Search results for 'tag:Idioms tag:Abbreviations' matching tags 'Idioms' and 'Abbreviations'

Re: a few questions about US high schools

Grammar Geek — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:18:33 GMT

None of these are standard idioms - they are simply abbreviations used by that school. I have no idea what P and HP mean. High placement?

I assume that the parenting classes teaches parenting skills. Often, I've heard, these courses involve having the student take care of eggs, or dolls, or even high-tech dolls, so that they can't be left alone and must be fed and changed and so forth. Hopefully, it shows them the hard work side of parenting and not just the cute baby side, so they are more responsible about using birth control.

Driver's ed is driving lessons, yes. It includes both classroom on on-the-road lessons.

his/cul/geo - no clue. Cultural studies, perhaps?

Planar solid geometry? again, no clue. this is not any sort of idiom.

Immunizations - yes the student got his or her last vaccines on May 25, 2005.

A proficiency test is to see how well you learned to do something. S may be satisfactory.

I can tell you a lot about high school, but with things this school-specific, you'd better off asking the school guidance counselor.

Re: Change English As You Wish

Englishuser — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 15:55:41 GMT

Hi julielai,

You asked:

Are you serious? You mean I have to know a million words to be proficient in English?

That's a question which clearly lacks a straightforward answer. On the one hand, very few native speakers of English (if any) know a million words. On the other hand, there are around a million words to be found in the great Oxford English Dictionary: how do you know which of them you need to know and which of them you can skip and still be a proficient speaker of English? What do you, as a proficient speaker, think? What do you think when you look at the below wordlist (which includes abbreviations)? Does one need to know all of them? Please note that some of them have several meanings:

coydog, coyn, coynye, coyote (2 meanings), coypu, coz, coze (2 meanings), cozen, cozenage, cozener, cozy, cozzie, CP (4 meanings), cp., c.p., CPA, CPl, Cpl., CPO, CPR, CPRE, cps. (2 meanings), CPSA, CPT, CPU, CR, Cr, Cr. (2 meanings), crab (at least 23 different meanings not including idioms), crabbed (9 meanings), crabby (3 meanings).

Re: "Round the clock"

Aperisic — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:59:39 GMT

Anonymous wrote:
Is it right to use the phrase "around the clock " in place of "round the clock" ?Would it mean the same?

Yes.

Idioms, Oxford, new edition, page 59 gives

around/round the clock

(example has it even this way round-the-clock)

Anonymous wrote:

Also,is the phrase "24/7" unprofessional ? can it be used in formal english?

24/7 (24-7) is considered slang, but is used normally in a formal way to describe a type of service.

source Wikipedia:

24/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week".

In commerce and industry, it identifies a service that will be present regardless of current time or day, as might be offered by a supermarket, ATM, gas station, diner or restaurant, concierge services or manned datacenter.

24/7 can also refer to:

a type of BDSM play, see 24/7 (BDSM).
24/7, a fictional supermarket/convenience store chain in the fictional state of San Andreas, in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
a game mode for ESPN NBA 2K5, where a basketball player is created and played as if the player is playing in real life.

Re: NO REPLYS JUST TO ME

khoff — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 02:37:31 GMT

Hi Cookie - where do you post these messages that get no replies? I think that questions in the "Vocabulary and Idioms" and "General English Grammar" forums almost always get replies, but maybe it is different in the "conversation and chat" parts of the board. I rarely read those, so I don't know. But language questions almost always get answered. Have you asked any actual questions in the vocabulary or grammar forums that have not been answered?

Also - this is strictly my own personal feeling - I have a real aversion to "internet speak" and if a post is full of abbreviations (u, plz, some1, etc.) I am much less likely to answer it, and often I don't even read to the end of the post. (That's one of the reasons I avoid the conversation forums.) Some people are here to chat, and that's fine, but others are more interested in language-related questions. I suspect that some of the "regulars" who are serious about English share my dislike of internet style. So, I suppose you might try posting in standard English and see if you get more replies. Also, I think that posts that raise a topic or ask a specific question are more likely to get replies than a general "Hi, write to me!" (I haven't seen your other posts, so I don't know if this applies to them or not.) I don't think the scarcity of responses has anything to do with your "junior member" status.

