The English Oracle

Videos

Term for puns in graphics - "Can"cer be beaten

797

What's the difference between "title" and "name"?

47.9K

Origin of "come in handy"

8.8K

Is there an enhancing, slangish word to put after statements, like the Norwegian slang word "ass"?

3.2K

How did "stuck-up" get to mean "snob"?

10.4K

Closest equivalent to the Chinese jocular use of 职业病 (occupational disease): job creates habits that manifest inappropriately outside work

3.6K

Competence in one domain translating into a subjective perception of competence in an unrelated domain

114

Origin and meaning of "Hello the fire!"

2K

What's the difference between "rent" and "hire" in British and American English?

94.5K

when to use the expression "hanging from the rafters?"

31.7K

"Lessen, poisoned gulls, ditcher wander hair annulled furry tell a boarder Slipping Booty?"

458

Is "all total" grammatically correct?

5.8K

Why do people say "Happy" Halloween?

15.2K

How long has the subjunctive existed in English?

364

What is the origin/history of "you do you" (or "do you")?

72.7K

Usage of the word concurrence

8.3K

Looking for a word or phrase that conveys the modification of something in a certain way

414

How closely is the Queen's English linked to British royalty?

692

Indian legal documents

4.3K

Expressing that you are prepared because you feared the worst

1.3K

What is the best format to use when writing out dates?

141.2K

Are vowel ligatures common in any disciplines these days?

484

Why does "singer" have /ŋ/ and "longer" have /ŋg/?

2.8K

When did the U.S. President become "Mr. X" instead of "President X"?

2.2K

What do you call someone who is affected by an action, whether positively or negatively?

18.4K

"Each" — pronoun or adverb

4.3K

Word for "number of times a value is copied"

1.3K

What are exchanges like "How are you," "I'm fine," and "See you later" called?

4K

Why the phrase "thunder and lightning", and not "lightning and thunder"?

18.3K

Polite synonyms for "a——hole-ish" behavior

182.1K

Term for doing something little by little?

5.9K

Is there any noun in English which changes the first letter in the plural?

4.5K

What is the origin of “cold weapon” in the sense of non-firearm?

3.3K

"subject to" vs. "subject of" - which expression should be used and when?

53.4K

Word for fake religious people

53.2K

What is the difference between the root "hemi", the root "semi", and the root "demi"?

2.6K

"Don't I know you" vs. "do I know you"

50.4K

Why "meth-", "eth-", "prop-", when there is "uni-","di-","tri-"?

89.5K

What does this Economist article title “Paris-on-sea” mean?

297

What's the proper pronoun when performing an action in IRC?

228

Can "drink" be used as an uncountable noun?

12.6K

intro- vs. intra-

8.4K

What verb should be used with "puzzles"? We "raise" them, "cast" them, ... or we simply "say" them?

8.5K

What is the equivalent of sub-/supersonic for the speed of light?

3.8K

"Yes marry have I" usage

2.1K

"Take a rest" or "have some rest"?

787.1K

"Questions like this" or "questions like these"

70K

Idiom request for wasting time or money

30.1K

Is there a name for a word where all the letters are in alphabetical order

7.2K

"[adjective] and [adjective] [noun]" -- Should the noun be singular or plural?

9.3K