instruction:
Generate the answer for a given question. The question requires common knowledge of English. Make sure that the answer is in detail, long, consistent with the context, and requires general knowledge of English. To be less repetitive, please vary your language for each question. Give a proper explanation to answer, and if necessary, provide the definition of various terms. And conclude your answer if it's long. If you have used other resources (e.g., Merriam Webster's.) to answer the question, include citations in your answer. You don't need to paraphrase the context of your resources, but make sure that your answer is consistent and complete.
question:
What is the etymology of shithole? Did it originate from A) the orifice through which excrement is passed, or B) the hole in the ground intended for the disposal of such excrement? (This is a serious question for professional research. You don't want to know the details.).
answer:
The OED's earliest citation for shithole is from the seventeenth century, and it's given as 'coarse slang' for 'the rectum or anus'. The earliest citation for shithole meaning 'a toilet; a latrine' is only from 1947.


question:
The past tense of run is ran. However, you couldn't say something was being 'ran' poorly i.e. the business was ran poorly. However, saying 'runned' would be wrong as well. What would be the word to use in this instance: The government will be prevented from being ____ properly.
answer:
The passive voice in English uses the past participle, not the simple past. Sing-sang-sung. Song being sung. Ring-rang-rung. Bell being rung. Do-did-done. Deeds being done. Speak-spoke-spoken. Word being spoken. Break-broke-broken. Rules being broken. Run-ran-run. Government being run. (Your confusion probably stems from the fact that for many verbs, the past participle and the simple past are identical, as in make-made-made, play-played-played, etc.)


question:
Possible Duplicates: How to phrase an asking sentence that must be answered with an ordinal number? Framing a question whose answer is an ordinal number Given that I want to know Barack Obama is the 44th President of U.S.A, how can I frame a question like: The how manyeth president is Barack Obama?.
answer:

I'd go with the following structure: Q: Where does Obama fall in the sequence of US presidents? A: [He's the] 44th [president]. This reflects similar usage when discussing, for instance, rankings: Q: Where did Harvard fall on the U.S. News & World Report list this year? A: 2nd.


