The English Oracle

Videos

Inversion in English

1.3K

Could “Instead,” be used as the first word of a sentence without any following “of”?

54.4K

When I say "comment out", does it mean to uncomment something or comment it?

181.7K

Is it common to omit a preposition (in / on / of) before “the month (year / week /day) when they are used adjectively and adverbially?

21.5K

Why do we pronounce Dean as /diːn/ but Sean as /ʃɒn/?

4.7K

Who first used the term "bit rot"?

588

Meaning of "break over"

8.3K

Are the phrases "once for all" and "once and for all" equally acceptable?

6.3K

Defining profit loss in laymans terms - without using loss in the explanation

818

How many people are in the sentence "My friend, John, and I went shopping"?

31.4K

What does "left for dead" mean?

30K

Word for the behavior of people who complain at everything you do

126.3K

Is there really no English equivalent to German's “Fachidiot”?

26.1K

Meaning of "quick reply"

41.2K

"Nothing to tell" versus "nothing to say"

59.2K

Visit of, to, or at a research department?

127.8K

The phrase "to the numbers born"?

1.5K

Is it 'Close to the chest' or 'Close to the vest'?

141.3K

What is a gender-neutral way of saying "middle-man"?

12K

"Chalice" vs. "goblet"

49.2K

Salty or Savory?

13.2K

Is how've a word?

46.8K

What phrase is "you betcha" a descendant of?

8.5K

Indefinite Article Preceding Noun "Wind"

3K

A word for a form of government that governs itself

3.8K

A peek into the sausage factory

29K

"Have X, will travel" - what kind of grammar is this

31.7K

"xxxx it is then!", what does it really mean?

50.2K

Does "manicure" only apply to caring for hands?

4K

Burden TO or ON some one/thing?

21.4K

What is it called when an interjection is inserted inside another word?

9.9K

Detail or Details? Read on for more detail/details

283.4K

Word for a person who is "in charge"?

148.5K

If living in the countryside is rural, what do you call living by the sea?

11.4K

Is “ ’s ” ever correct for pluralization?

20.6K

"In school" vs "at school"

420.7K

I’m looking for a word or phrase that describes the feeling that something very bad or catastrophic is about to happen

100.8K

'I hope it rains' or 'I hope it will rain'

43.4K

A single word that means "mental reaction speed"?

9K

"that" or "this"

7.5K

'... the weather' vs. '... weather'

35.5K

What is the meaning of "Already wet, aren’t they? Little squirts!"?

6.5K

Why does "defenestrate" mean "throw someone out a window" and not "remove a window"?

17.7K

What does Homer mean when he says, "her words had wings"?

14.6K

Why is the exclamation mark called a "bang"?

44.2K

Word or phrase to say you're not taking advantage of an opportunity

5K

Did Milton really invent cooking?

705

"To increase competitiveness in" or "to increase competitiveness on"?

5.2K

Spaces and em-dash

4.8K

Staying up at night

1.3K