A Dictionary of Cont..

used, it describes a room or place in which
some form of art is pursued (The music studio
is on the fifth floor). Since motion pictures,
radio and television, studio has come to describe
a room or a set of rooms or a building especially
equipped for the characteristic activities of
those enterprises. In common American usage
studio has come to designate just about any
service establishment: beauty shops are called
harr-do studios, perfume shops cosmetic studios,
dancing schools studios of the dance. A photographer’s
place of business is almost always just
a plain studio.
stuff. See matter; material.
stung. See sting.
stung to the quick. Quick in this phrase means
the living, sensitive tissue (as in He pared his
nails to the quick). As a figurative expression
for being suddenly and deeply hurt, as by an
unkind remark or an insult, especially with the
sort of smarting, burning pain that, like the
pain of a sting, often stimulates a flash of
aggressive anger, the metaphor was once a good
one. For unexpected slights and insults do give
sudden and intense pain, just like stings, and,
like stings, they inflame and ache for a long
time after and breed caution and resentment.
Furthermore the metaphor has the satisfying
implication that the inflicter of the pain is a
subhuman, poisonous creature. But the aptness
of the expression has led to its being overworked.
stunk. See stink.
stunt; stint. These words are confusingly close as
nouns and as verbs. As a verb stint means to
limit to a certain amount, number, share, or
allowance, often unduly (Because he had stinted
on provisions, the hunting party soon had to
forage for food). Stunt, as a transitive verb,
means to check the growth or development of
(All boys used to be told that smoking cigarettes
would stunt their growth). As an intransitive
verb it means to display, often recklessly,
strength and skill (The Air Force does not encourage
cadets to stunt). As a noun it may
mean a creature or plant hindered from attaining
its proper growth, but this meaning is now
so rare as to be obsolete. The commonest,
almost the only meaning attached to the word
as a noun in America today is a performance,
usually one of no great significance, which
serves to display strength or skill of a superficial
kind (He used to do stunts on the roof top
just to impress the kids). Stint, as a noun, means
a limitation or restriction, especially as to
amount (He gave without stint to the campaign);
a limited or prescribed quantity, share,
rate (He did only his stint in the common enterprise);
an allotted amount or piece of work
(Interviewing students was a part of his daily
rtint).
stylish. See high-toned.
stylus. The plural is styluses or styli.
subconscious. See unconscious.
subject of a verb. In a given sentence the subject
of the verb is the word or group of words that
481 subject
answers the question who (or what) followed
by the verb in the form used in the sentence.
It may be a single word or it may be a group
of words. In he came yesterday, the subject is
he; in reading such books frightens me, it is
reading such books; in what you say has been
said before, it is what you say. The subject is
always a noun or noun equivalent together with
its qualifiers.
If the verb is in the active voice, as it is in
the first two examples given above, the subject
names the agent of the action. If the verb is in
the passive voice, that is, if it is a form of the
verb to be followed by the past participle of
the meaningful verb, as it is in the third example,
the subject names the person or thing
affected by the action. A linking verb does not
name an action and so its subject is neither an
agent nor a person or thing affected. These verbs
present special problems which are discussed
below.
In a Latin sentence the subject of the verb
is a noun in the nominative case, together with
its qualifiers. In contemporary English, word
order has taken over many of the functions of
case and the subject of the verb is recognized
by its position in the sentence. The rules for
position are slightly different in declarative and
in non-declarative sentences.
In questions that do not have an interrogative
word for subject, and in wishes, the subject
stands immediately after the element of the verb
that shows tense, as in did you see it? and may
you never regret it. A simple past or present
tense form of the verb to be, or of the verb
to have, may stand before the subject in a
question, as in were you there? and have you
a match?. With these exceptions, a question
requires a verbal phrase, as does a wish, and the
subject stands after the auxiliary and before the
meaningful verb. A verbal phrase can also be
used with have, as in do you have a match?.
See questions and subjunctive mode.
In an imperative sentence the subject is
usually omitted. Formerly, if it was expressed
it followed the verb, as in go ye into all the
world. Today, if it is used at all it precedes the
verb, as in you go first. In an exclamation the
subject normally precedes the verb, but sentences
of this kind may also have the form of
a question. See exclamations and imperative
mode.
In a declarative sentence the subject normally
precedes the verb and can be separated from it
only by an adverb. In the best modern prose
more than ninety percent of the sentences have
the word order: subject, verb, object. The object
may be placed first without disturbing the order
of subject, verb. This order-subject, verb-is
therefore a basic characteristic of English sentences.
There are exceptions to the rule, and
when the exceptions are listed there seem to be
a great many of them. But this is deceptive. The
exceptions are either limited to a few individual
words or are rare constructions not often found
in natural speech or writing.