deck ...
Ammu's user avatar
  • 133
7 votes
1 answer
990 views

What is the meaning of "sutting "?

On Netflix, I came across the word sutting while watching a British series called Supacell. It seems that the actor was talking about a gun. Unfortunately, I haven't found its meaning in any ...
Mo Ali's user avatar
  • 145
-1 votes
1 answer
46 views

Can anyone explain the meaning of "as an old fisherman used to say when I was a boy not so very long ago, ..."

I read a novel, there is one sentence I cannot understand: And he slapped the little bunny's back and gave a hop, skip and jump to one side, and then laughed some more, for he was as happy as a clam ...
Ugly duck's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
19 views

The presence of "the" in the sentence of "Find all (the) indices of the ' ' character in a string" [duplicate]

Find all the indices of the ' ' characters in a string. Find all indices of the ' ' characters in a string. Do these two sentences have any difference? Which one is it if one is more natural than the ...
MJK's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
1 answer
59 views

The meaning of ''as also'' in the given paragraph?

Pakistan Nationals as also "persons resident outside Pakistan" holding Pakistani securities desirous of sending or taking out the Pakistani securities not covered under the succeeding ...
Usman Ali's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
56 views

Harry Vandiver's comment on the infinitude of Wilson primes

Wilson primes are prime numbers that meet a specific criterion. Only three such numbers are known: 5, 13, and 563. In Paulo Ribenboim's book "My Numbers, My Friends: Popular Lectures on Number ...
Zubin Mukerjee's user avatar

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