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0 votes
3 answers
109 views

A Ghost Town (but NOT)

I'm looking to describe (in one word/phrase) the concept of a town losing its economic popularity. Shops closing due to higher business rates. Traffic levels reducing due to lack of employment/poor ...
David Roughton's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
47 views

What is the term for look that asks for thinking? And the question that incites thinking?

Imagine this scenario. Two people are having a conversation in which one is trying to explain something to the other. During the course of conversation, the exponent asks the other person a question ...
EMS's user avatar
  • 339
-1 votes
2 answers
105 views

What is an over the shoulder fanny pack called?

A fanny pack (a.k.a. a "bumbag") is a small pouch, usually sealed by a zipper, with an attached belt, meant to be worn around one's waist, an example of which appears below. A fanny pack ...
ohwilleke's user avatar
  • 2,424
17 votes
3 answers
2k views

Term for a single piece of jargon

I believe there’s a three-word phrase that means “a specific piece of jargon, used in a different sense than it’s normal meaning.” It’s something like word of practice or word of field. It feels more ...
Kaia's user avatar
  • 273
1 vote
4 answers
144 views

Is there a word or phrase used to describe romantic partners of a family both married and unmarried but not the family itself?

In a family with multiple married adult children, the non-blood spouses could be referred to, as a group, as the in-laws of the family. If I also wanted to include unmarried partners (boyfriends/...
evan's user avatar
  • 139
19 votes
5 answers
2k views

A word or phrase for this kind of metallic colouring?

What is a word or phrase for the kind of metallic colouring shown in the photo, which shows a sculpture in Hong Kong? This colouring is not uniform. It has a sort of dark gold base and in places, ...
tell's user avatar
  • 301
2 votes
1 answer
86 views

What is the term for a work that is about works of the same kind? [duplicate]

It seems like 70% of all bands have a song about the music business. Either about songs, or touring, or being in a band. And there are plenty of novels about writing novels, or about being an author. ...
aghast's user avatar
  • 271
1 vote
0 answers
63 views

Best pair of words to describe two contrasting responses to social oppression?

Suppose Bob and Jeff are both poor rural White Americans. Bob's personality converts his tough situation into animosity toward struggling Black Americans (and related concepts such as reparations). ...
Quantum Prospector's user avatar
13 votes
15 answers
4k views

What's a pithy term to describe what a spy does when he/she socializes with a target to get information?

I'm working on a roleplaying game, and I want a pithy name for a skill that modern intelligence agents call "elicitation of intelligence." Setting is the interwar period in Europe (between ...
PandRNframe's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
193 views

Brushing hair alternative word or phrase?

It seems like it should be simple enough but the English language fails me again. Can you find a word or phrase that means "brushing (enter possessive pronoun) hair" or "to brush one's ...
Mx Me's user avatar
  • 1
-2 votes
1 answer
98 views

Is there any alternative words or phrases in English for 'challenge someone to a fight with rubbing spittle on the forehead'

If you dare to smear spittle on someone's forehead, it signifies a challenge to engage in a fight. Such challenges often occur among children. When one child challenges another to a fight, they ...
Mawia HL's user avatar
  • 225
2 votes
1 answer
217 views

Gender independent term for address a superior or higher up

For times when I am unaware of whether my superior is male or female, it would be very convenient to have a gender neutral term for addressing them. For example, in the sentence: Hello _____ , I have ...
Bongo Man's user avatar
  • 139
0 votes
2 answers
59 views

A word or phrase for a task which can't be neatly defined by a process

I'm looking for a word or phrase for a task which can't be neatly defined by a process. By process I mean a series of steps to be followed exactly. Writing a good stack exchange request would be an ...
MichaelJK's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
110 views

How do you describe someone who pretends to know the answer to their question after it's been answered?

I have a coworker who constantly asks questions, obvious ones and sometimes not so obvious, and always pretends to have known the answer but it accidentally slipped their mind. example Coworker: How ...
user496959's user avatar
14 votes
13 answers
6k views

Word for declining to answer

Is there any single word or short expression that could be used similarly to "yes", "no", "maybe", but that indicates an unwillingness to answer a question? Bonus points ...
Stephane Bersier's user avatar

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