Apr 15, 2017 · If so, my analysis amounts to a rule in search of actual usage—a prescription rather than a description. In any event, the impressive rise of "free of" against "free from" over …

Sep 16, 2011 · The choice of prepositions depends upon the temporal context in which you're speaking. "On ~ afternoon" implies that the afternoon is a single point in time; thus, that …

Q&A for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts

Aug 16, 2011 · 6 For free is an informal phrase used to mean "without cost or payment." These professionals were giving their time for free. The phrase is correct; you should not use it where …

My company gives out free promotional items with the company name on it. Is this stuff called company swag or schwag? It seems that both come up as common usages—Google …

Saying free or available rather than busy may be considered a more "positive" enquiry. It may also simply mean that you expect the person to be busy rather than free, rather than the other way …

Aug 5, 2018 · Items given away free, typically for promotional purposes, to people attending an event, using a service, etc. It’s especially common in reference to, e.g., the very nice “swag …

May 20, 2022 · The fact that it was well-established long before OP's 1930s movies is attested by this sentence in the Transactions of the Annual Meeting from the South Carolina Bar …

Mar 4, 2011 · I got a bit mixed up just now regarding the difference between "complimentary" and "complementary". My colleagues were arguing about the correct spelling of "complimentary …

Jun 24, 2018 · For the record, you can no more have differences "among" words than the eye of a daisy can ever be "among" its petals. These always have to be "between", just like choosing …