Re: Medical Titles and Their Abbreviations

StyxNStonzzz — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 21:01:29 GMT

Hey, you forgot about all the other things "do" could stand for, like:

do.
abbreviation for ditto.

.do
abbreviation: Dominican Republic (in Internet addresses).

n. Music
The first tone of the diatonic scale in solfeggio.

n. Slang pl. dos
A hairdo.

v. did, (dd) done, (dn) doÂ·ing, does (dz)
v. tr.

To perform or execute: do one's assigned task; do a series of business deals.
To fulfill the requirements of: did my duty at all times.
To carry out; commit: a crime that had been done on purpose.

To produce, especially by creative effort: do a play on Broadway.
To play the part or role of in a creative production: did Elizabeth I in the film.
To mimic: âdoing the Southern voice, improvising it inventively as he goes alongâ (William H. Pritchard).

To bring about; effect: Crying won't do any good now.
To render; give: do equal justice to the opposing sides; do honor to one's family.
To put forth; exert: Do the best you can.

To attend to in such a way as to take care of or put in order: did the bedrooms before the guests arrived.
To prepare for further use especially by washing: did the dishes.

To set or style (the hair).
To apply cosmetics to: did her face.
To have as an occupation or profession: Have you decided what you will do after college?
To work out by studying: do a homework assignment.
Used as a substitute for an antecedent verb: He can play the piano, and I can do that, too.
Informal.
To travel (a specified distance): do a mile in four minutes.
To make a tour of; visit: â [He] did 15 countries of Western Europe in only a few daysâ (R.W. Apple, Jr.).

To be sufficient in meeting the needs of; serve: This room will do us very nicely.
Informal. To serve (a prison term): did time in jail; did five years for tax fraud.
Slang. To cheat; swindle: do a relative out of an inheritance.
Slang. To take (drugs) illegally: âIf you do drugs you are going to be in continual troubleâ (Jimmy Breslin).
Slang. To kill; murder.
Vulgar Slang. To have sex with; bring to orgasm.

v. intr.
To behave or conduct oneself; act: Do as I say and you won't get into trouble.

To get along; fare: students who do well at school.
To carry on; manage: I could do without your interference.
To make good use of something because of need: I could do with a hot bath.

To serve a specified purpose: This coat will do for another season.
To be proper or fitting: Such behavior just won't do.
To take place; happen: What's doing in London this time of year?
Used as a substitute for an antecedent verb: worked as hard as everyone else did.
Used after another verb for emphasis: Run quickly, do!

v. aux.
Used with the infinitive without to in questions, negative statements, and inverted phrases: Do you understand? I did not sleep well. Little did we know what was in store for us.
Used as a means of emphasis: I do want to be sure.

n. pl. dos or do's
A statement of what should be done: a list of the dos and don'ts of management.
Informal. An entertainment; a party: attended a big do at the embassy.
A commotion.
Chiefly British Slang. A swindle; a cheat.
Archaic. Duty; deed.
Slang. Fecal matter; excrement.

Phrasal Verbs:
do by
To behave with respect to; deal with: The children have done well by their aged parents.
do for
To care or provide for; take care of.
do in Slang
To tire completely; exhaust: The marathon did me in.
To kill.
To ruin utterly: Huge losses on the stock market did many investors in.
do up
To adorn or dress lavishly: The children were all done up in matching outfits.
To wrap and tie (a package).
To fasten: do up the buttons on a dress.
do without
To manage despite the absence of: We had to do without a telephone on the island.

