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- 01.What does "would" mean here?
Good question! "Would" here is used as a modal verb to express future tense as told in the past. You can express future in the past tense by using "would + verb". Both "woulds" in this sentence mean "was going to". You can think of this sentence as, "as it was going to develop into what was going to become the operating system for nearly every PC." Here's a few examples of future in the past with "would": Ex: I knew you would give it to him. Ex: I thought you would eat the chicken.
- 02.What's "look like" mean? And when can it be used?
"Looks like x" means "seems like x," which is used to express that one gets the impression that X is the case. Essentially, we are saying that something appears to be true. Although we do tend to use "looks like" more in response to things or situations we've actually witnessed, they can both be used in this context. Ex: Seems like we'll be ten minutes late. Ex: Looks like we'll be ten minutes late.
- 03.Can I insert the phrase "don't you dare", instead of "do not"?
Yes, you can say "don't you dare screw with my team" here instead of "do not screw with my team". "Don't you dare" means pretty much the same thing as "do not" in this context. Here is another example of where "don't you dare" and "do not" are interchangeable: Ex: Don't you dare wake up the baby. Ex: Do not wake up the baby.
- 04.What is R&D?
R&D is an abbreviation for "Research and Development". It is used to refer a department within a large company or organisation and, in that case, the abbreviation is usually used. Therefore it is a term you hear quite frequently in business and areas of government. The term can also be used simply to mean researching and creating something new. In this case, the full phrase is usually used and not the abbreviation. Ex: The R&D department needs to look into more cost-effective methods. Ex: A lot of research and development has gone into the government's new budget.
- 05.Which words were skipped after "I’d better"?
I guess he was trying to say "I'd better go."
- 06.How come "would" was used here? Does "will you begin to kick my ass" make sense as well? I don't understand why "would + have p.p" was used here.
"Would [you] have" is a common construction used to ask about hypothetical situations that may be related to past events. When the speaker asks "at what point ... would you have begun to kick my ass," the speaker is speaking about a hypothetical event that did not happen - getting his "ass kicked" (beat up). "Would have" is used to show that the action didn't actually happen, and thus something else could not occur as a result. Ex: If you told me you were coming, I would have gone to meet you. (He/she was not informed about a friend visiting, so they were not able to meet) Ex: If the weather was a bit better, we would have been able to go camping. (The weather was poor, so camping was not possible)
- 07.What does "crack" mean here?
"Crack" here is referring to the drug "crack cocaine" which is the crystal form of cocaine. Cady is saying that Janis was talking to her about crack as an excuse because she doesn't want Regina to know that they are friends.
- 08.What does "in exchange for" mean?
"In exchange for" means that you trade or give one thing in order to get something else. Ex: I sold my old computer in exchange for a new one. Ex: I gave her ten dollars in exchange for giving me a ride.
- 09.What does it mean by off-the-cuff line?
The phrase "off the cuff" is used to say that someone speaks without pre-planning or rehearsal. It is an idiom that is most commonly used in daily speech as it would not be considered very formal. "Line" here simply means sentence or phrase. So the President is thanking him for that joke which he thinks came without planning. Ex: I didn't prepare a speech, so I will just say a few words off the cuff. Ex: Jon has a habit of making off-the-cuff remarks that he later regrets.
- 010.What does "fast forward" mean?
In this context, "fast forward" is a phrase used to imply that unimportant information in a story is being skipped over, and the story is continuing where the speaker wants it to continue. The phrase originates from pressing the "fast forward" button on a tape or VCR player to skip through a song or movie.
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Here, "Consign" means to assign or commit permanently. And you're right. It doesn't have a very positive meaning here, since it implies that the item will never be used and kept in the closet forever. Other meanings of "consign" include: delivering something to someone's custody, or to send goods by a carrier. Ex: I consigned my birthday cards to the third drawer of my dressing table. Ex: I'm consigning one of my artworks to the gallery in town. Ex: The package has been consigned to a courier. It'll arrive tomorrow!
Unfortunately, "after eight hours" by itself can't be used because it is not specific enough. The phrase "in eight hours" means "after eight hours from now". Only using "after eight hours" could refer to that eight-hour time frame beginning at any time. An example of how you could use the phrase "after eight hours" is, "After eight hours of sleep, I feel refreshed."
Yes, in this case you can replace "entirely" with "all". Both "all" and "entirely" are adverbs and they have very similar meanings, so you can often use them interchangeably. However, "entirely" is a bit more formal and can more strongly emphasize that something is complete, whereas "all" does not have the same emphasis. Ex: I spilled the drink all on my shirt. Ex: I spilled the drink entirely on my shirt. Even though "all" means that something is "complete" or "whole", it does not imply that something is totally covered with something because "all" is often used to exaggerate something that is not complete or whole. So when used to describe something complete or whole, "all" sounds less strong.
"Scared to pieces" is an idiom that means to be extremely scared. Ex: I was scared to pieces in the haunted house. Ex: She scared me to pieces yesterday.
Of all the synonyms listed by Wiktionary, the most formal option seems to be "absurdity". As a replacement for nonsense, I'd use the plural, absurdities. *Wiktionary is a multilingual, web-based project to create a free content dictionary of all words in all languages.