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Today’s post is the second of a pair focusing on nautical idioms, that is, idioms relating to sailing and the ocean. Part 1 covered idioms with the words ‘boat’, ’ship’ or ‘water’. Today, I’m looking at idioms containing a range of other nautical words. Where an item of vocabulary or the nautical origin of a phrase is not clear, I have given a brief explanation. Continue reading “All hands on deck! (Nautical Idioms, Part 2)”
As the UK is an island nation, it’s perhaps not surprising that there are a great many idioms in English that relate to the ocean and sailing. Some of these nautical idioms are not known or used by many people and others contain obscure items of vocabulary. However, a surprising number are fairly common in contemporary English. This post (and my next one) will cover the most frequent of these idioms. Continue reading “Rocking the boat (Nautical Idioms, Part 1)”
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Today’s topic is the language that we use to describe people and actions that are morally good and morally bad.
Continue reading “Worthy and wicked (Words meaning ‘good’ and ‘bad’)”
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My last post looked at the language that we use to describe people and animals who are physically strong and weak. Today’s post focuses on words for things that are strong and weak. Continue reading “Sturdy or flimsy? (Words for strong and weak things)”
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Today’s post and my next one focus on words for talking about physical strength and its opposite, weakness. This first one looks at words for people (and animals) who are physically strong and physically weak.
Continue reading “Ripped or puny? (Words meaning ‘strong’ and ‘weak’)”
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This week’s post relates to the language used to describe an activity that gives a great deal of pleasure to people the world over – growing and taking care of plants and flowers, whether outside or in the home.
Continue reading “Green fingers and thumbs (The language of gardening)”
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Do you know someone who is ‘good in a crisis’ – someone who stays admirably calm in difficult circumstances when the people around them are too stressed to make good decisions? Perhaps you are good in a crisis. This week, I’m looking at all the words and phrases we use to talk about such people.
Continue reading “Calm and collected (The language of staying calm in a crisis)”
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This week’s blog post is a companion to one that I published last month on ways of talking about luck. Today’s post focuses on the language of chance – that force that makes things happen without any obvious cause.
Continue reading “Random and fortuitous (Words for talking about chance)”
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Today’s post has a rather positive feel to it as I’m looking at the language we use to describe luck and feeling lucky.
Continue reading “Do I feel lucky? (Ways of talking about luck)”
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Regular readers of this blog often ask us for posts on English idioms used now in contemporary English. One way we make sure we provide up-to-date idioms is by looking at those used in current newspaper articles. The expressions included in this week’s post are taken from a range of national newspapers that were published on June 16, 2025.