"Why ...?" vs. "Why is it that ... ?" - English Language & Usage Stack ...
I don't know why, but it seems to me that Bob would sound a bit strange if he said, "Why is it that you have to get going?" in that situation.
Origin of fag (meaning a cigarette in British English)
Dec 1, 2015 · This appears to be speculative, and doesn't necessarily explain why this definition fell into common usage to indicate a cigarette. I'm looking for something more concrete indicating what caused it to be used in this context. What is the origin of this meaning of the word?
Reason for different pronunciations of "lieutenant"
Dec 6, 2014 · While Americans (and possibly others) pronounce this as "loo-tenant", folks from the UK pronounce it as "lef-tenant". Why?
Why was "Spook" a slur used to refer to African Americans?
Jul 29, 2023 · 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...
indefinite articles - Is it 'a usual' or 'an usual'? Why? - English ...
As Jimi Oke points out, it doesn't matter what letter the word starts with, but what sound it starts with. Since "usual" starts with a 'y' sound, it should take 'a' instead of 'an'. Also, If you say "today was an usual day", unless your pronunciation is extremely clear, you risk being misunderstood as "today was unusual day", which will only confuse your listeners.
Where does the use of "why" as an interjection come from?
Mar 18, 2011 · "why" can be compared to an old Latin form qui, an ablative form, meaning how. Today "why" is used as a question word to ask the reason or purpose of something.
Is it CoViD? Or COVID? Covid? How should the word be spelled?
Mar 24, 2020 · 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.
How does "pussy" come to mean "coward"?
The word pussy is often used to mean "coward". This guy is a pussy. and I am wondering why. How are woman's genitals related to being a "coward"?
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," …
writing - Why are numbers sometimes spelled out and then …
Why are numbers sometimes spelled out and then numerals specified as well? [closed] Ask Question Asked 14 years, 3 months ago Modified 12 years, 10 months ago