All Questions
Tagged with single-word-requests american-english
219
questions
94
votes
7
answers
22k
views
Is there a gender neutral equivalent of “manspreading”?
Who knew that the term manspreading is considered deeply sexist? I didn't
A nameless user proposed to delete the term from an answer of mine. His explanation was “remove misandry”. I had written
...
- 91.9k
41
votes
18
answers
20k
views
What do you call a person who keeps talking about art; studies art, criticizes art, and thinks he'd be amazing with it. But he doesn't practice it
I've come across this word before. It's not "hypocrite". But the definition of the word was very specific. Basically it's an adjective, it's something you call a person who's really into art; like for ...
- 475
41
votes
6
answers
12k
views
Term for Gift that Turns out to be a Burden
What is the English term for when someone thinks they are doing something nice for you but it ends up making things worse. EX: Someone buys you an elephant -- nice gesture and cool! But now you have ...
- 411
34
votes
11
answers
7k
views
Slang word for "police station"
For a story I'm writing, I've stumbled over a word and dictionaries aren't much help (if they turn up anything at all, they don't give me a good feel for either the exact meaning or usage).
I need a ...
- 591
30
votes
10
answers
12k
views
What would a British person call the biscuits that Americans put gravy on?
What are the biscuits that Americans put gravy on called in British English? They're very different from British biscuits. I like both kinds of biscuits, but the British ones would not be good with ...
- 770
28
votes
19
answers
32k
views
A verb that means “to prove someone is guilty of a crime”
Preface: I don't think there is a single-word (verb) that expresses the concept I am asking for, in which case I'd settle for the least ambiguous and most common phrase or idiom that describes the ...
- 91.9k
28
votes
13
answers
30k
views
Is there a word, phrase, or idiom for a person who stays too late at an event such as a dinner party?
Something like "latecomer" but for departing rather than arriving.
For example, "Bob was always the _____ at social outings."
Other variations with verbs or non - noun idioms are useful to me as ...
- 383
23
votes
6
answers
7k
views
"Federal" is to "Federally" as "State" is to
If you were to say that something would be taxed by the federal government, you could say it was taxable federally (though you would more likely say it was federally taxable).
If something would ...
- 394
22
votes
16
answers
168k
views
What is a term for someone who doesn't know what they haven't experienced?
I'm struggling to find a word or short term for a person or group of people who do not experience jealousy/remorse/etc. due to a lack of something. For example, people from the middle ages could not ...
- 529
20
votes
12
answers
7k
views
Is there a word for the uncomfortable feeling of enjoying good things that come out of horrible situations? [duplicate]
My dad died, and I loved him very much but he restricted parts of my life that are no longer restricted. Is there a word for the uncomfortable and sometimes disturbing feeling of enjoying that?
- 201
20
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Southern Dialect: Word for a time of day?
I remember reading a story somewhere that a Southerner wrote about one of his life experiences. He mentioned that in the region he lived there was a time of day that cooled off a large amount in less ...
- 309
17
votes
14
answers
12k
views
What is an informal term for a person who can't do anything right? [closed]
In Russian we have the term "рукожоп". I would translate it as "asshands" which literally means that your hands grow out of your behind and you can't do anything right (or do ...
- 1,450
17
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Word/term for persistence in incorrect pronunciation
Is there a word or idiom for persistence in pronouncing words incorrectly, even after being corrected?
Specifically, this question has arisen from a teenage debate over the correct pronunciation of "...
- 171
16
votes
22
answers
2k
views
Is there a good substitute for the word "scarper" in American English?
I used quick, let's scarper before the boss comes back to inject some levity into a recent meeting, but got only blank stares for my trouble. When asked to explain scarper to my American chums, all I ...
- 2,392
15
votes
6
answers
20k
views
British and American most common term for rubber/eraser shavings
I've been looking for the name of the rubbish left when one uses a rubber (UK), eraser (US). I've come across a plethora of terms but it isn't clear which are more “universal”. (After all, a sharpener ...
