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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
- 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
- Why does the b in absorb change to a p in absorption?
English, however, mostly favors Progressive assimilation -- that's why the {-Z} suffixes of noun plural, noun possessive, and verb 3sgpresent vary between s and z ; they take their voicing parameter from the sound that comes before them The {-D} verb past tense suffix varies between d and t in the same way
- 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
- phrases - Why the for in And Ill tell you for why? - English . . .
for-why goes back to Old English times, over a thousand years ago It was preserved in dialects in the US South, but was originally from English dialects on the other side of the Atlantic It was preserved in dialects in the US South, but was originally from English dialects on the other side of the Atlantic
- How did the word beaver come to be associated with vagina?
From "Why King George of England May Have to Lose His Beard: How the Game of 'Beaver' Which All England Is Playing Is So Threatening the Proper Reverence for the Throne That Banishment of the Royal Whiskers Seems Imperative," in the Washington [D C ] Times (October 22, 1922):
- Why is pineapple in English but ananas in all other languages?
I don't think we are discussing whether "ananas" or "pineapple" was used first, but where it came from and why the English language does not use "ananas" today I would say that whoever introduced the ananas to the public first used the term "pineapple" and that is how the word became the accepted name for the fruit –
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