By Nouns, Expressions

LOL, that's what happens when you don't have the slightest idea how to express a certain concept in another language. Dictionary, direct translation... total nonsense. That's why I believe every learner should use a monolingual dictionary "for learners", where everything is...

Hi,I'm really enjoying this. You're making me think. I'm going to take your points out of sequence. I think I'm still replying to your post; if I misrepresent what you're saying, please correct me. First, the summary of what I'm going to say: A lot depends on theory, and...

Since you make me choose, I'll take the second one. I don't think "deaf" can be used as a noun. Edit. Aha! I see your title. I believe the expression is "a deaf ear." I usually hear it without the "to me," perhaps because it's more figurative than...

Thanks, Avangi. I love the cute expression 'brain fart'. This is not the first time I've heard it but I never took the effort to find out. Here's is the definition I got from Urban Dictionary.A spontaneous stupid (Stupid the noun, not stupid the adjective) usually accompanied by...

Thanks, Mr. P. I didn't know you'd replied to my post until now. Actually, I've been waiting. Somehow your post escaped me. 1. Thanks for the suggestion!an image of her long-lost boyfriend flashed in front of her eyes.I didn't know this was a common expression. Logically, in...

Hi,Wear and tear is a fixed expression:wear and tear noun the damage which happens to an object in ordinary use during a period: Seat covers on trains take a lot of wear and tear.(http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=89537&dict=CALD)

Hi, I am in a situation where I am having a bout of 'mass nouns' mix-ups and I am going to ask a mixed bag of questions all related to mass noun usage. In a thread named 'a soap' started by Vincent Teo, Mr. M. noted that he should use 'soap' instead of 'a...

.A complete predicate is all of the sentence except for the subject.An appositive is 'an expression that has 'the same function and the same relation to other elements in the sentence , the second expression identifying or supplementing the first. In Washington, our first president, the...

Hi, 1) Where I think we need to carve out some territory of definition in practice is to say that proselytism is relating to people different from oneself by using means and methods with ulterior motives in order to convert. But what's happening in secular literature is that it is moving...

I agree, Yankee. I guess MW doesn't list the two-word version of "take a back seat to" because it's an expression. The following Googles show the preference for the one-word adjective in "backseat driver" and for the two-word compound noun (?) in "take a back...