@bsloan7 Ok, so when you describe someone performs something less well than expected or in a restrained way, what words would you use? (apart from “underplay” because it’s uncommon)

bsloan7

1 Oct 2022

English (US)

@shawnii Well, I think it would really depend on the exact situation because that adds nuance. And the nuance can affect which word would be most accurate to use. Here are a few words that I thought of though:

Hold back
(This is a phrasal verb that I think is commonly used to express that someone has done something in a restrained way)

Half-ass
(This is very informal. It’s used when someone does not put 100% of their effort into something. They have done it lazily or sloppily)

Cheapen
(This means that someone has degraded or reduced the value/quality of something)

Minimize
(This literally means to make something smaller. People often use it when talking about someone who has made something seem less important than it is)

And of course, “downplay” is still a good word. It’s similar in meaning to “minimize”.

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brandun

1 Oct 2022

Simplified Chinese (China)

@bsloan7 Thank you for thinking of all of those. You rock!

bsloan7

1 Oct 2022

English (US)

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Does this sound natural?
“We need to make more elites enter our corporation.”

Does this sound natural?“We need to make more elites enter our corporation.” See a translation

This isn’t very natural. “Elites” isn’t really used this way. I think one of these might be what you mean:We need more high profile people in our company.orWe need to get more highly-qualified people to join our company.orWe need more people of high esteem in our company.

We need to make more elites to join our corporation.

@shawnii yeah dear☺️

This isn’t very natural. “Elites” isn’t really used this way. I think one of these might be what you mean:We need more high profile people in our company.orWe need to get more highly-qualified people to join our company.orWe need more people of high esteem in our company.

@shawnii She gets all kinds of perks because she’s a member of the elite.I had the privilege of attending one of the most elite language schools in the country.

@shawnii It’s a little unnatural. I would say:The teacher kept us five minutes late so we had a shorter break.

@shawnii I think “kept us late by five minutes” is slightly less natural, but no one would think you sound strange if you said this.

@shawnii Yes, that’s natural 👍🏾

“Overplay” is, but I don’t think I’ve heard “underplay” very much. I hear “downplay” way more often.

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Does this sound natural?
“We need to make more elites enter our corporation.”

This isn’t very natural. “Elites” isn’t really used this way. I think one of these might be what you mean:

We need more high profile people in our company.
or
We need to get more highly-qualified people to join our company.
or
We need more people of high esteem in our company.

This isn’t very natural. “Elites” isn’t really used this way. I think one of these might be what you mean:

We need more high profile people in our company.
or
We need to get more highly-qualified people to join our company.
or
We need more people of high esteem in our company.

@shawnii She gets all kinds of perks because she’s a member of the elite.

I had the privilege of attending one of the most elite language schools in the country.

@shawnii It’s a little unnatural. I would say:

The teacher kept us five minutes late so we had a shorter break.