Help with English

[Fraggle Rocker]

upstaging = ?

This is an old word from the vocabulary of the theater.

If the star has a very long speech to give... but then one of the lesser cast members follows him up by giving a speech of his own, which is not even in the libretto, he is trying to upstage the star.

got "downstaging"?

Yes, that is a real word, but it is only used to describe an area on the stage.

 

[sideshowbob]

If the star has a very long speech to give... but then one of the lesser cast members follows him up by giving a speech of his own, which is not even in the libretto, he is trying to upstage the star.

In The Magnificent Seven, newcomer Steve McQueen upstaged the big star Yul Brynner by rattling a shotgun shell, removing his hat, etc. - anything to be the center of attention.

 

[Baldeee]

To draw down something means to take away a considerable amount of it. This can result in a smaller supply, which might be a problem in the future.

There need be nothing "considerable" about it.
A drawdown is merely the removal of a portion of the holding, be it funds, a reserve of product etc.
A well funded portfolio, for example, might allow for drawdowns sufficient to maintain one's lifestyle without actually reducing the initial capital, with each drawdown offset by growth in the investments.

 

[Saint]

tyre or tire?

 

[Baldeee]

In the UK "to tire" is a verb meaning "to grow weary", and "tyre" is the (usually rubber) covering around a wheel.
However, I think in the US they use "tire" for both.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

However, I think in the US they use "tire" for both.

We do, indeed.

 

[Saint]

online, on-line, on line,
which one is correct?

"I like to play online game." ---------- correct?

 

[Saint]

I think "tyre" is a better word, tire is just too strange.

 

[Baldeee]

online, on-line, on line,
which one is correct?

It started out as "on-line" but more recently the world seems to favour "online".
You could use either and be understood, but "online" is probably today's preferred version.
"On line" is wrong.

"I like to play online game." ---------- correct?

No.
"I like to play online games."

 

[Saint]

Some people say CV and resume are not exactly the same, true?

 

[Dr_Toad]

CV stands for Curriculum vitae, and it means a presentation of things you've done, like which schools you've gone to, what sports, what interests, etc.

A résumé is a chronological list of your job history and qualifications for the job you're interviewing for.

Please, anyone feel free to correct me. I'm retired, and have put all that crap out of my mind for the most part.

 

[Baldeee]

In the UK we almost exclusively talk about CVs and not resumes (Rez-oo-Mays) and would consider the words interchangeable.

In the US it is different, and they are distinct.
The resume is a very short (typically 1 page) summary of job experience and qualifications specific to the role you're going for.
I.e. It's the brief answer to the question "why should I hire you?"
They typically may include a section on career goal / objective, and their aim is to make you stand out from the crowd if the reader is only given a few seconds to decide on who to ask to interview.

The CV, on the other hand, is intended as an objective detailing of accomplishments, primarily academic, and so is generally much longer, with the expectation that the reader will actually read the detailed content rather than the sound-bites of a resume.

Imagine the CV is like the full business case, and the resume is like the advertising pitch.

But as said, in the UK we really on deal in CVs, and they're probably a half-way between the US resume and US CV.

 

[Saint]

"cradle to cradle" means what?

 

[Baldeee]

I've only heard of Cradle-to-cradle as an environmentally-focused design concept, whereby the overall design of the object or process is to be as free of waste as possible.
This may mean building an object specifically out of material that has an alternate use if/when scrapped.
I'm sure the Internet has some better explanation.

 

[sideshowbob]

Imagine the CV is like the full business case, and the resume is like the advertising pitch.

For me, a resume would answer the question "why should I hire you?" A CV would answer the question "why should I NOT hire you?" There would be a lot of stuff in there that I don't want people to know, which is why I've never written one.

 

[Saint]

Is "screw up" rude?
Any other phrase to replace it?

 

[Saint]

Any difference between completed and finished?

1. Your life is finished if you married a wrong woman.

 

[Baldeee]

Is "screw up" rude?
Any other phrase to replace it?

It's not so rude that it isn't allowed on the BBC during the day.
So I would say that these days it is not all that rude.
There are however more polite ways of saying it, such is "mess up", "muck up", "foul up".

Any difference between completed and finished?

1. Your life is finished if you married a wrong woman.

Often they are synonymous.
If you completed a task then you finished a task.

However, "to be finished" can have a different meaning than just "to be completed".
It can also mean "to be over in a detrimental manner".
So if someone says "your life is finished if you marry the wrong woman" then they mean that the enjoyable life you know at the moment will be over, and your life will be terrible.

 

[Saint]

I will be flying to London in/with first class seat.
Which preposition?

 

[Dr_Toad]

That would be 'in', but better yet, "I will be flying first class to London."