Unanswered Questions
240 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Idiom/metaphor for a constant figure in a certain place
I was wondering if there were any idioms or cliched metaphors commonly used to describe someone who you can always expect to see in a certain place because they spend a lot of time there (or even ...
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2
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0
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98
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Word for being poked by many sharp points at once
In Javanese, being poked by a needle or a finger is called nyuluk, but being poked by all five fingers, or a brush, or a fork, or (humorously) by hair in your eyes is called nyokrok.
Is there a way to ...
- 1,578
2
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2
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133
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Is there a current, widely familiar equivalent of "Irish bull"?
Gardner, The Annotated Alice:
Closely related to Carroll's inversion humor is his humor of logical contradiction. The Red Queen knows of a hill so large that, compared to it, this hill is a valley; ...
CommunityBot
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2
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What is it called when the inference is biased internally but accurate externally?
Let say you are to make some inference about something, say a population. Typically you would take a small sample of that population and then make some inference. How you analyze that sample basically ...
- 6,415
2
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2
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To make people get used to and accept the bad by showing them the worse
I am searching for an idiomatic expression for making people accept and get used to what they normally wouldn't by showing or making them experience a worse one.
Edit; when authority wants to increase ...
CommunityBot
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2
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What's the term for (tech-)companies discouraging integrating with other companies' ecosystem or through public protocols in general?
Especially when it causes said other companies to look bad?
Example:
Google services and apps are (as far as I'm aware) available for all kinds of devices, Android, Apple, etc. For messaging and ...
2
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"Unless instructed to do so" vs "Unless instructed otherwise" preferred usage
I want to give a short but clear instruction like:
1. Please do NOT perform X unless instructed to do so.
2. Please do NOT perform X unless instructed otherwise.
Which one would be a better option ...
- 121
2
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0
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Is there a word/phrase to describe a person "who hates someone rather than hate their views"?
Let's say there is a person called X. X is a good person, in general. He has a problematic view about something, let's say, homophobia. So, here is the conversation between Y and Z.
Y: X is ...
- 1,050
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363
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is there a word or phrase meaning "to falsely believe one's opinion/feedback is being considered"?
Here is an example: In a conversation, one is asked their opinion regarding a decision, but the decision has already been made—so the individual being asked is led to believe (falsely) that their ...
- 172k
2
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0
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342
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What are the British and American expressions for “falso d’autore”?
A Falso d’autore, literally “author’s fake”, has the following characteristics:
Riproduzioni di opere note non solo pittoriche, ma più in generale figurative, eseguite da artisti contemporanei che ...
- 1,606
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422
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A thing whose name is hard to track down
Is there a word/phrase for a thing whose name is hard to track down?
Sometimes there is a concept which I believe must have a name, but I can't find that name; it's hard to track down ; I don't know ...
- 22.7k
2
votes
1
answer
125
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Simpler synonym for serial monomania
I read a book years ago in which one character described another succinctly in one or maybe two words. Sadly, the book was lost in a flood and I cannot recall the vocabulary used. Nor can I recall ...
CommunityBot
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2
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1
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67
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What is the name of a written legacy of personal wisdom?
I am collecting the wisdom of elders, publishing in books their insights and stories, focused on the theme "What does your life stand for?"
I wonder if there is a name for such books. Or if we can ...
- 503
2
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1
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147
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Looking for a term, similar to "epigraph," meaning a quotation given in order to explain another text
For an English Lit. essay I am writing on TS Eliot and Joyce, I wish to use a Biblical quotation I find useful in illuminating certain themes common to their work (1 Corinthians 13 if anyone is ...
CommunityBot
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2
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2
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Is there an opposite for the saying "winner winner chicken dinner"?
Maybe something like, "loser loser drunken boozer"?
I couldn't find examples online, other things come up in a search.
A scenario to be used in would be when someone loses a competition and ...
CommunityBot
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