I’m Anna Stevenson, the Word Watcher, and on the menu this time are some new words and terms relating to food and drink. Continue reading “The Word Watcher: Food and drink”
The Word Watcher: Food and drink
You’re barking up the wrong tree! (Dog idioms, Part 2)
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by Kate Woodford
Last month, I published a post on idioms connected with man’s best friend (=the dog). When I researched the piece, I found that there were more frequent and useful canine idioms than I was expecting, so here is a second post on the subject. As well as idioms containing the word ‘dog’, I have included a few that feature dog-related vocabulary. I hope you learn a phrase or two from it! Continue reading “You’re barking up the wrong tree! (Dog idioms, Part 2)”
Fanning the flames: idiomatic language connected to fire
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by Liz Walter
My last post focused on words connected to fire and burning. Many of these words and phrases are also used in metaphorical or idiomatic ways, and today’s post discusses this aspect of them. Continue reading “Fanning the flames: idiomatic language connected to fire”
The Word Watcher: Holidays
I’m Anna Stevenson, the Word Watcher, and these are the words I’ve been watching.
What does the word “holiday” make you think of? Sightseeing and souvenir shopping? Lying on a beach? Actually, these days we’re finding all sorts of interesting ways to spend our precious time off. So let’s broaden our horizons in this post and look at some of the new types of holiday that have caught my eye recently. Continue reading “The Word Watcher: Holidays”
There’s life in the old dog yet! (Dog idioms, part 1)
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by Kate Woodford
The dog is sometimes referred to in English as man’s best friend, reflecting our close relationship with this remarkable animal. In the past, we used dogs to protect ourselves against predators. Nowadays, they perform all manner of roles for us, including herding farm animals, assisting in police work, and helping people with disabilities. And of course, many of us keep dogs as companions. It’s no surprise, then, that the word ‘dog’ features in a great many English idioms, (though it seems rather unfair that so many of these phrases have negative meanings!) This post and my next look at some of the most frequent and useful dog idioms. Continue reading “There’s life in the old dog yet! (Dog idioms, part 1)”
Bursting into flames: talking about fire
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by Liz Walter
Today’s post looks at words connected with fire and burning. As well as looking at words for different types of fire, I’ll cover some common collocations (words that go together) that we use when we talk about fire, several of which would not be possible to guess. Continue reading “Bursting into flames: talking about fire”
The Word Watcher: Airports and air travel
I’m Anna Stevenson, the Word Watcher, and these are the words I’m watching.
We go on holiday to relax and escape the stress of everyday life for a while. But sometimes just getting to our destination can be anything but relaxing.
Social media has become the perfect place to swap horror stories about our fellow travellers, resulting in a number of colourful new terms to describe other people’s annoying habits at the airport and on the plane. Continue reading “The Word Watcher: Airports and air travel”
Biding your time and bottling it (Newspaper idioms)
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by Kate Woodford
Today I’m looking at idioms and expressions from a range of national newspapers that were published on the same day. I do this every few months as a way of providing you with up-to-date, frequently used idioms. Continue reading “Biding your time and bottling it (Newspaper idioms)”
New words – 27 July 2026
tasteslop noun [U]
UK /ˈteɪst.slɒp/ US /ˈteɪst.slɑːp/
AI-generated content, such as images of clothes, objects, or interior design, that is designed to look tasteful and stylish but is actually bland and unoriginal
Good taste used to require context. Now it requires the right moodboard. Instagram made taste visible, algorithms made it repeatable, and AI made it scalable. Welcome to the age of tasteslop, where originality may be the last status symbol left.
[theestablished.com, 24 June 2026]
See also slop
vibe hacking noun [U]
UK /ˈvaɪb ˌhæk.ɪŋ/ US /ˈvaɪb ˌhæk.ɪŋ/
cybercrime that is carried out with the help of AI, using natural language to give instructions and letting AI generate the code or other tools
The same large language models (LLMs) that help engineers write code faster now help criminals operate faster. What began as “vibe coding,” a mindset that embraces AI output with minimal review, has evolved into “vibe hacking,” attackers delegating the design, orchestration, and execution of campaigns to AI systems.
[threatlocker.com, 21 April 2026]
See also vibe coding
dead internet theory noun [S]
UK /ˌded ˈɪn.tə.net ˌθɪə.ri/ US /ˌded ˈɪn.t̬ɚ.net ˌθɪr.i/
a theory that a lot of the internet is no longer created by real people but rather by bots and other AI tools
Sam Altman, the chief executive of ChatGPT creators OpenAI, has suggested that there might be some truth in the “dead internet theory”. The idea is a conspiracy theory that the majority of content and apparent people online are actually being automatically generated by computers, and that the internet is for the most part “dead”.
[independent.co.uk, 5 September 2025]
Hitting the nail on the head: idioms with ‘hit’
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by Liz Walter
The simple verb hit forms part of a surprisingly large number of idioms with very varied meanings. Today’s post looks at some of the most useful of these. Continue reading “Hitting the nail on the head: idioms with ‘hit’”