All Questions
Tagged with single-word-requests phrase-requests
447
questions
272
votes
11
answers
109k
views
Is there a word or phrase for the feeling you get after looking at a word for too long?
Sometimes after looking at a word for a while, I become convinced that it can't possibly be spelled correctly. Even after looking it up, sounding it out, and realizing that there's simply no other ...
- 6,855
14
votes
17
answers
80k
views
What is a word that means "someone who pretends to be your friend but is actually your enemy?"
What do you call someone who pretends to be your friend but is actually your enemy?
A friend suggested spy for me, but that does not nearly describe the word I need for an English project. The ...
- 157
8
votes
10
answers
21k
views
Expression for "intend to help but instead making things worse"
I want to say "someone (or something) intends to help, but instead it makes things worse". Is there any succinct expression or phrase for this?
- 313
25
votes
4
answers
15k
views
Is there a word for colloquial forms of address?
For example, "dude," "man," "buddy," "pal," etc, when used to stand in for someone's name. "Hey, pal, how's it going?"
Is there a word for terms like these? Or is "colloquialism" as close as we can ...
- 251
29
votes
19
answers
11k
views
What is the problem that gets worse after you try to solve it?
Example sentence - This problem is a _____ which gets complicated every time you try to solve it.
Is there such a word that represents a problem which will become worse if/when one tries to solve it?...
user173199
5
votes
6
answers
7k
views
Opposite of "straight talk"
What is the opposite for the straight talk idiom? How do I best call the activity when someone makes a very long preamble before he says what he wants?
- 770
17
votes
4
answers
1k
views
What should we call language that intentionally conveys the opposite of the literal meaning?
This seems to me to be a kind of rhetorical figure, but I cannot find a classical term for it in Silva Rhetoricae. Examples include the following from Tristram Shandy (Vol. 2 Chap. 24):
I define a ...
- 16.3k
17
votes
13
answers
18k
views
What is the name of the tactic that politicians use to bury people with torrent of words?
Some people write bloated books and long essays with skilful use of hooks, e.g. Jared Diamond; some others speak in long-drawn sentences with torrents of words, e.g. Noam Chomsky. It reminds me of a ...
- 1,210
37
votes
19
answers
13k
views
Word for dismissing someone's opinions as racist, liberal, etc, instead of debating back
I'm looking for either a single word or phrase that would describe either someone or the action of dismissing someone's opinions as something "socially unpopular", without giving any reasoning why, ...
- 678
55
votes
8
answers
10k
views
"To science the sh*t out of something"
In The Martian movie, Matt Damon (Watney), when left stranded on Mars with very limited resources to survive, says:
Mark Watney: In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option, I'm ...
NVZ♦
- 22.6k
31
votes
4
answers
11k
views
Can I use "US-American" to disambiguate "American"? If not, what can I use?
Based on this question, I wonder: as an alternative to USAian (which is very nonstandard) is it OK to use US-American to more clearly indicate "inhabitant of the USA"?
According to Google Ngram, this ...
- 2,273
21
votes
11
answers
11k
views
What do you call an 'unselfish' action made with a selfish reason?
There are many examples of this, and I'd like to give a few:
A person who puts a lot of effort to help the community and earns reputation points. But that reputation is the motivation behind helping ...
- 3,096
15
votes
24
answers
9k
views
What is a term or idiom for "blah blah blah" talk?
I am looking for a term or and idiomatic expression to convey the concept of "empty, irrelevant" talk. I am thinking about those situations in which people want to express their ideas on facts about ...
- 67.5k
8
votes
10
answers
5k
views
What are "good men that do nothing" called?
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
-Edmund Burke
Is there an idiom, phrase or preferably a single word that we can call people that could have helped ...
- 8,878
83
votes
25
answers
52k
views
What is deliberately using complex sentences to confuse people called?
I'm wondering if there's a word, phrase, or idiom to describe the action of deliberately confusing people by using complex sentences. For example, some politicians will throw out some big words and ...
- 1,632