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 …
Origin of the phrase "Now we're cooking with
The original is "Now You're Cooking With Gas", supposedly part of an ad campaign from the era when gas stoves first started replacing wood stoves for cooking in the home. The Wikitionary entry cooking …
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 …
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 …
"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 ...
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 …
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 …
Why is the BrE “petrol” called "gas" in AmE?
Dec 4, 2015 · By the end of the century the gas was derived directly from crude oil and gas oil was renamed Diesel oil (up to 21 carbon atoms per molecule) because its main use was in injection …
What do Americans call the fuel in a gas-powered car?
Dec 23, 2015 · The term autogas for LP gas does not seem to be widespread; note, for example, the absence of autogas engine in Google NGrams against LPG engine and propane engine, which are …
Do onomatopoeic words lose their onomatopoeic character?
Furthermore from the book "A Grammar of Iconism" By Earl R. Anderson: According to the passage above: When onomatopoeic words are used as verbs, do they lose their onomatopoeic character? ( …