Author: Kate Woodford

I'm a freelance lexicographer and writer, living in Cambridge, UK. I worked for many years on Cambridge University Press’s range of ELT dictionaries and now work with Liz Walter on dictionary and non-dictionary titles. My other interests include fashion, cooking, child-rearing, BBC Radio 4 and the quirks and peculiarities of the English language. You can follow me on Twitter @Katewoodford2

Black sheep and white lies (Idioms with colours, part 2)

On By Kate WoodfordIn Idioms, the English language, Vocabulary39 Comments
Vic Ratnieks/Eye Em/Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

This is the second of two posts that focus on idioms that contain a word for a colour. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at blue, green and red idioms. This week, we’re rather monochrome, looking mainly at idioms with ‘black’ and ‘white’ in them.

The phrase in black and white is sometimes used to mean ‘in writing’, usually in the context of proof: I could scarcely believe it was true, but there it was, in black and white.

Continue reading “Black sheep and white lies (Idioms with colours, part 2)” →

Going forward, sooner or later (Expressions to talk about the future)

On By Kate WoodfordIn Conversation, the English language, Vocabulary18 Comments
Tomas Rodriguez/Stone/Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

This post takes a look at a group of phrases that we use when we talk about the future.

Some of the phrases that we use when we talk about our future plans and ideas simply mean ‘at some time in the future’, (without mentioning a particular time), for example at some point: At some point, we’ll look into buying a new laptop. Continue reading “Going forward, sooner or later (Expressions to talk about the future)” →

Stir-crazy and climbing the walls (Life during lockdown)

On By Kate WoodfordIn the English language34 Comments
Johnny Valley/Cultura/Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

As COVID-19 continues to force so much of the world’s population into lockdown (= a situation in which you are ordered to stay at home), I thought it might be interesting to look at the language that we use to describe what we are now doing with our days. 

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Learning from home with Dictionary +Plus

On By Kate WoodfordIn Grammar, Learning, the English language, Vocabulary18 Comments

by Kate Woodford

Many of you are still confined to your homes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Studying or working on your own can be tough. We at Cambridge Dictionary are also working remotely and we feel your pain!

Without the presence of teachers and classmates, it’s sometimes hard to get motivated. One useful strategy is to set yourself an achievable daily or weekly objective, for example, ‘I’m going to learn ten adjectives that describe food.’ Another approach is to persuade yourself that you’re not actually studying, but having fun. With Cambridge Dictionary +Plus, you can do both of these at the same time! Continue reading “Learning from home with Dictionary +Plus” →

Off-colour and on the mend (Talking about health)

On By Kate WoodfordIn Idioms, the English language23 Comments
Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank/Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

On one thread of this blog, we look at the phrases that people use in daily conversation. This week, we’re focusing on expressions that people use to talk about health – both their own health and that of their family and friends. We won’t be looking at individual symptoms. These were covered by my colleague, Liz Walter, in her post My leg hurts: Talking about illness. Instead, we’ll consider the phrases that people use in conversation to talk more generally about health.

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Heads-ups and wake-up calls! (The language of warnings)

On By Kate WoodfordIn the English language18 Comments
PM Images/Stone/Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

Today, we’re looking at words and phrases that are used to tell people about possible dangers or problems. Let’s start with immediate, physical danger. You might shout or say Look out!, Watch out! or (UK) Mind out! to warn someone that they are in danger: Look out! There’s a car coming! / Watch out! You nearly hit that bike! / Mind out! You nearly banged your head!

Continue reading “Heads-ups and wake-up calls! (The language of warnings)” →

Making the best of it (dealing with life during the coronavirus pandemic)

On By Kate WoodfordIn the English language37 Comments
Flashpop/Stone/Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

All over the world, people are adjusting to a new way of living as a result of COVID-19. At the time of writing, around a third of the world is on lockdown, permitted to leave home only for such reasons as food and medicine shopping. Even those of us who are lucky enough to be well and virus-free may be finding the sudden changes to our lifestyles challenging. With this in mind, I thought we’d focus on words and phrases around the theme of dealing with difficult situations.

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Vast, spotless and awesome (Extreme adjectives, Part 2)

On By Kate WoodfordIn the English language24 Comments
Tatiana Kolesnikova/Moment/Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

Earlier this month, we published a post on extreme adjectives used to describe the weather and emotions. (Extreme adjectives are adjectives that we use when we want to really emphasize a particular quality.)  This week, we’re focusing on adjectives that emphasize a high degree of other qualities, for example, size and age.

Continue reading “Vast, spotless and awesome (Extreme adjectives, Part 2)” →

Scorching, furious and delighted! (Extreme adjectives in English, Part 1)

On By Kate WoodfordIn the English language, Vocabulary19 Comments
westend61/Getty Images

by Kate Woodford

Are your English adjectives sometimes not strong enough? Perhaps you’re eating something that is so good, the word ‘good’ just isn’t enough. In this case, you might want to describe the food as delicious or even (informal) scrumptious. As you’ll have guessed by now, this post looks at extreme adjectives – that is, adjectives that we use to emphasize a high degree of a particular quality.  Remember that we don’t usually put the adverb very before extreme adjectives. Instead, to add even more emphasis, we might use adverbs such as absolutely, totally and completely. Continue reading “Scorching, furious and delighted! (Extreme adjectives in English, Part 1)” →