Idioms:
can/could do without
To prefer not to experience or deal with: I could do without their complaints.
do a disappearing act Informal
To vanish.
do away with
To make an end of; eliminate.
To destroy; kill.
do it Vulgar Slang
To engage in sexual intercourse.
do (one) proud
To act or perform in a way that gives cause for pride.
do (one's) bit
To make an individual contribution toward an overall effort.
do (one's) business
Slang To defecate. Used especially of a pet.
do (one's) own thing Slang
To do what one does best or finds most enjoyable: âI get paid to try cases and to do my thing on trialâ (Bruce Cutler).

D.O.
abbr.

Doctor of Osteopathy

Main Entry: do
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: did; done; doÂ·ing; does
transitive verb 1 : PERFORM, EXECUTE
2 : COMMIT verbal auxiliary âused with the infinitive without to to form present and past tenses in legal and parliamentary language âdo business : to be engaged in business activities (as soliciting sales); specifically : to engage in activities sufficient to subject a foreign company to the personal jurisdiction of a state âsee also DOING BUSINESS STATUTE

Main Entry: DO
Function: abbreviation
1 doctor of osteopathy
2 doctor of optometry

Main Entry: dissolved oxygen
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: the amount of oxygen dissolved in a body of water as an indication of the degree of health of the water and its ability to support a balanced aquatic ecosystem; also, the amount of free (not chemically combined) oxygen dissolved in water, wastewater, or other liquid, usually expressed in milligrams per liter, parts per million, or percent of saturation; abbr. DO

do

n 1: an uproarious party [syn: bash, brawl] 2: the syllable naming the first (tonic) note of any major scale in solmization [syn: doh, ut] 3: doctor's degree in osteopathy [syn: Doctor of Osteopathy, DO] v 1: engage in; "make love, not war"; "make an effort"; "do research"; "do nothing"; "make revolution" [syn: make] 2: carry out or perform an action; "John did the painting, the weeding, and he cleaned out the gutters"; "the skater executed a triple pirouette"; "she did a little dance" [syn: perform, execute] 3: get (something) done; "I did my job" [syn: perform] 4: proceed or get along; "How is she doing in her new job?"; "How are you making out in graduate school?"; "He's come a long way" [syn: fare, make out, come, get along] 5: give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally; "cause a commotion"; "make a stir"; "cause an accident" [syn: cause, make] 6: carry out or practice; as of jobs and professions; "practice law" [syn: practice, practise, exercise] 7: be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity; "A few words would answer"; "This car suits my purpose well"; "Will $100 do?"; "A 'B' grade doesn't suffice to get me into medical school"; "Nothing else will serve" [syn: suffice, answer, serve] 8: create or design, often in a certain way; "Do my room in blue"; "I did this piece in wood to express my love for the forest" [syn: make] [ant: unmake] 9: behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself; "You should act like an adult"; "Don't behave like a fool"; "What makes her do this way?"; "The dog acts ferocious, but he is really afraid of people" [syn: act, behave] 10: spend time in prison or in a labor camp; "He did six years for embezzlement" [syn: serve] 11: carry on or manage; "We could do with a little more help around here" [syn: manage] 12: arrange attractively; "dress my hair for the wedding" [syn: dress, arrange, set, coif, coiffe, coiffure] 13: travel or traverse (a distance); "This car does 150 miles per hour"; "We did 6 miles on our hike every day"

do

1. repeat loop.

2. The country code for Dominican Republic.

(1999-06-10)

Sheesh!

Re: Buisness english and general english

anon1 — Wed, 28 Jul 2004 05:32:39 GMT

This is a very open question.

General English

-informal
-may contain idioms, colloquial, and slang phrases and sentences
-not always spoken and written (e-mail) in complete sentences

Business English

-precise, often legalistic language is used that is difficult to understand
-more complex sentence structure
-language (words and phrases) specific to the industry are commonly used
-many abbreviations and acronymns are used
-often formal language is used, and words are carefully chosen--especially in contracts

Is there something specific you were looking for?