Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with phrases and words

hopefully there will be some good answers!

raztaj — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 17:48:51 -0800

What are some non-religious words or phrases for expressing good wishes/thoughts for the future, besides "hopefully?" Along the lines of "hopefully everything will work out," or "hopefully we're doing the right thing," or "hopefully that was just a traffic camera and not a speeding camera" etc...

I feel like I sound like a broken record for lack of a better term!

A nigh impossible search

Mrmuhnrmuh — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 11:56:43 -0800

What are some words that are most commonly associated with specific others? For example, "nigh" preceding "impossible." I know I have come across other such examples, but I am stumped to remember them, so list away if you have them.

I Love You Historically

cmchap — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 09:28:31 -0800

I need ways to say "I like you" or "I love you" (to a girlfriend) from various periods in history. I say "I like you" rather often to my girlfriend, and I get the feeling that it's loosing its meaning. My remedy for this is to express the same sentiment in the language of earlier times. I've started using decades (eg. "You're groovy," for the 1960s) and would like to continue that, but I'll accept anything so long as I am able to tie a time period to it with reasonable precision. (She'll ask which time period is represented by each statement.) I'll take them as far back in history as you can give 'em.

Firefox, find words in this list!

exphysicist345 — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 22:43:01 -0800

Is there any way to get Firefox to search the text on a web page for multiple items -- say, words in a list? (Aside, of course, from manually typing each word into the Find box, one word at a time.) Say I go to a web page listing Movies Currently Playing In My Area. I want to find out if any of these movies are on my List of Movies I Want To See. Is there any way to get Firefox to search the text on the page for words and phrases from my list? Ideally, I'd like FF to just highlight all the found phrases. FF extensions, bookmarklets, whatever, all welcome. I'm running FF 3.6.12 on Win Vista. (I've looked, and the Googles, the Firefox Extensions, they return nothing.)

I.T. Lingo

jasondigitized — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:57:08 -0800

Give me your best I.T. related words, phrases, and aphorisms. I have worked in a variety of companies, all of which seem to have some interesting lingo and vernacular. I am not looking for stuff like 'cookie', and 'firewall'. More along the lines of: 'Going Dark' - when developers grab a requirements document and disappear for months, 'Snowflake' - a server that has been modified to the point of being unique, fragile, and unrepeatable. Phrases would include things like 'The problem is between the chair and the keyboard', 'XYZ consulting is just a body shop', or 'Those legacy systems are sunsetting'. Help me collect colorful I.T. lingo and proverbs.

Where's this from?

als129 — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:50:44 -0800

This is my question. There are many like it, but this one is mine. What is that phrase from? "There are many like it, but this one is mine." I keep hearing it and using it occasionally and I don't even know its origin. Is it from something specific or just a common phrase?

Favorite memorized literary quotations?

sixacross — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 02:39:04 -0800

What are your favorite literary passages that you've memorized? I've recently taken to trying to commit to memory a few lines of my favorite works here and there. It feels it should be a small and rewarding exercise compared to the relatively large number of song lyrics and movie quotations rattling around upstairs.

So, party tricks, battle cries, or tests of your foreign language skills -- I'd like to hear what quotes you have under your belt, and whatever anecdotes you have from knowing them.