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.
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Question: Somehow I am compelled to use the word 'metal' to describe strong 'intestinal fortitude', and perseverance however I can't find the spelling or any synonym like this. Does a word that sounds like 'metal' exist when describing an individual's character? I'm looking for modern or historic usage of the word.

Answer: Mettle Defined by Oxford Dictionaries as: a person's ability to cope well with difficulties; spirit and resilience. It is commonly seen in the phrase: (put someone) on their mettle meaning, (of a demanding situation) test someone's ability to face difficulties. 'there were regular public meetings where local MPs were put on their mettle and remorselessly pilloried' Source: ODO Other constructions are possible too, for example: test their mettle, apparently an American version (thanks, @PeterCordes) show your mettle, etc. Origins According to Merriam-Webster, mettle was, as @Sparhawk points out in the comments, originally simply a variant spelling of the word metal (which dates to at least the 13th century), and it was used in all of the same senses as its metallic relative. Over time, however, mettle came to be used mainly in figurative senses referring to the quality of someone's character, with a first known usage in 1581. Today, both words can mean 'vigor and strength of spirit or temperament,' but only metal is used of metallic substances.


Question: In English-speaking TV shows, characters sometimes say something similar to dips to say to other people they are taking something for themselves before others do. Neither Google, Wiktionary or Urban Dictionary give positive results for this so the word may be misspelled. What is the word and what is its origin?.

Answer: The word you're hearing is actually dibs: 2: claim, rights // I have dibs on that piece of cake Etymonline says it's a children's word to express a claim on something, 1915, originally U.S., apparently from earlier senses 'a portion or share' and 'money' (early 19c. colloquial), probably a contraction of dibstone 'a knuckle-bone or jack in a children's game' (1690s), in which the first element is of unknown origin. The game consisted of tossing up small pebbles or the knuckle-bones of a sheep and catching them alternately with the palm and the back of the hand.


Question: Should e.g. and i.e. have periods, e.g. 'e.g.', or no periods, eg 'eg'? Should they be italicized, e.g. 'i.e.' or not, eg 'i.e'?.

Answer:
In formal contexts, I would go with 'e.g.' and 'i.e.', with two periods and without a whitespace. The spellings without periods are quite popular, but informal. For example, Merriam-Webster does not have an entry for either 'eg' or 'ie'. Wiktionary marks 'eg.' and 'eg' as informal, and offers the following usage notes: Opinion is mixed about whether this term should be italicized as although it is Latin, it has become part of standard English, and whether it should be written with a separating space 'e. g.' as it was originally two separate words. It also offers the following usage notes for 'i.e.': Opinion is mixed about whether the abbreviation should be italicized, or whether there should be a separating non-breaking space as in i. e.. ie is often found in current usage, and is perhaps now considered acceptable. Personally, I would argue that there's no need whatsoever to italicize 'e.g.' or 'i.e.'. Both expressions are extremely common in English, and have been for a long time. They are full-fledged citizens of the English language, and as such, they do not have to be italicized as if they were foreign words.


