This week we’re looking at the words we use to describe buildings and rooms. Since there are lots of useful words, the post will be in two parts. Continue reading “Palatial or cramped? (Words to describe buildings and rooms, part 1)”
Everesting noun [U]
UK /ˈev.ᵊr.ɪst.ɪŋ/ US /ˈev.ə.rɪst.ɪŋ/
a sporting challenge where someone cycles (or sometimes runs) up and down the same hill until they have climbed the height of Mount Everest
“Everesting” is straightforward: Pick a hill, any hill, and go up and down it until you attain 29,029 feet of climbing. Friends can support you, but you must do it under your own power and in a single effort — no sleeping. The result is more than double the climbing of the hardest stages of the Tour de France. With most cycling events disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, Everesting has become a hot activity for the ultra-endurance set.
[www.nytimes.com, 13 August 2020]
mental health gym noun [C]
UK /ˌmen.tᵊl.ˈhelθ.dʒɪm/ US /ˌmen.t̬ᵊlˈhelθ.dʒɪm/
a gym that offers activities designed to improve the mental health as well as the physical health of its members
The concept of mental health gyms will also do wonders against the stigma that mental illness makes you weak, as it’s a facility that promotes strength that will also be promoting mental health. Struggling with one’s mental health should be evidence of a person’s strength and resolve rather than the opposite.
[grwhealth.com, 17 February 2021]
HILIT noun [U]
/ˈhɪlɪt/
abbreviation for “high-intensity low-impact training”: physical training that consists of short periods of intense exercise with short periods of rest in between but does not include any exercise that puts pressure on the body’s joints, such as jumping
“The low-impact nature of HILIT reduces the chance of injury, ensuring less stress on the joints and muscles. This method is perfect for beginners or those working through soreness or pain,” says Dr. Kianoush Missaghi … “As a plus, the exercises are quiet and won’t disturb the downstairs neighbours, further making it the perfect at-home workout.”
[whateveryourdose.com, 6 February 2021]
by Liz Walter
My last two posts have covered phrases containing the numbers one and two. Today I am going to look at phrases with some higher numbers. There are a lot of them, so I am just picking out some that I think will be generally useful, but as always, please feel free to suggest others in the comments.
I’ll start with the phrase in the title of this post. If a person, place or situation is at sixes and sevens, it is in a state of confusion or disorganization. The American phrase a three-ring circus also describes a confused situation and emphasizes that a lot of things are happening at the same time:
We only moved in last week, so we’re still at sixes and sevens.
My life felt like a three-ring circus at that time.
Six seems to be a popular number for phrases! If you are talking about which of two people is to blame for something and say it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other, you mean that they are equally at fault. Saying that someone is six feet under is a humorous way of saying that they are dead, and in UK (but not US) English, if something knocks you for six, it surprises and upsets you to a very great degree:
Matt said that Francis insulted him, but if you ask me, it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other.
By the time that tree is grown, we’ll all be six feet under.
The collapse of his company really knocked him for six.
There are two nice number phrases for being extremely happy: on cloud nine and in seventh heaven:
I was on cloud nine when I got the letter offering me the job.
After a delicious meal, we sat in the warm garden. We were in seventh heaven.
I will finish with some very high numbers. If you describe something as the sixty-four thousand dollar question or the million dollar question, you mean that it is a difficult and important question, but nobody knows the answer. If you look/feel (like) a million dollars (UK & US)/bucks (US), you look or feel very attractive. Thanks a million is a strong way of saying thank you. However, it is often used sarcastically:
How do you get your teenagers to talk to you? That’s the sixty-four thousand dollar question!
She was wearing a new dress and she looked a million dollars.
You told Karen I’d cook for everyone? Well, thanks a million!
