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- Why . . . ? vs. Why is it that . . . ? - English Language Usage Stack . . .
Why not: I don't know why, but it seems to me Bob would sound a bit strange if he said, "Why is it that you have to get going?" Eliminating 'that' before 'Bob' would seem to be more in context with the criticism of the way Bob sounds This beside the point that "Why do you have to get going?" is more direct
- Origin of fag (meaning a cigarette in British English)
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, it comes from "fag", meaning a loose piece of cloth: fag (n 1) Look up fag at Dictionary com British slang for "cigarette" (originally, especially, the butt of a smoked cigarette), 1888, probably from fag "loose piece, last remnant of cloth" (late 14c , as in fag-end "extreme end, loose piece," 1610s), which perhaps is related to fag (v ), which
- Why was Spook a slur used to refer to African Americans?
I understand that the word spook is a racial slur that rose in usage during WWII; I also know Germans called black gunners Spookwaffe What I don't understand is why Spook seems to also mean 'ghos
- Why is c*nt so much more derogatory in the US than the UK?
That's a very good question It certainly is offensive here in the US, and I'm not sure why it's considered so much worse than other "Anglo-Saxon" words I've used all of the other ones on occasion But in 52 years, I've used "cunt" anatomically only a handful of times, and I can't recall ever using it as a slang reference for a woman
- indefinite articles - Is it a usual or an usual? Why? - English . . .
An hour is correct, because hour starts with a vowel sound People seem to ask most often about words that start with the letters h and u because sometimes these words start with vowel sounds and sometimes they start with consonant sounds
- Is it CoViD? Or COVID? Covid? How should the word be spelled?
This explains why the medical specialist was at odds with The Guardian writer editor over the treatment of the acronym COVID-19 Newspaper guidelines for formatting of 'COVID-19' 'Covid-19' It's tempting to view preference for spelling acronyms as all-lowercase or initial-capped-only words as peculiar to British journalism
- Why would you do that? - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
Why would you do that? is less about tenses and more about expressing a somewhat negative surprise or amazement, sometimes enhanced by adding ever: Why would you ever do that? It is in fact part of a conditional sentence in which the if clause is omitted but implied The implied part could be for example: If you were in your right mind,
- Where does the use of why as an interjection come from?
Why no, no more then reason The OED doesn't explain why it is used in that manner I can only speculate First it was just a question expressing doubt reduced to its essence: It is best that we negotiate a truce with Spain — Why is that so? I believe the Spanish armies cannot threaten us They will fail in their attempt to conquer England
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