- Napkin vs. tissue - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
For cenatory use, a linen or cotton cloth is preferred and is known as a napkin, but when made of paper it is a paper napkin Because of its other uses, tissue would risk being misunderstood if used in this context A serviette is the same thing, but the word is used only by the aspirational middle class
- Does the word, ‘napkin’ have a metaphoric or symbolic meaning other . . .
In this case, I get the feeling that either side of the napkin refers to the steakhouse employees (who work on one "side of the napkin") and the customers (who dine on the other) In the article, the steakhouse owner chimed in with one theory; in subsequent paragraphs, some politicians offered explanations as well
- Is there a word for the towel on a waiters arm?
Napkin is the correct term: what about that waiter who carries a napkin draped over one arm? In part, it’s practicality It’s readily available to mop up any accidental spills or other messes at your table But the practice dates back a couple of hundred years in France; that was how waiters carried the napkins they would distribute to diners
- What is a more professional term for the back-of-the-envelope . . .
[Making a] Zeroth-order approximation [Wikipedia] In science, engineering, and other quantitative disciplines, orders of approximation refer to formal or informal terms for how precise an approximation is, and to indicate progressively more refined approximations: in increasing order of precision, a zeroth-order approximation, a first-order approximation, a second-order approximation, and so
- punctuation - Standard format for phone numbers? - English Language . . .
Inside the USA, in business contexts, "(310) 555-1212" is fairly standard However, it's not very computer-friendly; also, due to area code overlays in a growing number of areas of the US, you must often dial a 1 before the area code in any case, so "1-310-555-1212" is becoming fairly common (on the business cards of people who are more practical than formal, for example ) "310 555 1212" is
- phrase requests - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
Is there one word (or phrase) to describe all forms of disposable cutlery etc, such as paper cups, paper napkins, paper plastic spoons and forks, plates, etc ? I thought of disposable cutlery its
- Why does the b in absorb change to a p in absorption?
I just wanted to mention that there´s something in what Izkata says: in English, neither [p] nor [b] is actually voiced very much in terms of the duration of time while the vocal folds are still vibrating during the closure-- compared to other languages where the "voiced" stops (canonically) have voicing right through the closure
- What is the difference between heading to and heading for?
Heading to somewhere is deliberate It denotes an intended destination The plane is heading to Dubai Heading for somewhere is not always deliberate, and denotes a direction rather than a destination
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