15-minute city noun [C]
UK /ˌfɪfˈtiːn.ˌmɪn.ɪt.ˈsɪt.i/ US /ˌfɪfˈtiːn.ˌmɪn.ɪt.ˈsɪt̬.i/
a city that is designed so that everyone who lives there can reach everything they need within 15 minutes on foot or by bike
Moreno, who is also Paris City Hall’s special envoy for smart cities, is regarded as the key theorist behind the recent resurgence in a new model for urban planning that seems almost custom built for this localised future: the ‘15-minute city’ … The 15-minute city requires minimal travel among housing, offices, restaurants, parks, hospitals and cultural venues. Each neighbourhood should fulfil six social functions: living, working, supplying, caring, learning and enjoying.
[bbc.com, 14 December 2020]
sponge city noun [C]
UK /ˌspʌndʒ.ˈsɪt.i/ US /ˌspʌndʒ.ˈsɪt̬.i/
a city that is prone to flooding and so has been rebuilt in a way that allows more rainwater to be absorbed back into the ground
The “sponge city” initiative, launched in 2015, is an attempt to … soak up heavy precipitation and release it slowly into the river and reservoirs. Using features such as rooftop gardens, scenic wetland parks, permeable pavements and underground storage tanks, the plan is to eventually absorb or reuse 70% of the rainwater that falls on four-fifths of China’s urban land.
[bloomberg.com, 13 August 2020]
linear city noun [C]
UK /ˌlɪn.i.ə.ˈsɪt.i/ US /ˌlɪn.i.ɚ..ˈsɪt̬.i/
a very long, narrow city built in a straight line
Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, has unveiled plans for a 100-mile-long linear city called The Line. Announcing the project in a new video, the city would include a series of walkable communities for a million people with no cars or streets. The project locates essential facilities within a five-minute walk of housing, connected “modules” linking the Red Sea coast with north-west Saudi Arabia as part of the NEOM city-state.
[archdaily.com, 15 January 2021]
How would you describe your mood day? Are you feeling pretty chilled (= relaxed and not worried about anything)? Perhaps you’re slightly on edge (= anxious about something and not able to relax)? Our moods change all the time, sometimes for no obvious reason. With this post, I aim to provide you with some nice adjectives and phrases for describing the way we feel. Continue reading “In high spirits or down in the dumps? (The language of moods)”
biofacturing noun [U]
UK /ˌbaɪ.əʊ.ˈfæk.tʃə.rɪŋ/ US /ˌbaɪ.oʊ.ˈfæk.tʃɚ.ɪŋ/
a way of producing goods in a factory that uses microbes (= very small living things that can only be seen with a microscope) to create the raw materials
The natural world is the best manufacturing system there is. It’s been “innovating” for billions of years, and it makes things greener, better, and cheaper than any conventional factory ever could. Biofacturing seeks to partner with nature to make better products in a better way. By combining machine learning, automation, and molecular biology to nature’s insights, biofacturing represents a way to bring breakthrough products to market more quickly and for less cost.
[zymergen.com, 22 January 2021]
decision intelligence noun [U]
UK /dɪˈsɪʒ.ᵊn.ɪnˈtel.ɪ.dʒᵊns/ US /dɪˈsɪʒ.ᵊn.ɪnˈtel.ə.dʒᵊns/
a type of artificial intelligence that analyses large amount of data to allow organizations to make business decisions more easily
“Decision intelligence connects AI and human decision-making to form more intelligent conclusions, which lead to more favorable outcomes,” says Jack Zmudzinski, a senior associate at Future Processing, a custom software development company. “So, rather than a decision made by a human or a decision made by a computer, it’s the best of both worlds.”
[ukpcmag.com, 23 April 2021]
NFT noun [C]
/ˌen.ef.ˈtiː/
abbreviation for “non-fungible token”: an entry in a digital database that shows who owns a piece of content on the internet, such as a video, an artwork or a song
NFTs are “one-of-a-kind” assets in the digital world that can be bought and sold like any other piece of property, but they have no tangible form of their own. The digital tokens can be thought of as certificates of ownership for virtual or physical assets.
