I’m Anna Stevenson, the Word Watcher.
Other people can be incredibly annoying sometimes, can’t they? Family, friends, colleagues, even people we barely know – they all have their little habits that can drive us mad. Recently, I’ve been noticing some interesting new labels for people whose behaviour is so instantly recognisable and guaranteed to irritate that it deserves a name. How many of them have you encountered?
Continue reading “The Word Watcher: Annoying people”
I’m Anna Stevenson, the Word Watcher. Back in the Dark Ages, when I started dating my husband (Mr Word Watcher), things were much simpler. You met someone nice, went out for dinner, and decided if you liked each other enough to do it again.
With Gen Z, the world of dating seems to be much more complicated. Let’s look at a few of the colourful words and expressions that are now being used to describe modern romance. Continue reading “The Word Watcher: Dating”
I’m Anna Stevenson, the Word Watcher. The heatwaves that dominated the summer months in many parts of the world this year have prompted me to look at some words and terms relating to climate change that haven’t yet made it into the dictionary.
Such heatwaves, along with flooding and wildfires, are making some places feel less like home and more like a place of danger. Many individuals and communities are now being forced to consider climate migration – moving to another area, city, or even country, whether temporarily or permanently. Continue reading “The Word Watcher: Climate”
by Liz Walter
The phrase all good things come to an end means that enjoyable experiences cannot last forever. The reason I’ve chosen this title is that after more than a decade of writing these posts, this one will be my last! The topic, therefore, is things we say when we stop something we’ve been doing for a long time or leave somewhere we have been for a long time. Continue reading “All good things come to an end: talking about leaving a place”
I’m Anna Stevenson, the Word Watcher, and this time we’re going backwards, linguistically at least! Let’s explore some interesting “reverse” words and terms that have caught my eye recently. Continue reading “The Word Watcher: Reverse”
by Kate Woodford
It will come as no surprise to you that an aspect of the human body as important and visible as hair features in a lot of English idioms. Today I’m going to look at a selection of these phrases that feature in contemporary English. Continue reading “I’m tearing my hair out here! Hair idioms”
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by Liz Walter
It can be tricky to use just the right words when we invite someone to come to our home or to do something with us. We probably want to make them feel welcome but at the same time give them the opportunity to refuse the invitation if they aren’t keen. Today’s post looks at some phrases we use to do this. Continue reading “Are you free on Saturday? Phrases for invitations.”
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”
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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)”
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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”