Are names of chemicals not proper nouns? - English Language
Apr 22, 2024 · Product names which are derived after an inventor's name will often remain capitalized, though not always (e.g. the petroleum distillate used to power trucks and locomotives is called …
Throttle is to slow down, but full throttle is max speed?
Dec 19, 2023 · Originally, throttle meant throat. So "full-throttle" for a motorized vehicle is like a lion's full-throated roar - the throttle/throat is opened as wide as possible (for maximum throughput of fuel …
"If it works, it works" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Mar 20, 2025 · I've always hated the phrase If it works, it works. I know it's trying to say that if something already functions as intended, then there's no reason to change it. But is that always necessarily ...
Origin of the phrase, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."
Jun 30, 2011 · There are many versions of this proverb, which suggests there are always several ways to do something. The earliest printed citation of this proverbial saying that I can find is in a short story …
"Particulate" vs. "particle" [closed] - English Language & Usage Stack ...
What’s the difference between particulate and particle? Should it be diesel particulates or diesel particles, and why? Could you provide three or more examples where it should use particulate rat...
Same adjective for two nouns - English Language & Usage Stack …
May 17, 2015 · The government placed restrictions on both diesel fuel and diesel engines. Here I dont want to repeat the diesel. I cannot write: The government placed restrictions on both diesel fuel and …
When did the insult “up yours” come into existence?
Sep 14, 2023 · The movie Blazing Saddles used everything and anything to get a laugh. When the African American sheriff, newly assigned to a rural town, patrolled the main thoroughfare he …
What is the origin of "sucker" and "it sucks"?
etymonline has for suck: O.E. sucan, from PIE root sug-/suk- of imitative origin. Meaning “do fellatio” is first recorded 1928. Slang sense of “be contemptible” first attested 1971 (the underlying notion is of …
meaning - "Flammable" versus "Combustible" - English Language
Gas is flammable, diesel vapour combustible. In England I was always taught that the difference between flammable and inflammable was that inflammable required a flame to permit burning.
Adjective for engine running at high speed
Sep 29, 2015 · Close, but there's an implication that the engine is unloaded or running at a harmfully high speed, which doesn't fit the OP's requirement of a gerund that means "working hard at top …