[bbc.co.uk, 12 March 2021]
by Liz Walter
In my last post, I wrote about phrases containing the number one. Today I’m going to look at some common phrases with the number two. Continue reading “There’s no two ways about it: phrases with the number two.”
hurry sickness noun [U]
UK /ˈhʌr.i.sɪk.nəs/ US /ˈhɝː.i.sɪk.nəs/
a way of behaving in which someone does everything in a rush because they always feel stressed and anxious about not having enough time to get everything done
“If you find yourself treating even small, everyday tasks like shopping, eating or driving as a race, and any delay causes feelings of anxiety, you might be dealing with hurry sickness,” said Lee Chambers, an environmental psychologist and well-being consultant … When you’re dealing with hurry sickness, there never seems to be enough hours in a day to accomplish what you need to do. And no matter how much you get done, you always feel like you’re playing catch-up.
[huffingtonpost.co.uk, 26 April 2021]
home separation anxiety noun [U]
UK /ˌhəʊm.sep.ᵊrˈeɪ.ʃᵊn.æŋˌzaɪ.ə.ti/ US /ˌhoʊm.sep.ərˈeɪ.ʃᵊn.æŋˌzaɪ.ə.t̬i/
a feeling of worry and fear about being away from home, especially as a reaction to having spent so much time at home during lockdown
A recent study discovered that 67 percent of employed adults feel anxious at the thought of parting with their homes once society resumes, while 43 percent said they felt more attached to their homes. A large proportion of people have already experienced home separation anxiety, but how do we know if we are affected? And what can we do to reduce the fear and ease ourselves back into the world?
[homesandgardens.com, 15 April 2021]
coronasomnia noun [U]
UK /kəˌrəʊ.nə.ˈsɒm.ni.ə/ US /kəˌroʊ.nə.ˈsɑːm.ni.ə/
the condition of being unable to sleep because of anxiety related to the coronavirus pandemic
As if the novel coronavirus has not already wrought devastation aplenty on the world, physicians and researchers are seeing signs it is doing deep damage to people’s sleep. “Coronasomnia,” as some experts now call it, could prove to have profound public-health ramifications — creating a massive new population of chronic insomniacs grappling with declines in productivity, shorter fuses and increased risks of hypertension, depression and other health problems.
[washingtonpost.com, 3 September 2020]
The idioms and phrases in today’s post come from a range of national newspapers that were published on the same day. We write a post like this every couple of months in order to provide you with a regular supply of contemporary, frequently used English idioms. Continue reading “Hitting the ground running (Idioms and phrases in newspapers)”
BookTokker noun [C]
UK /ˈbʊk.tɒkəʳ/ US /ˈbʊk.tɑːkɚ/
someone who posts videos on the social media platform TikTok in which they talk about books and reading
Jaysen is an author, blogger, Disney lover, board game collector, AND BookTokker. His videos focus on offering book suggestions, tips on diversifying your bookshelf, and sharing funny stories and reactions about the books he has read. Jaysen primarily reads fantasy novels and YA.
[shereads.com, 22 April 2021]
Dub-Lit noun [U]
/dʌb.ˈlɪt/
a genre of books written by authors from Ireland and set in present-day Dublin
Hailed as the next big name in Dub-Lit, Naoise Dolan is being touted as the new Sally Rooney following a seven-way bidding war for publishing rights to her debut novel. Exciting Times breathes fresh life into the age-old romantic tale of the love triangle, offering a new perspective on the grass-is-always-greener scenario, alongside a hefty dose of dry wit, raw humour and politically-attuned insight.
[theglossarymagazine.com, 23 March 2020]
suburbanoir noun [U]
UK /səˌbɜː.bᵊˈnwɑːʳ/ US /səˌbɝː.bᵊˈnwɑːr/
a style of books, films etc. involving exciting, and often illegal, events that happen in an otherwise quiet neighbourhood
The new genre: suburbanoir … The suburbs haven’t been without drama over lockdown. No wonder the Disney+ Marvel TV show WandaVision has been such a hit. Tune in to the final episode this week. And expect more riffs on the dark side of the picket fence to come: out this week is Silence Is a Sense … described as “Rear Window meets [Mohsin Hamid’s] Exit West”.
[www.the times.co.uk, 28 February 2021]
Be bright, be ready
